Verse 10

When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house.

When — When the nobles, and other civil magistrates, heard of the tumult, they came from the king's court, where the nobles and great officers of nations usually are, to the temple.

At the entry — It was the place where their sanhedrim, who were to judge of false prophets, were wont to sit.

Verse 11

Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

The priests — "In the corrupt state of all kingdoms, the ecclesiastical officers always were the greatest enemies to the faithful ministers of God." They speak to the members of the court who are called princes, and to the people who were in the court.

Verse 18

Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

Micah — This was that Micah, whose prophecies are part of holy writ, as appears by Micah 1:1; 3:12, where are the very words of the prophecy here mentioned, the substance of whose prophecy was the same with this, that Zion should be plowed up, and the place where the temple stood, should become so desolate that trees should grow there, as in a forest.

Verse 19

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

Thus — Now, if we should take a quite contrary course, and put this man to death, we should do ourselves no good, but procure great evil against our souls; that is against ourselves.

Verse 20

And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

And there was — This is a story which we have recorded in no other part of scripture. They are probably the words of some others, who were enemies to Jeremiah.

Verse 23

And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

Cast his body — Not in the sepulchers of the prophets, but amongst the vulgar people.

Verse 24

Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Nevertheless — Tho' Jeremiah's enemies pleaded this instance of Urijah, a case judged in this very king's reign; yet the hand, that is, the power and interest of Ahikam, one of Josiah's counsellors, and the father of Gedaliah, was with Jeremiah.