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Jeremiah 26

ירמיהו פרק כ״ו

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 26 of 52 | Day: 239 of 742

Date: October 8, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 26 opens a new stretch of Sefer Yirmiyahu, and it does so by stepping backwards in time. The superscription places it at the beginning of the reign of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu (בראשית ממלכות יהויקים), and Rashi notes laconically that this lower chapter preceded the one above it by four years: chapter 25 is dated to the fourth year of Yehoyakim, while this episode belongs to his accession. The editors of the book have therefore once again arranged the material by theme rather than chronology. Having just heard the great oracle of the seventy years and the cup of wrath passed to the nations, the reader is now taken back to the moment when the prophet’s message was first put on trial in public, and asked to see how the people of Jerusalem actually received it. Most readers will recognize the content of the sermon at once. It is a compressed version of the Temple address of chapter 7, where Yirmiyahu stood in the gate of the house of the LORD and warned against trusting in the words of falsehood, the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD. There the emphasis falls on the sermon itself; here the sermon is reduced to a few verses and the emphasis falls on its consequences. Chapter 26 is, in effect, the narrative sequel to chapter 7 — what happened when the prophet finished speaking.

The commission itself is notable for two phrases. Yirmiyahu is told to stand in the court of the house of the LORD and to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there, and he is warned: do not hold back a word (אל תגרע דבר). Metzudat David explains that he must not diminish even one word of everything he has been commanded, and the instruction anticipates the pressure that is about to fall on him. The second phrase is the most hopeful in the chapter: perhaps they will listen and return each man from his evil way (אולי ישמעו וישבו), and I will relent of the evil that I plan to do to them. The prophecy of destruction is conditional from its first moment. The threat that follows — I will make this house like Shiloh (ונתתי את הבית הזה כשלה), and this city a curse for all the nations of the earth — is not a fixed decree but a warning meant to be averted. Radak and Metzudat David both recall what Shiloh meant: the sanctuary of the days of Eli, destroyed when the Pelishtim captured the ark in battle. The comparison is devastating precisely because Shiloh had also been the chosen place where God’s name dwelt, and it had not been spared. The presence of the sanctuary is no insurance policy against the consequences of betrayal.

The trial scene that follows is one of the most vividly drawn public episodes in all of prophetic literature. As soon as Yirmiyahu finishes, the priests, the prophets and all the people seize him and cry: you shall surely die (מות תמות). Metzudat David identifies the priests and prophets as priests of the Baal and false prophets, the professional religious establishment whose authority depended on the inviolability of the Temple and the city. Their charge is precise: why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD that this house will be like Shiloh? Behind it lies the law of Devarim 18, that a prophet who speaks presumptuously in God’s name is liable to death; Metzudat David explains that they suspected he had spoken from his own heart. The officials of Judah (שרי יהודה) then come up from the king’s palace and sit at the entrance of the New Gate of the house of the LORD. Radak records the rabbinic tradition that the gate was called new because there the scribes renewed the halakhah, and Rashi preserves a tradition that it was the eastern gate later repaired by Tzidkiyahu. Either way, the scene becomes a formal court in the gate, with accusers, a defendant, judges, and a watching crowd.

Yirmiyahu’s defense is remarkable for its simplicity and its courage. He makes no attempt to soften his message. The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words you have heard; therefore improve your ways and your deeds, and the LORD will relent. And then, turning from argument to exposure: as for me, behold I am in your hands; do with me as seems good and right in your eyes. Only know for certain that if you kill me, you bring innocent blood (דם נקי) upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent me. The prophet stakes his life on the authenticity of his calling and refuses to bargain. It works, at least for a moment. The officials and all the people — the same people who a few verses earlier had joined the cry for his death — now declare that this man does not deserve death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God. Metzudat David marks the reversal explicitly: at first their hand was with the priests and prophets, but on hearing Yirmiyahu’s words they changed their minds. The crowd in this chapter is fickle, and its fickleness is part of the point.

