ירמיהו, פרק י״ח, פסוק י״ח

Despite Jeremiah’s pure intentions to guide the people toward good, his harsh warnings provoke a bitter backlash. The people of Judah and Anathoth band together, encouraging one another to devise malicious assassination plots against the prophet. As Jeremiah brings his pain before God, the depths of the people's scheme are revealed. To justify their deadly plans, they convince themselves that his death will not leave a void in their society.

The primary approach among commentators is that the people believe their spiritual leadership will remain completely stable without Jeremiah. They argue that they will always have priests to teach the law, wise men to offer counsel, and other prophets to deliver messages from God. Conveniently, they expect these alternative prophets to tell them what they want to hear, avoiding the difficult truths Jeremiah constantly brings. Conversely, another perspective suggests that Jeremiah is uniquely gifted, embodying all three of these vital roles at once. He is a teaching priest, a wise counselor, and a prophet of God. The people recognize his exceptional greatness, yet they cold-heartedly conclude that even if they lose a man who holds all these qualities, they can simply find separate individuals to fill each specific role [מלבי״ם].

Having failed to kill him through other methods in the past, the conspirators turn to a new weapon of words. They plan to strike him down through slander, false testimony, and reporting him to the king and local authorities, hoping the government will execute him on their behalf. Taking their scheme a step further, they intend to twist the very words of his own prophecies to frame him for treason against the crown [מלבי״ם].

To ensure their plan succeeds, the people resolve to completely shut out his voice. The primary approach among commentators is that they simply decide to ignore the prophet's many words and stop paying attention to him entirely. However, a more calculated malice is also at play. They refuse to hear any statements of defense he might offer. Furthermore, they choose to listen to him in a highly selective and biased manner. They deliberately ignore the moments when he prays for their well-being and urges them to repent, knowing these actions could prove his innocence. Instead, they plan to report only the specific fragments of his speeches that can be manipulated to guarantee a death sentence [מלבי״ם].