1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,
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Is Ephraim my dear son? ... My bowels are troubled for him ... saith the LORD. 31:20
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,
In the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the word of God came to Jeremiah, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:
Stand in my house and say these words.
Don't leave out a single word.
3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
If the people will change their evil ways,
I will repent of the evil I planned on doing to them. [1]
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
But if they won't obey me,
6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
I'll destroy this place and Jerusalem will be a curse to all nations.
8 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.
After Jeremiah finished speaking, the people, priests, and prophets took him and said,
You're going to die.
9 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.
10 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.
Why are you prophesying in the name of God?, saying,
This house and city will be destroyed.
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.
The people, priests, and prophets said,
This man deserves to die, because he prophesied against this city.
You heard it with your own ears.
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 all the words that ye have heard.
Jeremiah said,
God told me to prophesy against this house and city.
13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
If you change your evil ways, God will repent of the evil he planned to do against you.
14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.
But go ahead and do whatever you want to me.
15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
If you kill me, though, you'll have innocent blood on your hands.
16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.
Then the princes and people said to the priests and the prophets,
This man shouldn't be killed.
He's speaking to us in God's name.
17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
18 Micah the Morasthite 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, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
And one of the elders said,
Micah prophesied when Hezekiah was king of Judah, [2] and said,
God says Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed.
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
Did Hezekiah and the people of Judah kill Micah for his prophecy?
Or did they fear and seek God, causing him to repent of the evil he had planned to do?
20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.
21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;
When King Jehoiakim heard Urijah's prophesy, he tried to kill him.
But Urijah escaped to Egypt.
22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.
Jehoiakim sent men to fetch Urijah.
23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, 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.
They found him and brought him back to Jerusalem.
Then they killed him.
24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
Jeremiah, however, wasn't killed,
having been saved by Ahikam. [3]
The LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. (v.13)
The LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them (v.19)
See Micah 3:12.
See 2 Kings 22:12-14