At this stage elders of the land rise to cite precedent, and in doing so they produce something unique in Tanakh: one prophet’s words are quoted verbatim by name in the book of another. Michah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Chizkiyahu that Zion would be plowed as a field, Jerusalem would become heaps (עיים), and the Temple Mount high places of the forest — words preserved in Michah 3:12. Did Chizkiyahu put him to death? Did he not rather fear the LORD and entreat Him, so that the LORD relented of the evil? Radak connects this to the account in Divrei HaYamim of Chizkiyahu humbling himself for the pride of his heart, and Rashi explains that the elders’ conclusion — we are doing great evil against ourselves — means: if we kill him. The argument is a profound piece of theology. A prophecy of doom that is heeded does not come true, and its failure to come true is not evidence of falsehood but evidence of success. Chazal would later draw the opposite corollary in the famous story of Rabbi Akiva laughing at the fox on the Temple Mount (Makkot 24b): once Michah’s prophecy of Zion plowed had been fulfilled, the consolations of Zechariah were certain to be fulfilled as well.

The chapter does not end on that hopeful note. It adds the story of Uriyahu son of Shemayahu of Kiryat HaYearim, who prophesied exactly as Yirmiyahu did, fled to Egypt when Yehoyakim sought his life, and was extradited by Elnatan son of Achbor, struck down by the sword, and his body flung into the graves of the common people. The commentators disagree about who is speaking. Rashi, following the Sifrei, reads it as a rejoinder by the wicked in the crowd: just as Uriyahu was killed, so let Yirmiyahu be killed. Radak and Metzudat David likewise read it as the reply of the priests and prophets to the elders — what kind of proof is Chizkiyahu, when Yehoyakim himself killed a prophet of the same message this very year? Many readers also hear it as the narrator’s somber aside, showing how narrow Yirmiyahu’s escape really was. On any reading, two precedents stand side by side: the righteous king who trembled and repented, and the present king who hunts prophets across borders. The contrast between Chizkiyahu and Yehoyakim is the contrast between a generation that could still be saved and one that was hurrying toward Shiloh’s fate.

The final verse names the man who actually saved Yirmiyahu: the hand of Achikam son of Shafan was with him, so that he was not handed over to the people to be killed. Metzudat David explains that once the priests and prophets had spoken, the officials fell silent and the people swung back again, and only Achikam’s strength prevailed over them all. The house of Shafan — the scribe who read the newly found scroll of the Torah before Yoshiyahu, whose son Achikam was among the delegation to Chuldah, and whose grandson Gedalyahu would one day be appointed over the remnant — stands throughout the book as the quiet protector of the prophet. The chapter thus closes not with a verdict of principle but with a single faithful individual, a reminder that in a society where courts and crowds can be swayed in an hour, the survival of the prophetic word may depend on one person’s willingness to extend a hand.

פרק כ״ו · Chapter 26

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

בְּרֵאשִׁ֗ית מַמְלְכ֛וּת יְהוֹיָקִ֥ים בֶּן־יֹאשִׁיָּ֖הוּ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה הָיָה֙ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה מֵאֵ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

At the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came from GOD:

The chapter is dated to the very beginning of Yehoyakim's reign, the moment the son of the righteous Yoshiyahu took the throne. Rashi notes that this lower chapter actually preceded the one above it by four years, since chapter 25 is dated to Yehoyakim's fourth year -- a clear signal that the book arranges its material thematically rather than chronologically, and that this trial belongs at the start of the prophet's conflict with the new king.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
בראשית ממלכות. פרשה זו תחתונה קדמה לעליונ' ארבע שנים:
In the beginning of the reign This chapter below preceded the above chapter by four years.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה עֲמֹד֮ בַּחֲצַ֣ר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה֒ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֞ עַל־כׇּל־עָרֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֗ה הַבָּאִים֙ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֣ת בֵּית־יְהֹוָ֔ה אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוִּיתִ֖יךָ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם אַל־תִּגְרַ֖ע דָּבָֽר׃

English:

“Thus said GOD: Stand in the court of the House of GOD, and speak to [the inhabitants of] all the towns of Judah, who are coming to worship in the House of GOD, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not omit anything.

