1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,
2 Thus hath the Lord said: 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 commanded thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:
3 peradventure they will hearken and turn each man from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the Lord said: 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 slaves the prophets, whom I send unto you, rising up early and sending them, unto whom ye have not hearkened,
6 then I will make this house like Shiloh and will give this city as a curse to all the Gentiles of the earth.
7 And the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.
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.
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.
11 Then the priests and the prophets spoke unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he has prophesied against this city as ye have heard with your ears.
12 Then Jeremiah spoke 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.
13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings and hear the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord himself will repent of the evil that he has pronounced against you.
14 As for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as seems good and meet unto you.
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 its inhabitants; for of a truth the Lord has sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
16 Then the princes and all the people said unto the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.
17 Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the congregation of the people, saying,
18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus hath the Lord of the hosts said; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the temple mount as the high places of a forest.
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 himself repented of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Shall we commit such great evil against our souls?
20 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 Jehoiakim the king heard his words and all his mighty men and all the princes, and the king sought to put him to death, but when Urijah understood it, he was afraid and fled and went into Egypt.
22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him into Egypt;
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.
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.