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18 (A) years ago when Hezekiah[a] was king of Judah, a prophet named Micah from the town of Moresheth had said:

“I, the Lord All-Powerful, say
Jerusalem will be plowed under
    and left in ruins.
Thorns will cover the mountain
    where the temple
    now stands.”[b]

19 Then the leaders continued:

No one put Micah to death for saying that. Instead, King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord with fear and trembling and asked him to have mercy. Then the Lord decided not to destroy Jerusalem, even though he had already said he would.

People of Judah, if Jeremiah is killed, we will bring a terrible disaster on ourselves.

20-24 After these leaders finished speaking, an important man named Ahikam son of Shaphan spoke up for me as well. And so, I wasn't handed over to the crowd to be killed.

Uriah the Prophet

While Jehoiakim[c] was still king of Judah, a man named Uriah son of Shemaiah left his hometown of Kiriath-Jearim and came to Jerusalem. Uriah was one of the Lord's prophets, and he was saying the same things about Judah and Jerusalem that I had been saying. And when Jehoiakim and his officials and military officers heard what Uriah said, they tried to arrest him, but he escaped to Egypt. So Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor and some other men after Uriah, and they brought him back. Then Jehoiakim had Uriah killed and his body dumped in a common burial pit.

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Footnotes

  1. 26.18 Hezekiah: Ruled 716–687 b.c.
  2. 26.18 Jerusalem … stands: See Micah 3.12.
  3. 26.20-24 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.

18 “Micah(A) of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“‘Zion(B) will be plowed like a field,
    Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(C)
    the temple hill(D) a mound overgrown with thickets.’[a](E)

19 “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah(F) fear the Lord and seek(G) his favor? And did not the Lord relent,(H) so that he did not bring the disaster(I) he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster(J) on ourselves!”

20 (Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim(K) was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 26:18 Micah 3:12