Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
So the officials went to the king and said, 'Please, you need to execute this guy. He's completely destroying the morale of our soldiers and everyone else in the city with the things he's saying. This man isn't looking out for our people, he's trying to harm them.'
Sometimes telling the truth makes you look like the enemy to people who don't want to hear it.
📚 Historical Context
During the reign of King Zedekiah in Judah around 586 BC, the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, and the nation was facing imminent destruction due to their disobedience to God. Jeremiah, as God's prophet, was boldly declaring that resistance would lead to disaster and urging surrender, which the officials viewed as treasonous and demoralizing to the soldiers and people. The princes, fearing for their city's defense, accused Jeremiah of weakening the resolve of the people and petitioned the king to have him executed.
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