Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah 26 opens a narrative section near the middle of the book that recounts Jeremiah's experiences. The preceding chapter, Jeremiah 25, contains the prophecy of the seventy years of exile, delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Chapter 26 moves back in time to the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign and covers Jeremiah's temple sermon and the trial that followed.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 The LORD commands Jeremiah to speak in the court of the temple without omitting a word. If the people turn back, He will withdraw the calamity; but if they do not listen, He will make the temple like Shiloh and make Jerusalem a curse to all the nations.
• Verses 7–11 The priests, the prophets, and the people seize Jeremiah, saying, "Thou shalt surely die." When the princes come up from the king's house and sit in the entry of the new gate of the temple, the priests and prophets demand the death penalty.
• Verses 12–15 Jeremiah declares that the LORD sent him and urges repentance. He warns that if they put him to death, they will bring innocent blood upon themselves.
• Verses 16–19 The princes and the people judge that he does not deserve death. Certain elders cite the precedent of Hezekiah, who heard Micah's prophecy and did not put him to death.
• Verses 20–23 Urijah, who had prophesied in the same vein, fled to Egypt. Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan to bring him back, killed him with the sword, and cast his body into the graves of the common people.
• Verse 24 Ahikam the son of Shaphan protects Jeremiah so that he is not put to death.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 26:13, "amend your ways and your doings … and obey" — shows that the prophecy of judgment is a warning that calls for repentance.
• Jeremiah 26:18, "Zion shall be plowed like a field" — a rare instance of an earlier prophet, Micah, being quoted by name; it corresponds to Micah 3:12.
• Jeremiah 26:24 — records that even among those in power there was someone who protected the prophet.

People and Places

• Jeremiah — the central figure of the chapter.
• Jehoiakim — son of Josiah and king of Judah.
• Shiloh — the site of the tabernacle in Israel's early period, cited as an example of a sanctuary that was destroyed.
• Micah — a prophet from Moresheth who ministered in the days of Hezekiah.
• Urijah (prophet) — the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, a prophet who was martyred.
• Ahikam — the son of Shaphan, who protected Jeremiah.

Points for Reflection

• Many scholars regard the temple sermon of Jeremiah 7 and this chapter as two accounts of the same event. Chapter 7 focuses on the content of the sermon, while chapter 26 focuses on the response to it.
• Interpretations differ regarding the statement that God will "repent" of the evil (verses 3, 13, 19). The Reformed tradition regards this as language accommodated to human understanding and holds that God's decree does not change. The Arminian and Wesleyan traditions tend to read it as meaning that God genuinely responds to human actions.
• It is not clear from the text alone whether verses 20–23 continue the elders' speech or are the narrator's explanation.
• Because the chapter depicts a prophet accused after predicting the temple's destruction, it is sometimes read alongside Jesus' prophecy of the temple's destruction (Mark 13:2; 14:58) and the accusation brought against Stephen (Acts 6:13–14).