Yirmiyahu is sent to stand in the Temple court and address the pilgrims from all the cities of Judah who come to bow down there, at the very site whose inviolability they trust. Metzudat David explains the closing warning, do not hold back a word (אל תגרע דבר), as a command not to diminish even one of the words he has been given -- a charge that anticipates the fierce pressure about to fall on him.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

אוּלַ֣י יִשְׁמְע֔וּ וְיָשֻׁ֕בוּ אִ֖ישׁ מִדַּרְכּ֣וֹ הָרָעָ֑ה וְנִחַמְתִּ֣י אֶל־הָרָעָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֤י חֹשֵׁב֙ לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת לָהֶ֔ם מִפְּנֵ֖י רֹ֥עַ מַעַלְלֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from their own evil way, that I may renounce the punishment I am planning to bring upon them for their wicked acts.

The purpose of the sermon is repentance, not merely condemnation: perhaps they will listen and each man return from his evil way, and then God will relent of the evil He plans. Metzudat David glosses 'perhaps they will listen' as perhaps they will accept the words, and 'I will relent' as then I will reconsider the evil. The whole threat that follows is conditional from the outset, which becomes the crux of the trial later in the chapter.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה אִם־לֹ֤א תִשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֵלַ֔י לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ בְּת֣וֹרָתִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לִפְנֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

“Say to them: Thus said GOD: If you do not obey Me, abiding by the Teaching that I have set before you,

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

לִשְׁמֹ֗עַ עַל־דִּבְרֵי֙ עֲבָדַ֣י הַנְּבִאִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י שֹׁלֵ֣חַ אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְהַשְׁכֵּ֥ם וְשָׁלֹ֖חַ וְלֹ֥א שְׁמַעְתֶּֽם׃

English:

heeding the words of My servants the prophets whom I have been sending to you persistently—but you have not heeded—

Verses 4-5 form a single condition: if you will not listen to Me, to walk in My Torah and to heed My servants the prophets, whom I send early and often. Metzudat David connects this verse to the preceding one and reads the implication as 'if you continue to act as you have until now.' Radak notes the grammar: 'al divrei' here functions as 'el divrei,' to the words, citing the parallel of Elkanah going 'al beito,' to his house.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וְנָתַתִּ֛י אֶת־הַבַּ֥יִת הַזֶּ֖ה כְּשִׁלֹ֑ה וְאֶת־הָעִ֤יר (הזאתה) [הַזֹּאת֙] אֶתֵּ֣ן לִקְלָלָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֥ הָאָֽרֶץ׃ {פ}

English:

then I will make this House like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of earth.”

The consequence: this house will become like Shiloh, and this city a curse for all the nations. Radak recalls that the Mishkan at Shiloh was destroyed when the Pelishtim captured the ark in battle, and Metzudat David adds that the city will become a byword, so that people curse one another with 'may you be like Jerusalem.' The comparison is devastating because Shiloh too had been God's chosen dwelling, and its sanctity did not protect it.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֛וּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֥ים וְהַנְּבִאִ֖ים וְכׇל־הָעָ֑ם אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ מְדַבֵּ֛ר אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה בְּבֵ֥ית יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

The priests and prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the House of GOD.

The audience is named: the priests, the prophets and all the people heard Yirmiyahu speaking in the house of the LORD. Metzudat David identifies the priests as priests of the Baal and the prophets as false prophets -- the religious establishment whose authority rested on the claim that the Temple and the city could never fall, and who therefore heard the sermon as a direct attack on them.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כְּכַלּ֣וֹת יִרְמְיָ֗הוּ לְדַבֵּר֙ אֵ֣ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֣ה יְהֹוָ֔ה לְדַבֵּ֖ר אֶל־כׇּל־הָעָ֑ם וַיִּתְפְּשׂ֨וּ אֹת֜וֹ הַכֹּהֲנִ֧ים וְהַנְּבִיאִ֛ים וְכׇל־הָעָ֥ם לֵאמֹ֖ר מ֥וֹת תָּמֽוּת׃

English:

And when Jeremiah finished speaking all that GOD had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You shall die!

