Jeremiah 18:18-23·~1 min

Another Plot against Jeremiah

Jeremiah's opponents decide to scheme against him, reasoning that priestly law, wise counsel, and prophetic speech will continue without him. Jeremiah answers by asking the LORD to listen and by reminding Him that he had stood before Him to speak good on their behalf and turn away wrath, only to be repaid with a pit prepared for his life.

T¹⁸hen some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.” ¹⁹Attend to me, O LORD. ²⁰Should good be repaid with evil?

Jeremiah asks that famine, sword, widowhood, and terror fall on the plotters and their households. He closes by entrusting their unrepented schemes to the LORD and asking Him not to blot out their sin in the day He acts against them.

²¹Therefore, hand their children over to famine; ²²Let a cry be heard from their houses ²³But You, O LORD, know all their deadly plots against me.

Section summaryThe closing movement shows Judah's refusal hardening into direct hostility toward Jeremiah. Convinced that other sources of guidance will remain even without him, his opponents plot to denounce and silence him, while Jeremiah appeals to the LORD to remember the good he spoke on their behalf and to act against their schemes with the very calamities they deserve.

Role in the chapterThis section personalizes the national rejection of God's word by turning it into a conspiracy against God's messenger. It also reveals how Jeremiah's ministry of warning and intercession leaves him vulnerable to deep betrayal.