Jeremiah 26:11 kjv
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.
Jeremiah 26:11 nkjv
And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, "This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears."
Jeremiah 26:11 niv
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!"
Jeremiah 26:11 esv
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."
Jeremiah 26:11 nlt
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."
Jeremiah 26 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 26:8 | "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 surely die.”" | Direct statement of Jeremiah's accusation |
| Jeremiah 26:10 | "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 seats in the New Gate of the house of the Lord." | Location of the people’s gathering |
| Jeremiah 26:12 | "Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and to all the people, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard." | Jeremiah's defense of his actions |
| Jeremiah 26:13 | "Now therefore amend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will revoke the disaster that he has spoken against you." | Jeremiah's plea for repentance |
| Jeremiah 26:14 | "But as for me, behold, I am in your hand. Do with me as seems good and right to you." | Jeremiah's submission to God's will |
| Jeremiah 26:15 | "Know for certain, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”" | Warning about shedding innocent blood |
| 2 Chronicles 24:20-21 | "And the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has also forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by the command of the king, they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord." | Similar instance of prophetic condemnation and stoning |
| Acts 7:52 | "Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers," | New Testament parallel to persecution of prophets |
| Matthew 23:29-31 | "“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in the blood of the prophets.’ Yet you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets." | Jesus' condemnation of religious leaders who persecuted prophets |
| Luke 11:47-48 | "“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and it is your fathers who killed them. Thus you witness and approve of what your fathers did, for they indeed killed the prophets, and you build their tombs." | Jesus' critique of those who honored prophets while rejecting their message |
| John 5:39-40 | "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me so that you may have life." | Religious leaders' adherence to law but rejection of Christ's message |
| Isaiah 29:13-14 | "And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by all the traditions of men, therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and wondrous; the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”" | Describes those who honor God with lips but hearts are far |
| 1 Samuel 15:22 | "And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." | Emphasizes obedience over ritual |
| Deuteronomy 18:20 | "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.”" | Law concerning false prophecy |
| Jeremiah 1:17 | "But you, gird up your loins; arise, and tell them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them." | God's commissioning of Jeremiah |
| Jeremiah 7:1-7 | "The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, who enter these gates to worship the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in yourselves, to say ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord’ belong to us.’ For when you truly amend your ways and your deeds, when you truly execute justice one with another, when you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and when you do not go after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever." | Context of Jeremiah's prophecies about judgment on Jerusalem |
| Hosea 5:1-2 | "Hear this, O priests! Attend, O house of Israel! And give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is against you; because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor. And they have made their slaughter deep, but I will reprimand them all." | Judgment against priests and royalty for spiritual corruption |
| Amos 7:10 | "Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is unable to bear all his words." | Another instance of opposition to a prophet by a priest |
| 1 Kings 18:40 | "And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there." | Elijah's action against false prophets |
| Romans 10:3 | "For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to the righteousness of God." | Parallel with seeking one's own righteousness |
Jeremiah 26 verses
Jeremiah 26 11 Meaning
The priests and prophets, in league with the people, declared to the princes and all the people that Jeremiah deserved death for prophesying against Jerusalem and its temple, a verdict they considered just according to their law.
Jeremiah 26 11 Context
In Jeremiah chapter 26, Jeremiah is on trial before the princes, priests, and people of Judah in Jerusalem. He had previously prophesied that the temple and the city would be destroyed because of their persistent sinfulness, disobedience, and idolatry. This pronouncement caused a public uproar. The religious and civil authorities, feeling their authority and the sanctity of Jerusalem threatened, arrested Jeremiah and brought him to a hearing. Verse 11 records the immediate reaction and pronouncement of guilt by these authorities, who cite their law as justification for condemning the prophet. This event is set against the backdrop of Judah's spiritual decline and impending Babylonian invasion, a theme prevalent throughout Jeremiah's ministry.
Jeremiah 26 11 Word Analysis
- Then (וְאָז, wə'āz): Signifies a sequence of events, marking the immediate transition from the populace apprehending Jeremiah to the accusers voicing their judgment.