The moment Yirmiyahu finishes, the priests, the prophets and all the people seize him and cry, you shall surely die (מות תמות). Metzudat David explains that they took hold of him forcibly and declared their intent to kill him. The phrasing is legal as well as violent, invoking the death penalty for a false prophet, and it shows how completely the crowd has been swept up by its religious leaders.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

מַדּ֩וּעַ֩ נִבֵּ֨יתָ בְשֵׁם־יְהֹוָ֜ה לֵאמֹ֗ר כְּשִׁלוֹ֙ יִֽהְיֶה֙ הַבַּ֣יִת הַזֶּ֔ה וְהָעִ֥יר הַזֹּ֛את תֶּחֱרַ֖ב מֵאֵ֣ין יוֹשֵׁ֑ב וַיִּקָּהֵ֧ל כׇּל־הָעָ֛ם אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ בְּבֵ֥ית יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

How dare you prophesy in the name of GOD that this House shall become like Shiloh and this city be made desolate, without inhabitants?” And all the people crowded about Jeremiah in the House of GOD.

The charge is formulated: why have you prophesied in God's name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city desolate? The accusers treat the content itself as proof of falsehood, since in their view God could never say such a thing. Metzudat David notes that the people gathered toward the spot where Yirmiyahu stood, and Radak comments on the unusual spellings of 'nibbeita' without an alef and 'Shilo' with a vav.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֣וּ ׀ שָׂרֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֗ה אֵ֚ת הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וַיַּעֲל֥וּ מִבֵּית־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיֵּ֥שְׁב֛וּ בְּפֶ֥תַח שַֽׁעַר־יְהֹוָ֖ה הֶחָדָֽשׁ׃ {ס}         

English:

When the officials of Judah heard about this, they went up from the king’s palace to the House of GOD and held a session at the entrance of the New Gate of the House of GOD.

The officials of Judah hear the commotion and come up from the palace to sit at the entrance of the New Gate, turning the scene into a formal court. Rashi records a tradition that this eastern gate was later repaired by Tzidkiyahu and hence called new; Radak cites Chazal that it was called new because there the scribes renewed the halakhah, and Metzudat David suggests it may be the upper gate built by Yotam.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וישמעו שרי יהודה. שתפשו נביאי השקר והכהנים את ירמיהו: בפתח שער ה' החדש. אחרים הגיהו כשגלה יהויכין וקצת כל בית אלהינו עמו שברו חילו של נבוכדנצר שער המזרחי וחזר צדקיהו ותקנו וחדשו לכך נקרא חדש:
And the princes of Judah heard that the false prophets and the priests had seized Jeremiah. at the entrance of the new gate of the Lord Others annotated: When Jehoiachin went in exile and some of the vessels of the house of our God went with him, Nebuchadnezzar's army breached the eastern gate, and Zedekiah subsequently repaired it and renewed it. It is therefore called 'new.'

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֤ים וְהַנְּבִאִים֙ אֶל־הַשָּׂרִ֔ים וְאֶל־כׇּל־הָעָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר מִשְׁפַּט־מָ֙וֶת֙ לָאִ֣ישׁ הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֤י נִבָּא֙ אֶל־הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר שְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ם בְּאׇזְנֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

The priests and prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the death penalty, for he has prophesied against this city, as you yourselves have heard.”

The priests and prophets present their case to the officials and the people: this man deserves the death penalty (משפט מות), for he prophesied against this city as you heard with your own ears. Metzudat David explains that they suspected him of speaking from his own heart, and notes that the people heard directly from Yirmiyahu while the officials heard from those who reported it.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙ אֶל־כׇּל־הַשָּׂרִ֔ים וְאֶל־כׇּל־הָעָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר יְהֹוָ֣ה שְׁלָחַ֗נִי לְהִנָּבֵ֞א אֶל־הַבַּ֤יִת הַזֶּה֙ וְאֶל־הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר שְׁמַעְתֶּֽם׃

English:

Jeremiah said to the officials and to all the people, “It was GOD who sent me to prophesy against this House and this city all the words you heard.

