At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD:
At the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, this word comes from the LORD to Jeremiah.
This verse situates the chapter at a politically tense and spiritually decisive moment.
1At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: 2“This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there. Do not omit a word. 3Perhaps they will listen and turn— each from his evil way of life— so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds. 4And you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘If you do not listen to Me and walk in My law, which I have set before you, 5and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent you again and again even though you did not listen, 6then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’”