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When Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt:
Jeremiah 26:21 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;
  • BSB King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and officials heard his words, and the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah found out about it, he fled in fear and went to Egypt.
  • NKJV And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt.
  • NASB When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid, so he fled and went to Egypt.
  • NLT When King Jehoiakim and the army officers and officials heard what he was saying, the king sent someone to kill him. But Uriah heard about the plan and escaped in fear to Egypt.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

King Jehoiakim sought to kill Uriah for his prophecy, and Uriah fled in fear to Egypt. The contrast with Jeremiah's bold stand is striking.

Overview

Jehoiakim was a wicked king hostile to God's word, and Uriah, unlike Jeremiah, fled rather than face him. The flight to Egypt, the old place of bondage, proved no refuge from royal vengeance. The account exposes the deadly enmity of unrepentant rulers toward God's truth. It reminds believers that fear of man is a snare, while trust in the Lord brings security (Proverbs 29:25).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Matt 10:23But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man has come.
  • Jer 36:26The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them.
  • Matt 14:5When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
  • 2 Chr 16:10Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.
  • 1 Kgs 19:1–3Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
  • Matt 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
  • Matt 16:25–26For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it.
  • Mark 6:19Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him, but she couldn’t,
  • Matt 10:39He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
  • Ps 119:109My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won’t forget your law.
  • Prov 29:25The fear of man proves to be a snare, but whoever puts his trust in Yahweh is kept safe.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 26:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.

How Jeremiah 26:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.