Jeremiah 26:14

Study note

Setting — Jeremiah addresses the judges and assembly of Judah during a trial where his life depends on their verdict. He speaks immediately after warning them of impending disaster and calling for repentance.

The words — The phrase הִנְנִי (hinnî, "here I am") combined with בְּיֶדְכֶם (bəyēḏəḵem, "in your hand") denotes complete physical surrender to human authority. The directive עֲשׂוּ (‘āśû, "do") followed by כַּטּוֹב וְכַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם (kaṭṭôḇ wəḵayyāšār bə‘ênêḵem, "according to the good and right in your eyes") explicitly delegates the outcome to their judgment.

The thread — This formula of surrender appears in Joshua 9:25, 2 Samuel 15:26, and Jeremiah 38:5. Each passage places a speaker under the control of another party while awaiting a decisive human or divine action.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to recognize the limits of their own authority when confronting a delivered message. It asks the reader to execute their judgment without demanding a favorable result, separating personal safety from the duty of the verdict.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.