Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying, “This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”
Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, “Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey Yahweh your God’s voice; then Yahweh will relent from the evil that he has pronounced against you. But as for me, behold, I am in your hand. Do with me what is good and right in your eyes.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv11–14 We hence conclude, that the people in assenting to…
We hence conclude, that the people in assenting to the sentence of the priests and prophets, had done nothing according to their own judgment, but that all of every rank through a violent feeling condemned Jeremiah. And as the priests and prophets directed also their discourse to the people, it appears clear, that they were guided by them, so that they thoughtlessly and inconsiderately gave their consent; for it often happens in a mob that the people exclaim, “Be it so, be it so; amen, amen.” Jeremiah has indeed said, that he was condemned by the whole people; but it must be observed, that the people are like the sea, which of itself is calm and tranquil; but as soon as any wind arises, there is a great commotion, and waves dash one against another; so also it is with the people, who without being excited are quiet and peaceable; but a sedition is easily raised, when any one stirs up men who are thoughtless and changeable, and who, to retain the same simile, are fluid like water. This, then, is what Jeremiah now intimates.
But there is another thing to be noticed, — that the common people suffer themselves to be drawn in all directions; but they may also be easily restored, as it has been said, to a right mind. “When they see,” says Virgil, “a man remarkable for piety and good works, they become silent and attend with listening ears.” He there describes (Aeneid, 1) a popular commotion, which he compares to a tempest; and he rightly speaks of a tempest; but he added this simile according to common usage. The same thing is now set before us by the Prophet; the priests and prophets, who thought that they alone could boast of their power and speak with authority, in a manner constrained the people apparently to consent. The king’s counsellors being now present, the people became as it were mute; the priests perceived this, and we shall see by the issue that what the same poet mentions took place, “By his words he rules their hearts and softens their breasts.” For it became easy for the king’s counsellors even by a word to calm this foolish violence of the people. We shall indeed soon see, that they unhesitantly said, “There is no judgment of death against this man.” It is hence evident how easily ignorant men may be made inconsistent with themselves; but this is to be ascribed to their inconstancy; and noticed also ought to be what I have said, that there was no real consent, because there was no judgment exercised. The authority of the priests overpowered them; and then they servilely confessed what they saw pleased their princes, like an ass, who nods with his ears.
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Now, when the subject is duly considered, it appears, that the priests and the prophets alone spoke both to the princes and to the whole people, that Jeremiah was guilty of death, because he had prophesied against the city. We have said that they relied on those promises, which they absurdly applied for the purpose of confirming their own impiety, even that God had chosen that city that he might be there worshipped. It was a false principle, and whence proceeded their error? not from mere ignorance, but rather from presumption, for hypocrites are never deceived, except when they determine not to obey God, and as far as they can to reject his judgments. When, therefore, they are carried away by a perverse and wicked impulse, they ever find out some plausible pretext; but it is nothing but a disguise, as we clearly see from this narrative. It follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11–12 Hebrew, judgments of death belongeth to this man.
Hebrew, judgments of death belongeth to this man.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Jer 26:11 Then spake the priests and the prophets…
Jer 26:11 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.
Ver. 11. Then spake the priests and the prophets.] Against a priest and a prophet; but he had earnestly inveighed against them, {Jer 23:1-2; Jer 23:14-15; Jer 23:33-34} and hence the hatred. As Erasmus told the Duke of Saxony that Luther had been too busy with the Pope’s triple crown and with the priests’ fat paunches, and was therefore so generally set against.
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Saying, This man is worthy to die.] Sic Papicolae nostri saeculi. These are the very words of Popish persecutors.
