¶¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,

Thus saith the LORD; Stand² in the court³ of the LORD'S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words⁴ that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish⁵ not a word:

If so⁶ be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I⁷ may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.

And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If⁸ ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which⁹ I have set before you,

To hearken to the words of my¹⁰ servants the prophets, whom¹¹ I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;

Then will I¹² make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse¹³ to all the nations of the earth.

¶¹⁴So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.

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 priests¹⁵ and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

Why¹⁶ 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 all¹⁷ the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the¹⁸ house of the LORD.

¶ When the princes¹⁹ 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 entry²⁰ of the new gate of the LORD'S house.

Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying²¹, This man is worthy to die²²; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD²³ sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

Therefore now amend²⁴ your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent²⁵ him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

As for²⁶ me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you²⁷.

But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall²⁸ surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of²⁹ a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

¶³⁰Then 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 rose³¹ up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,

Micah³² 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; Zion³³ shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem³⁵ shall become heaps, and the mountain³⁶ of the house as the high places of a forest.

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he³⁷ not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD³⁸, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus³⁹ might we procure great evil against our souls.

¶ And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim⁴⁰, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought⁴¹ to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was⁴² afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;

And Jehoiakim the king sent men⁴³ into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor⁴⁴, and certain men with him into Egypt.

And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who⁴⁵ slew him with the sword, and cast⁴⁶ his dead body into the graves of the common people⁴⁷.

Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam⁴⁸ the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that⁴⁹ they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.