^26:8Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some¹² of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die!¹³^26:9How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things! How dare you claim his authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabited ruin!”¹⁴ Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah.

^26:10However, some of the officials¹⁵ of Judah heard about what was happening¹⁶ and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court¹⁷ at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple.¹⁸^26:11Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said,¹⁹ “This man should be condemned to die²⁰ because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so²¹ with your own ears.”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

12 The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that … the priests … grabbed him and said …” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation, because obviously it was not all the priests, the prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche where all is put for a part—all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, , and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)
13 Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. 2: §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).
14 Heb “Why have you prophesied in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘This house will become like Shiloh and this city will become a ruin without inhabitant?’ ” It is clear from the context here and in 7:1–15 that the emphasis is on “in the Lord’s name” and that the question is rhetorical. The question is not a quest for information but an accusation, a remonstrance. (For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, , who calls a question like this a rhetorical question of remonstrance or expostulation. For good examples see Pss 11:1; 50:16.) For the significance of “prophesying in the Lord’s name” see the study note on . The translation again utilizes the indirect quote to eliminate one level of embedded quotation. They are questioning his right to claim the Lord’s authority for what they see as a false prophecy. They believed that the presence of the Lord in the temple guaranteed their safety (7:4, 10, 14) and that the Lord could not possibly be threatening its destruction. Hence they were ready to put him to death as a false prophet according to the law of Moses (Deut 18:20).
15 These officials of Judah were officials from the royal court. They may have included some of the officials mentioned in Jer 36:12–25. They would have been concerned about any possible “illegal” proceedings going on in the temple.
16 Heb “these things.”
17 Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial. The gateway or gate complex of an ancient Near Eastern city was often used for court assemblies (cf. Deut 21:19; 22:15; Ruth 4:1; Isa 29:21). Here the gate of the temple was used for the convening of a court to try Jeremiah for the charge of being a false prophet.
18 The translation follows many Hebrew and ancient versions in reading the word “house” (= temple) here. The majority of Hebrew do not have this word. It is, however, implicit in the construction “the New Gate of the Lord.” The location of the New Gate is uncertain. It is mentioned again in Jer 36:10 where it is connected with the upper (i.e., inner) court of the temple. Some equate it with the Upper Gate that Jotham rebuilt during his reign (2 Kgs 15:35; Jotham reigned from 750–735 b.c.). That gate, however, has already been referred to as the Upper Gate of Benjamin in Jer 20:2 (for more detail see the study note there) and would not likely have been called something different here.
19 Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people.…” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”
20 Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”
21 Heb “it.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When he finished the address the Lord had commanded him to deliver to all the people, immediately the priests, the prophets, and all the people took hold of him, yelling, “You must surely die! How dare you prophesy in the name of the Lord, ‘This temple will become like Shiloh and this city will become an uninhabited ruin’!” Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah at the Lord’s temple.

When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went from the king’s palace to the Lord’s temple and sat at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man deserves the death sentence because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

NLTNew Living Translation

But when Jeremiah had finished his message, saying everything the Lord had told him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple mobbed him. “Kill him!” they shouted. “What right do you have to prophesy in the Lord’s name that this Temple will be destroyed like Shiloh? What do you mean, saying that Jerusalem will be destroyed and left with no inhabitants?” And all the people threatened him as he stood in front of the Temple.

When the officials of Judah heard what was happening, they rushed over from the palace and sat down at the New Gate of the Temple to hold court. The priests and prophets presented their accusations to the officials and the people. “This man should die!” they said. “You have heard with your own ears what a traitor he is, for he has prophesied against this city.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And then as Jeremiah finished speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You will die! Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be in ruins, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the temple of Yahweh.

When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the house of the king to the temple of Yahweh, and they sat in the entrance of the New Gate of Yahweh’s temple. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, saying, “This man deserves the death sentence, because he has prophesied against this city as that which you have heard with your ears.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

Public Domain