For he hath prophesied against this city.] This holy, and therefore, it must be believed, inviolable city. Novum crimen, C. Caesar, &c. These sinners against their own souls, traitors also to the state, will neither see their evil condition, nor hear of it from others, as having gall in their ears, as they say of some kinds of creatures.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11–14 In the corrupt state of all kingdoms and cities,…
In the corrupt state of all kingdoms and cities, the ecclesiastical officers always were the greatest enemies to the faithful ministers of God, as we shall find in the whole story both of the Old and New Testament. They speak to the members of the great court, who are called princes, and also to the people who were in the court, charging Jeremiah with sedition, by prophesying falsely, which was a capital crime. It was the charge against Stephen, Act 6:13, that he spake blasphemous words against the holy place. To prove this they appeal to those of the people that had heard him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–14 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the…
Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes, and to all the people,.... The priests and the prophets they were the accusers; the princes were the court before whom the cause was brought; and the people were the hearers of it; though it does not seem as if they were a sort of jury, or had any vote in determining; though they sometimes had in instigating a court, and the judges of it, to take on the side of the question they were for:
saying, this man is worthy to die; or, "the judgment of death is to this man" (f); he is guilty of a capital crime, and judgment ought to be given against him, and he condemned to die:
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for he hath prophesied against this city; the city of Jerusalem; saying that it should be a curse to other nations; or, as they interpreted it, that it should be utterly destroyed, and become desolate, and none should inhabit it:
as ye have heard with your ears; this must be directed to the people only; for the princes did not hear Jeremiah's prophecy.
(f) "judieium mortis est viro huic", V. L. Vatablus, Pagninus, Montanus; "reatus mortis", &c. Schmidt.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v11 The priests - "In the corrupt state of all…
The priests - "In the corrupt state of all kingdoms, the ecclesiastical officers always were the greatest enemies to the faithful ministers of God." They speak to the members of the court who are called princes, and to the people who were in the court.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Verse 12. The Lord sent me to prophesy] My…
Verse 12. The Lord sent me to prophesy] My commission is from him, and my words are his own. I sought not this painful office. I did not run before I was sent.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v13 Jer 26:13-16. Amend your ways, and the Lord will…
Jer 26:13-16. Amend your ways, and the Lord will repent, &c. — It appears here again that God’s determination to give up Jerusalem to destruction was conditional: see note on Jer 18:7-10. If the people had repented of their sins, and reformed their conduct, their ruin would have been prevented, and they would have enjoyed a continuance of peace and prosperity. As for me, behold I am in your hand — I have neither any power, nor can make any interest to oppose you; do with me as seemeth good in your sight — I am content even to lose my life, if God be pleased to permit you to take it. But know ye for certain, &c. — Be fully assured; if you put me to death — Who, as you well know, am not guilty of any crime; ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, &c. — You may think that by killing the prophet you will defeat the accomplishment of the prophecy, but you will find yourselves wretchedly deceived: such an act will at once greatly add to your guilt, and aggravate your ruin. Their own consciences could not but tell them that if Jeremiah was (as certainly he was) sent of God to bring them this message, it was at their utmost peril if they treated him for it as a malefactor. For of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you, &c. — Such is Jeremiah’s justification of himself. He reduces all to this, that God had sent him; and his adversaries were able to make no reply. “If God hath sent me, you can have nothing to say against me.” It is upon this that he is declared innocent in the following verse, This man is not worthy to die — Which was the sentence pronounced by the princes and all the people: for the people, who before were forward to condemn him, now, upon hearing his apology, were as forward to acquit him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11–12 This man is worthy to die - literally, A…
This man is worthy to die - literally, A sentence of death is to this man, i. e., is his desert.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Lord sent me--a valid justification against any laws alleged…
Lord sent me--a valid justification against any laws alleged against him.
against . . . against--rather, "concerning." Jeremiah purposely avoids saying, "against," which would needlessly irritate. They had used the same Hebrew word (Jer 26:11), which ought to be translated "concerning," though they meant it in the unfavorable sense. Jeremiah takes up their word in a better sense, implying that there is still room for repentance: that his prophecies aim at the real good of the city; for or concerning this house . . . city [GROTIUS].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv12–13 12. The Lord sent me — How simple and…
12. The Lord sent me — How simple and how perfect this justification! The prophets, men of his own class, join with the priests in calling for Jeremiah’s condemnation; a circumstance which must have had great weight with the people. Yet his answer is sufficient. It exculpates him, and virtually condemns them; for they, so far from giving free course to the word of God, actually hindered it.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. hath prophesied against this city] Cp. Act_6:12 ff.
