Jeremiah 26:8 kjv
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.
Jeremiah 26:8 nkjv
Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "You will surely die!
Jeremiah 26:8 niv
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!
Jeremiah 26:8 esv
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!
Jeremiah 26:8 nlt
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.
Jeremiah 26 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Persecution of Prophets | ||
| 1 Kgs 19:10 | "...the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant..." | Elijah facing opposition for upholding God's truth. |
| 1 Kgs 22:26-27 | "Put this fellow in prison and feed him with a meager diet..." | Micaiah imprisoned for delivering true prophecy. |
| Neh 9:26 | "...killed your prophets who warned them..." | Israel's historical pattern of harming prophets. |
| Lk 6:23 | "for so their fathers did to the prophets." | Jesus speaks of historical persecution of prophets. |
| Mt 5:11-12 | "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you..." | Persecution is expected for those who speak God's truth. |
| Mt 23:34-37 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets..." | Jesus laments Jerusalem's rejection and killing of prophets. |
| Acts 7:51-52 | "...Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" | Stephen highlights the historical pattern of rejecting God's messengers. |
| Heb 11:36-38 | "They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted..." | Biblical heroes, including prophets, suffered greatly. |
| Jas 5:10 | "As an example of suffering and patience, take the prophets..." | Prophets as models of endurance under affliction. |
| Rejection of God's Word / Truth | ||
| Jer 7:4 | "Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD...’" | Jeremiah's core message countering false security. |
| Jer 20:2 | "...Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet..." | Jeremiah physically abused for his message. |
| Jer 36:23 | "...King Jehoiakim... cut it with a scribe's knife and threw it..." | King Jehoiakim's outright rejection and destruction of God's word. |
| Zech 7:11-12 | "But they refused to pay attention... making their hearts as hard as flint." | Stubborn refusal to hear God's instructions. |
| John 3:19-20 | "...men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." | People prefer falsehood over truth when their deeds are exposed. |
| Divine Command & Prophetic Obedience | ||
| Jer 1:7-8 | "...to whomever I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command..." | Jeremiah's commission to speak fearlessly for God. |
| Jer 26:2 | "Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak to all the cities..." | The specific command God gave Jeremiah for this very sermon. |
| Ezek 2:7 | "And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse..." | Prophet's duty to speak regardless of audience reception. |
| Acts 5:29 | "We must obey God rather than men." | Peter's principle, reflecting prophetic courage in obedience. |
| Consequences for Rejecting Messengers | ||
| Dt 18:20 | "But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded..." | The legal basis for prosecuting false prophets. |
| Jer 26:11 | "This man deserves the sentence of death..." | The exact judgment rendered by Jeremiah's accusers. |
| 2 Chron 36:15-16 | "...scoffed at His messengers... until the wrath of the LORD rose..." | Rejection of God's messengers brings divine wrath. |
Jeremiah 26 verses
Jeremiah 26 8 Meaning
Jeremiah 26:8 vividly portrays the immediate and aggressive response to Jeremiah's prophetic message. After he had faithfully delivered the entirety of God's commanded words, which included stark warnings of destruction for Judah and Jerusalem, the powerful religious leaders—the priests and other prophets—together with "all the people," violently apprehended him. Their immediate intent was a death sentence, accusing him of a capital offense, likely for what they considered blasphemy or sedition against the revered Temple and the nation.
Jeremiah 26 8 Context
Jeremiah 26 is situated in the volatile early reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah (around 609-608 BC). Jeremiah had just delivered his renowned "Temple Sermon," an amplified message found also in Jeremiah 7. Standing in the courtyard of the LORD's house, Jeremiah prophesied that if the people did not truly repent and amend their ways, the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, much like the former sanctuary at Shiloh had been. This dire warning directly challenged a widespread, misguided belief among the people that the physical presence of the Temple guaranteed God's unconditional protection, making Jerusalem impregnable regardless of their widespread idolatry, injustice, and moral decay. The immediate, violent seizure of Jeremiah by the priests, false prophets, and the people, as described in verse 8, underscores their entrenched denial of truth and highlights the dangerous collision between a faithful prophet of God and a complacent, corrupted religious and national establishment.
Jeremiah 26 8 Word analysis
- Now when Jeremiah: This introduces the consequence following Jeremiah's faithful completion of his divinely given task.
- had finished speaking: From the Hebrew kālāh, signifying completion, full accomplishment, or having left nothing unsaid. Jeremiah fully discharged his duty, holding nothing back.
- all that the LORD had commanded him to speak: Emphasizes Jeremiah's perfect obedience and the divine authority of his controversial message. He spoke God's words, not his own opinions. His prophetic ministry was defined by direct divine instruction.
- to all the people: Indicates the public nature of the message and the confrontation. His words were not privately delivered but openly proclaimed before a broad audience assembled at the Temple.
- then the priests and the prophets: Refers to the official religious leaders who should have been leading in righteousness but were deeply complicit in the nation's spiritual corruption. "Prophets" here likely refers to false prophets, who opposed true divine messages and prophesied only pleasant things. Their collective action against Jeremiah signifies an institutional rejection of God's genuine word.
- and all the people: Shows that the populace was also implicated, either by actively participating in or implicitly condoning the violent seizure of Jeremiah. This suggests widespread spiritual blindness and a rejection of genuine repentance, possibly swayed by the religious authorities.
- laid hold of him: Hebrew tāfesū, meaning to grasp, seize, apprehend, or lay hold of, implying a forceful and hostile act. It describes an arrest with a clear intent to overpower and control.
- saying, “You shall surely die!”: Hebrew môth tāmûth, a highly emphatic legal formula for pronouncing a death sentence or certain capital punishment. This phrase unequivocally declares their immediate, determined intention to execute him, on charges that likely included blasphemy against God or sedition against the state/Temple, because his message threatened their established religious and social order.
Jeremiah 26 8 Bonus section
The charges leveled against Jeremiah by his captors in Jeremiah 26, specifically the call for him to "surely die," implicitly relate to Old Testament laws concerning false prophecy (Dt 18:20-22) or speaking presumptuously in God's name, or even sedition if his prophecy was construed as undermining the Temple's authority or inciting unrest. However, the true motive was not theological accuracy but preserving their power, comfort, and the false peace preached by the very leaders who now seized him. This episode functions as an extensive "persecution account," a recurrent feature in the Book of Jeremiah, meticulously detailing the various forms of opposition the prophet endured throughout his ministry. The inclusion of "all the people" alongside the priests and prophets demonstrates the pervasive spiritual malaise within Judah, illustrating that even ordinary citizens were complicit in the rejection of God's call to repentance. This confrontation ultimately highlights the crucial distinction between religious appearance and genuine obedience to God's covenant.
Jeremiah 26 8 Commentary
Jeremiah 26:8 serves as a stark illustration of the perilous nature of true prophecy when confronted by unrepentant sin and religious hypocrisy. Jeremiah's perfect faithfulness in delivering every word God commanded, however uncomfortable or unpopular, immediately triggered a violent reaction. The convergence of priests, false prophets, and the general populace to physically seize him, issuing a summary declaration of death, reveals a collective and ingrained resistance to divine truth. This passionate demand for his death underscores the severity of their spiritual hardening; rather than internalizing the call to repentance, they sought to silence the messenger who exposed their sin and challenged their false security in external religious observances. This pivotal moment not only highlights Jeremiah's suffering for obedience but also prophetically anticipates the persecution faced by countless faithful messengers, including Christ Himself, who challenged entrenched religious error and called people to genuine righteousness.