“Then the officials said
To the king.
‘This man ought
To be put to death.
Because he is discouraging
The soldiers
Who are left in this city.
He is discouraging
All the people,
By speaking such words
To them.
This man is not seeking
The welfare of this people,
But their harm.’
King Zedekiah said.
‘Here he is.
He is in your hands.
The king is powerless
Against you.’”
These four royal officials went to the king and said that Jeremiah ought to be put to death. They said that Jeremiah was discouraging the soldiers who were left in the city, since so many had died already. He was, in fact, discouraging everyone by talking the way he does about the fall of Jerusalem. He was not seeking to help the people, but to harm them. Then King Zedekiah said okay. He left all this in their hands. He would not object to anything that they did. However, he did not say that Jeremiah should die.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 