26:7-15 The priests and prophets charged Jeremiah as deserving death, and bore false witness against him. The elders of Israel came to inquire into this matter. Jeremiah declares that the Lord sent him to prophesy thus. As long as ministers keep close to the word they have from God, they need not fear. And those are very unjust who complain of ministers for preaching of hell and damnation; for it is from a desire to bring them to heaven and salvation. Jeremiah warns them of their danger if they go on against him. All men may know, that to hurt, or put to death, or to show hatred to their faithful reprovers, will hasten and increase their own punishment.

Verse 8. - Had made an end of speaking. They allowed Jeremiah to finish his discourse (of which we have here only the briefest summary), either from a lingering reverence for his person and office, or to obtain fuller materials for an accusation (comp. the trial of Stephen, Acts 6:12-14). All the people. The "people" appear to have been always under some constraint. As long as the priests and prophets were alone, they dominated the unofficial classes, but when the princes appeared (ver. 11), the new influence proved superior. In ver. 16 princes and people together go over to the side of Jeremiah. Thou shalt surely die. Death was the legal penalty both for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16) and for presuming to prophesy without having received a prophetic revelation (Deuteronomy 18:20). Jeremiah's declaration ran so entirely counter to the prejudices of his hearers that he may well have been accused of both these sins, or crimes. True, Isaiah and Amos had already predicted the destruction of Jerusalem (Isaiah 5:5, 6; Isaiah 6:11; Amos 2:4, 5; Amos 6:1, 2); but it may have been contended that the timely repentance of Judah under Hezekiah and Josiah had effectually cancelled the threatened doom, and though Isaiah 64:10, 11 evidently refers to a time later than Josiah, and represents the ruin of Jerusalem as practically certain, it would seem that the prophetic book (Isaiah 40-66.) to which this belongs (to say the least) was not generally known.

Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking,.... For they let him alone till he had done, either out of reverence of him as a priest and prophet; or they were awed by a secret influence on their minds that they might not disturb him:

all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people; he did as he was ordered, kept back nothing, not fearing the resentment of the people, but fearing God:

that the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, took him; the priests and the prophets were the leading men in this action; they stirred up the people against him, and through their instigation he was seized and laid hold on:

saying, thou shall surely die; signifying that they would bring a charge against him, which they were able to support, and which by the law would be death; unless they meant in the manner of zealots to put him to death themselves, without judge or jury; and which they would have put in execution, had not the princes of the land, or the great sanhedrim, heard of it; and therefore to prevent it came to the temple, as is afterwards related.

8. priests—The captain (or prefect) of the temple had the power of apprehending offenders in the temple with the sanction of the priests.

prophets—the false prophets. The charge against Jeremiah was that of uttering falsehood in Jehovah's name, an act punishable with death (De 18:20). His prophecy against the temple and city (Jer 26:11) might speciously be represented as contradicting God's own words (Ps 132:14). Compare the similar charge against Stephen (Ac 6:13, 14).

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