Yirmiyahu's defense begins with a single claim on which everything rests: the LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you heard. Metzudat David captures the point -- and not from my own heart did I speak these words. He does not retract or soften the message; he answers the charge of false prophecy by insisting on the reality of his commission.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֗ה הֵיטִ֤יבוּ דַרְכֵיכֶם֙ וּמַ֣עַלְלֵיכֶ֔ם וְשִׁמְע֕וּ בְּק֖וֹל יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם וְיִנָּחֵ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבֶּ֖ר עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

Therefore mend your ways and your acts, and heed the ETERNAL your God, that GOD may renounce the punishment that has been decreed for you.

Rather than pleading for himself, the prophet repeats the call to repentance: improve your ways and deeds and heed the LORD, and He will relent of the evil He spoke against you. Metzudat David reads the logic as a consequence of the previous verse: since the words come from God, mend your ways, and then God will relent. The defendant turns his own trial into another sermon.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַאֲנִ֖י הִנְנִ֣י בְיֶדְכֶ֑ם עֲשׂוּ־לִ֛י כַּטּ֥וֹב וְכַיָּשָׁ֖ר בְּעֵינֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

As for me, I am in your hands: do to me what seems good and right to you.

As for me, behold I am in your hands; do with me as seems good and right to you. Metzudat David glosses it simply: as it appears to you. The verse is a striking act of surrender without submission -- Yirmiyahu makes no attempt to flee or bargain, placing his fate entirely in the court's hands while refusing to change a single word of what he said.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

אַ֣ךְ ׀ יָדֹ֣עַ תֵּדְע֗וּ כִּ֣י אִם־מְמִתִ֣ים אַתֶּם֮ אֹתִי֒ כִּי־דָ֣ם נָקִ֗י אַתֶּם֙ נֹתְנִ֣ים עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם וְאֶל־הָעִ֥יר הַזֹּ֖את וְאֶל־יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ כִּ֣י בֶאֱמֶ֗ת שְׁלָחַ֤נִי יְהֹוָה֙ עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם לְדַבֵּר֙ בְּאׇזְנֵיכֶ֔ם אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃ {ס}         

English:

But know that if you put me to death, you and this city and its inhabitants will be guilty of shedding an innocent’s blood. For in truth GOD has sent me to you, to speak all these words to you.”

The prophet's closing warning: know that if you kill me, you bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent me. Metzudat David explains 'innocent blood' as the sin of shedding innocent blood. Yirmiyahu transforms the question from his guilt to theirs: executing a true prophet would itself become one more sin sealing the city's fate.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ הַשָּׂרִים֙ וְכׇל־הָעָ֔ם אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים וְאֶל־הַנְּבִיאִ֑ים אֵין־לָאִ֤ישׁ הַזֶּה֙ מִשְׁפַּט־מָ֔וֶת כִּ֗י בְּשֵׁ֛ם יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ דִּבֶּ֥ר אֵלֵֽינוּ׃

English:

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and prophets, “This man does not deserve the death penalty, for he spoke to us in the name of the ETERNAL our God.”