- the priests (הַכֹּהֲנִים, hakōhănîm): Refers to the established religious leaders in Jerusalem, whose authority and spiritual interpretation of God's will were challenged by Jeremiah's message. They saw his prophecy as undermining their role and the divine protection associated with the Temple.
- and the prophets (וְהַנְּבִיאִים, wəhan·nəḇî’îm): This inclusion is significant; it suggests that not all prophets agreed with Jeremiah. Some, likely conforming to popular opinion or politically expedient messages, joined the condemnation, highlighting a division within the prophetic community itself.
- laid hold of him (וַֽיַּחֲזִ֧יקוּ בוֹ, way·ḥă·zî·qū bōw): Implies a firm and forceful seizure, indicating the public's consensus to arrest and prosecute Jeremiah.
- saying (לֵאמֹר, lē’mōr): Introduces the specific declaration made by the accusers.
- Thou shalt surely die (מ֛וֹת תָּמֽוּת, mô·wṯ ·tā·mūṯ): A strong Hebrew idiomatic expression using the infinitive construct and the finite verb for emphasis. It conveys an absolute and certain sentence of death.
- Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָ֫הוּ, yîr·mî·yā·hū): The prophet whose life and message are the subject of this confrontation.
- had finished speaking (כְּכַלּוֹת, kə·ḵal·lō·wṯ): Emphasizes that Jeremiah had delivered God's entire message, making the subsequent accusations a direct response to his prophetic utterance.
- all that the Lord had commanded him (אֵת־כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה אֹת֣וֹ לֵמֹ֣ר, ’ēṯ-kāl-had·də·ḇā·rîm hā’ē·leh ’ă·šer-ṣi·wāh ·YHWH ’ō·ṯōw lē·mōr): This entire phrase highlights the divine authority behind Jeremiah's words, portraying him as an obedient messenger of God, rather than someone acting on his own initiative or malevolence.
- according to their law (כַּמִּשְׁפָּט, kam·miš·pāṭ): This is a critical phrase. It asserts that their judgment was based on what they perceived as their legal framework, specifically referring to the Mosaic Law which indeed prescribed death for certain offenses, including false prophecy (Deuteronomy 18:20). However, their application of it was misapplied in their opposition to a true prophet.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- “Thou shalt surely die, O ye people.” (From the perspective of those judging Jeremiah, implying the people deserved this fate because they listened to him): This entire statement, spoken by the priests and prophets against Jeremiah, encapsulates their self-righteous conviction. They are framing their accusation as a legal necessity, aligning their harsh verdict with divine justice as they understood it, though they are misinterpreting God's mandate and their own law in their fear and opposition to a difficult truth.
Jeremiah 26 11 Bonus Section
This verse exemplifies the severe opposition a true prophet often faces, not just from the ungodly, but also from corrupt religious establishments. The fact that "the priests and the prophets" initiated the charge, rather than just the secular rulers, is particularly damning. It suggests a spiritual leadership that had compromised its divine calling, aligning with the popular will and against God's word. This historical event serves as a poignant reminder in Christian theology of the persecution faced by Christ and the Apostles, who also encountered similar accusations of blasphemy and sedition from the religious elite of their day. The verse highlights the ongoing spiritual warfare between those who faithfully convey God's word and those who seek to suppress it for their own gain or comfort.
Jeremiah 26 11 Commentary
The leaders of Judah, including priests and prophets who should have upheld divine truth, conspired against Jeremiah. They accused him of deserving death, claiming it was in accordance with their law. This shows their hardened hearts and selective adherence to the Law. Deuteronomy 18:20 outlines that a prophet speaking presumptuously or in the name of other gods should die. However, Jeremiah was speaking God's word faithfully. Their judgment was not based on righteous discernment but on self-preservation and opposition to God’s uncomfortable message. They valued tradition and their status over obedience and truth. The phrase "according to their law" ironically underscores their perversion of justice; they applied the law to silence God's messenger rather than to reform their own wicked ways. This reflects a broader pattern of religious hypocrisy where external religious forms mask internal rebellion against God, as critiqued by Jesus and other prophets.