11. hath prophesied against this city] Cp. Act_6:12 ff.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–14 (11) This man is worthy to die.—Literally, A judgment…
(11) This man is worthy to die.—Literally, A judgment of death for this man. The phrase seems to have been in current forensic use. (See Deu_19:6; Deu_21:22.) Among the accusers we may think of Pashur, the son of Immer (Jer_20:1). Personal rancour mingles with the class feeling which animates the whole body of the priesthood. They appeal to what, in later language, would be known as the secular arm, to be the instrument of their vindictiveness against the heretic and blasphemer.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–12 This man is worthy to die; literally, a sentence…
This man is worthy to die; literally, a sentence of death (belongs) to this man.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Ver. 11. Jeremiah reckoned worthy of death.
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I WHO THEY WERE THAT PRONOUNCED THIS JUDGMENT. There is already a statement in ver. 8 that priests, prophets, and people had laid hold on Jeremiah with a threatening of death; but we must allow something for the feelings produced on the first reception of an exasperating and humiliating message. The case is worse when the priests and prophets, having had some time for consideration, however short, press upon the princes and people a demand for the death of Jeremiah. The lead the priests and prophets here take goes a long way in showing who were mostly responsible for the deplorable state of things in the land. If things were to be put right, these two classes of men must be conspicuous in repentance. Those who were so ready to sentence Jeremiah to death were really most of all deserving of death themselves. He had simply spoken words against the city and the temple, words which were not his own; those who condemned him had so lived that their life had been a sedulous undermining of all that constituted the prosperity and glory of their country.
II WHAT IT WAS THAT PROVOKED THE JUDGMENT. Jeremiah had prophesied against the city. Observe, not simply that he had spoken blasphemous and contemptuous words against the city; but that he had prophesied against it. Thus did the priests and prophets show how little they understood the nature of true prophecy. They did not understand that when the Lord sends forth a man to speak, he puts a word in his mouth which shall commend itself to all who love truth and certainty. To the mind of these priests and prophets everything began with this postulate, that nothing must be said against Jerusalem and the temple. And to them it was no sort of answer that the sins of Jerusalem deserved and demanded that something should be said against it. The good name of Jerusalem, however lacking in any sort of correspondence with reality, had become a sort of point of honor. Thus we see how the pride of men goes before their destruction. A conventional sense of honor leads them into paths thickly strewn with stumbling-blocks. These men had become so stuffed with spurious patriotism that they could not bear to have Jerusalem spoken against. Hence they are logically compelled to imply that Jeremiah is a false prophet, and that God has not spoken at all. They were as those who shut their eyes, and then say there is nothing to be seen.
III THE DOOM THEY INVOKED. The man who speaks against Jerusalem is reckoned worthy of death. We must not, of course, measure this judgment by our notions of what may require the death penalty. To speak against a parent was by the Law of Moses to incur the death penalty. As the Apostle James uses many forcible expressions to illustrate, great is the power of the tongue; and a bad man may do mischief with his tongue worthy of the severest punishment men can inflict. If Jeremiah had gone about among the people stirring them up to rebellion and national discord, there would have been nothing very astonishing in an attempt to put him to death. But he gave no exhortation to the people save what each one could carry into effect without the slightest injury to any one; nay, rather the obedience of each would be to the real and abiding advantage of all. He spoke not of anything he himself intended to bring about, but of what was going to happen altogether irrespective of him. His death, supposing he were slain, would make no difference; nay, it would only help to proclaim his message louder and more abidingly. Those who feel themselves attacked by the truth, strike out recklessly with the first instrument they can get hold of; but though they may seem thus to destroy God"s agencies, it is found in the end that they are efficiently promoting his work. They that were scattered abroad by the great persecution which arose at the time of Stephen s death, "went everywhere preaching the Word. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 this man
this man
(See Scofield "Jer 38:4").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v12 Jeremiah’s Defense and Deliverance
Jeremiah’s Defense and Deliverance
v. 12. Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city, rather, "to" or "concerning this house and this city"; for Jeremiah purposely avoided any expression which might cause irritation, all the words that ye have heard. He was not giving his own personal opinion or voicing any spite which he might have felt, but he had only done his duty.