The verdict reverses: the officials and all the people tell the priests and prophets that this man does not deserve death, for he spoke in the name of the LORD our God. Metzudat David notes that the people had at first sided with the priests and prophets, but on hearing Yirmiyahu speak as God's messenger they changed their minds -- a vivid picture of how quickly a crowd can swing.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וַיָּקֻ֣מוּ אֲנָשִׁ֔ים מִזִּקְנֵ֖י הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֶֽל־כׇּל־קְהַ֥ל הָעָ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

And some of the elders of the land arose and said to the entire assemblage of the people,

Men from among the elders of the land rise to address the assembly. Metzudat David explains that they came to bring a proof exempting Yirmiyahu from death, and Radak describes them as righteous men who recounted the precedent from the days of Chizkiyahu, when Michah prophesied that Zion would be plowed as a field -- a prophecy still preserved in the book of Michah.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

(מיכיה) [מִיכָה֙] הַמּ֣וֹרַשְׁתִּ֔י הָיָ֣ה נִבָּ֔א בִּימֵ֖י חִזְקִיָּ֣הוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֶל־כׇּל־עַם֩ יְהוּדָ֨ה לֵאמֹ֜ר כֹּה־אָמַ֣ר ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֗וֹת צִיּ֞וֹן שָׂדֶ֤ה תֵחָרֵשׁ֙ וִירוּשָׁלַ֙יִם֙ עִיִּ֣ים תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה וְהַ֥ר הַבַּ֖יִת לְבָמ֥וֹת יָֽעַר׃

English:

“Micah the Morashtite, who prophesied in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus said GOD of Hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins And the Temple Mount a shrine in the woods.’

The elders quote Michah 3:12 verbatim, the only place in Tanakh where one prophet's words are cited by name in another's book: Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become heaps, and the Temple Mount high places of the forest. Rashi explains that Michah was from Mareshah and that 'iyyim' means heaps; Metzudat David pictures heaps of fallen walls and stones like mounds in a forest.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
מיכה המורשתי. דמן מרישה: עיים. גלים:
Micah the Morashtite Who was from Maresha. heaps עִיִּים, heaps.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

הֶהָמֵ֣ת הֱ֠מִתֻ֠הוּ חִזְקִיָּ֨הוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֜ה וְכׇל־יְהוּדָ֗ה הֲלֹא֮ יָרֵ֣א אֶת־יְהֹוָה֒ וַיְחַל֙ אֶת־פְּנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־הָרָעָ֖ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֣ר עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּ עֹשִׂ֛ים רָעָ֥ה גְדוֹלָ֖ה עַל־נַפְשׁוֹתֵֽינוּ׃

English:

Did King Hezekiah of Judah, and all Judah, put him to death? Did he not rather fear GOD and implore GOD, so that GOD renounced the punishment He had decreed against them? We are about to do great injury to ourselves!”

The argument from precedent: did Chizkiyahu and all Judah put Michah to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat Him, so that God relented? Rashi explains 'vaychal' as prayer and 'we are doing great evil' as meaning if we kill him. Radak links Chizkiyahu's fear to his humbling himself in Divrei HaYamim, and Metzudat David adds that killing Yirmiyahu would not only forfeit relenting but add to the evil.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ויחל. ל' תפלה: ואנחנו עושים רעה גדולה. אם נהרוג אותו:
and he entreated Heb. וַיְחַל, an expression of prayer. but we are doing great harm to ourselves if we kill him.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וְגַם־אִ֗ישׁ הָיָ֤ה מִתְנַבֵּא֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה אוּרִיָּ֙הוּ֙ בֶּֽן־שְׁמַעְיָ֔הוּ מִקִּרְיַ֖ת הַיְּעָרִ֑ים וַיִּנָּבֵ֞א עַל־הָעִ֤יר הַזֹּאת֙ וְעַל־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את כְּכֹ֖ל דִּבְרֵ֥י יִרְמְיָֽהוּ׃

English:

There was also a man prophesying in the name of GOD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and this land the same things as Jeremiah.