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v. 13. Therefore, now amend your ways and your doings, this appeal showing his disinterested motives, his desire to help his people in this emergency, and obey the voice of the Lord, your God; and the Lord will repent Him of the evil that He has pronounced against you. It was the one condition under which he could promise salvation.
v. 14. As for me, behold, I am in your hand, he was resigned to his fate at their hands; do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you; he bowed in humility and submission to the constituted authority.
v. 16. But know ye for certain that, if ye put me to death, in the hope of thereby getting rid of an unpleasant exhorter and escaping his warnings, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and upon the inhabitants thereof, thereby increasing their guilt and incurring heavier penalties; for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears, Jeremiah feeling it necessary to affirm this truth a second time in order to give emphasis to his warning.
v. 16. Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets, in giving their verdict in this important matter, convinced of the truth of Jeremiah’s statements, This man is not worthy to die, he has not deserved to be executed as a blasphemer, for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord, our God. Although they had, in the beginning, clamored for his death, they had quickly been influenced in the opposite direction, after the manner of fickle mobs the world over.
v. 17. Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, either the most venerable and experienced of the princes or aged representatives of the people, who were highly respected for their wisdom, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
v. 18. Micah, the Morasthite, called so after a village in the tribe of Judah, prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be plowed like a field, after being utterly destroyed, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, a pile of ruins, and the mountain of the house, the hill Moriah, on which the Temple stood, as the high places of a forest, so that the trees of the forest would freely get a foothold there. Cf Mic 3:12. It was thus a historical fact that Jeremiah was not the first prophet or the only one who had prophesied against Jerusalem and the Temple.
v. 19. Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah put him at all to death? Did they attempt to escape his unpleasant message by putting him to death? Did he not, instead of venting a possible personal spite in such a manner, fear the Lord and besought the Lord, begging Him to show mercy upon His people, and the Lord repented Him of the evil which He had pronounced against them? Thus, namely by killing Jeremiah as had been suggested, might we procure great evil against our souls, they might bring upon themselves the swift judgment of God. Moreover, the elders have still another historical example to urge in this case.
v. 20. And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah, the son of Shemaiah, of Kirjath-jearim, a prophet otherwise unknown, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah, that is, in the same manner, his message having the same content,
v. 21. and when Jehoiakim, the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, the most powerful men of the nation, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, being informed of the king’s intention, he was afraid and fled and went into Egypt, where he hoped to find security;
v. 22. and Jehoiakim, the king, who had been placed on the throne by Pharaoh of Egypt, 2Ki 23:34, sent men into Egypt, namely, Einathan, the son of Ach-bor, and certain men with him into Egypt.
v. 23. And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, whose people readily delivered him to their allies, and brought him unto Jehoiakim, the king, who slew him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people, in the Valley of the Kidron, instead of giving it the honorable burial of a prophet of the Lord.
v. 24. Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, the worthy son of a noble father, 2Ki 22:12-14, and the father of Gedaliah, who followed in his steps, 2Ki 25:22, was with Jeremiah, he brought all his influence to bear in his favor, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death, for this course was sometimes followed by rulers in order to remove the stigma of a judicial murder from themselves. Note: Urijah was faithful in delivering his message, but erred in this, that he forsook his post when danger threatened; so God permitted him to lose his life, while that of Jeremiah was spared. God’s ministers must firmly believe that He can and will protect them in every emergency, according to His will.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v13 your ways ... your practices
your ways ... your practices
These two phrases mean almost the same thing. AT: "the things you do" (See: Doublet)
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listen to the voice of Yahweh
The voice is a synecdoche for the person, and the same word can be translated "listen" or "obey." AT: "obey Yahweh" (See: Synecdoche)
Do to me what is good and right in your eyes
The words "good" and "right" mean the same thing. The eye is a metonym for the person's thoughts. AT: "Do to me whatever you think is the right thing to do" (See: Doublet and Idiom)
you are bringing innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and its inhabitants
Blood is a metonym for violent death, and to bring blood on someone is to make them guilty of violent death. AT: "you are making yourselves and this city and its inhabitants guilty of the violent death of an innocent person" (See: Metonymy)
this city and its inhabitants
These are two ways of speaking of the same people, perhaps first as a group and then as individuals. The city is a metonym for the people in the city. AT: "all the people in the city and every one of the people who live here" (See: Doublet)
for your ears
The ear is a metonym for what the ear hears. AT: "for you to hear" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
voice
God
preach
hand
good
know
innocent
blood
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12, 14 26:12-13 Jeremiah argued that the Lord had sent him…
26:12-13 Jeremiah argued that the Lord had sent him to speak against the city and the Temple; he added that the impending disaster would not occur if the people of Jerusalem chose to obey the Lord.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.