The chapter introduces Uriyahu son of Shemayahu of Kiryat HaYearim, who prophesied exactly as Yirmiyahu did. Rashi, following the Sifrei, says these are not the words of the righteous elders but of the wicked who answered them: just as Uriyahu was killed, so let Yirmiyahu be killed. Radak and Metzudat David likewise read it as the rejoinder of the priests and prophets -- what proof is Chizkiyahu, when Yehoyakim killed such a prophet this very year?
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וגם איש היה מתנבא. מי שאמר זו לא אמר זו עד כאן דברי צדיקים ועמדו רשעים שהיו שם ואמרו גם איש מתנבא וגו' כשם שאוריה נהרג יהרג ירמיה כך מפורש בספרי:
Also a man was prophesying The one who said this did not say this. I.e., those who related the incident of Micah did not relate the incident concerning Uriah. Up to here are the words of the righteous. Now the wicked who were there arose and said, "Also a man was prophesying, etc." Just as Uriah was killed, so shall Jeremiah be killed. In this way it is explained in Sifrei (Num. 11:7).

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע הַמֶּֽלֶךְ־יְ֠הוֹיָקִ֠ים וְכׇל־גִּבּוֹרָ֤יו וְכׇל־הַשָּׂרִים֙ אֶת־דְּבָרָ֔יו וַיְבַקֵּ֥שׁ הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ הֲמִית֑וֹ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע אוּרִיָּ֙הוּ֙ וַיִּרָ֔א וַיִּבְרַ֖ח וַיָּבֹ֥א מִצְרָֽיִם׃

English:

King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard about his address, and the king wanted to put him to death. Uriah heard of this and fled in fear, and came to Egypt.

Yehoyakim, his warriors and his officials hear Uriyahu's words, and the king seeks to kill him; Uriyahu hears, fears, and flees to Egypt. Metzudat David explains that the king did not believe his words came from God. The contrast with Chizkiyahu could not be sharper: one king heard a prophecy of doom and prayed, while the other heard it and reached for the sword. Radak adds a note on the spelling of 'vayira.'

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁלַ֞ח הַמֶּ֧לֶךְ יְהוֹיָקִ֛ים אֲנָשִׁ֖ים מִצְרָ֑יִם אֵ֣ת אֶלְנָתָ֧ן בֶּן־עַכְבּ֛וֹר וַאֲנָשִׁ֥ים אִתּ֖וֹ אֶל־מִצְרָֽיִם׃

English:

But King Jehoiakim sent agents—Elnathan son of Achbor and several men under him—to Egypt.

Yehoyakim sends men to Egypt, led by Elnatan son of Achbor, to retrieve the fugitive prophet -- a measure of how determined the king was to silence the message. Radak notes only that Elnatan is written as a single word. Elnatan's father Achbor had served in Yoshiyahu's delegation to Chuldah, so the son of a man who sought God's word now hunts down a prophet.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַיּוֹצִ֨יאוּ אֶת־אוּרִיָּ֜הוּ מִמִּצְרַ֗יִם וַיְבִאֻ֙הוּ֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ יְהוֹיָקִ֔ים וַיַּכֵּ֖הוּ בֶּחָ֑רֶב וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ֙ אֶת־נִבְלָת֔וֹ אֶל־קִבְרֵ֖י בְּנֵ֥י הָעָֽם׃

English:

They took Uriah out of Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who had him put to the sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.

Uriyahu is brought back from Egypt, struck down by the sword, and his body cast into the graves of the common people. Metzudat David explains the contemptuous burial: he was denied the burial of prophets because they regarded him as one who spoke rebellion without God's command -- and implicitly, the speakers argue, Yirmiyahu is just like him and deserves the same fate.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

אַ֗ךְ יַ֚ד אֲחִיקָ֣ם בֶּן־שָׁפָ֔ן הָיְתָ֖ה אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֑הוּ לְבִלְתִּ֛י תֵּת־אֹת֥וֹ בְיַד־הָעָ֖ם לַהֲמִיתֽוֹ׃ {פ}

English:

However, Ahikam son of Shaphan protected Jeremiah, so that he was not handed over to the people for execution.

Only the hand of Achikam son of Shafan was with Yirmiyahu, so that he was not given into the people's hands to be killed. Metzudat David explains that after the priests' and prophets' argument, the officials fell silent and the people swung back, and only Achikam's strength prevailed to save him. The house of Shafan -- whose son Gedalyahu would later govern the remnant -- stands as the prophet's quiet protector.

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