Question 1

What is happening in this passage where people plot against Jeremiah?

Accepted Answer

In this passage, the people of Judah, including their religious and wise leaders, are tired of Jeremiah’s messages about God’s coming judgment. Instead of listening, they decide to plan against him. They say they still have priests, wise men, and prophets, so they do not need Jeremiah. They choose to attack his reputation and “smite him with the tongue,” meaning to slander him and turn people against him. While they are secretly planning to get rid of him, Jeremiah turns to God in prayer and tells God about their plots and their desire to kill him.

Question 2

What does the phrase “smite him with the tongue” mean here?

Accepted Answer

“Smite him with the tongue” describes how Jeremiah’s enemies want to harm him, not first with weapons, but with words. They plan to speak lies, accusations, and insults about him so that people stop trusting his message. They hope to ruin his name, threaten him, and silence his preaching. In other words, they will attack his character so they can ignore what he says. This shows that opposition to God’s truth often begins with mocking, slander, and twisting someone’s words rather than dealing honestly with the message itself.

Question 3

Why does Jeremiah ask, “Shall evil be recompensed for good?”

Accepted Answer

Jeremiah asks this question because he feels deeply hurt and betrayed. He reminds God that he once stood before Him to pray for these same people, asking God to bless them and turn away His anger. Jeremiah did them good by warning them and interceding for them. Yet in return, they “dig a pit” for his life and plot to destroy him. By saying, “Shall evil be recompensed for good?” he is pointing out the wrongness of their ingratitude. It is a way of saying that this repayment is deeply unjust and asking God to notice and judge that injustice.

Question 4

Why does Jeremiah pray such harsh things against his enemies?

Accepted Answer

Jeremiah’s words sound very harsh because he asks for famine, sword, and ruin to come on those plotting to kill him. It helps to remember two things. First, he has already spent himself praying for their good and trying to turn them from sin, but they only grow harder and more violent. Second, he is not just venting personal hatred. He knows God has already announced judgment on this stubborn people. His prayer lines up with that sentence. He is asking God to carry out the justice He has spoken, showing how serious their rebellion and planned murder are before God.

Question 5

What does this passage show about religious leaders and false security?

Accepted Answer

The people who oppose Jeremiah feel safe because they still have priests, wise men, and prophets who tell them what they want to hear. They say, “The law will not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet.” They use their titles and traditions to claim they are fine, and that Jeremiah is the problem. This shows how dangerous it is when religious leaders use their position to support a false peace, instead of calling people to turn back to God. It warns us not to trust in status or tradition without real obedience to God’s word.

Question 6

How should believers today think about Jeremiah asking God not to forgive them?

Accepted Answer

Jeremiah prays, “Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin,” which can be hard to hear. He speaks as a prophet, in line with the judgment God has already announced on a people who have firmly rejected His word and are plotting murder. This is not given as a pattern for personal revenge. For believers today, it shows how serious hardened rebellion is, and that there really is a time of God’s anger. At the same time, we are clearly taught to bless those who persecute us and to pray for enemies, so we should not copy Jeremiah’s words as a personal script.

Question 7

What does this passage teach about God’s justice and human rebellion?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows people pushing back hard against God’s truth. They do not argue with Jeremiah’s message honestly. Instead, they reject him, trust their own plans, and hide behind their leaders and traditions. They even plan to kill God’s messenger. Jeremiah takes this to God, trusting that the Lord sees every secret plan and will judge fairly. God’s justice here means He will not ignore deep, stubborn evil, especially when it attacks the very word meant to save. Human rebellion is shown in how far people will go to escape God’s call, even turning against those who pray for them.

Question 8

How can this passage help someone facing slander or opposition for speaking truth?

Accepted Answer

Someone who is mocked or lied about for trying to be faithful can see their own struggle in Jeremiah. He is not praised; he is plotted against and talked down by respected leaders. This passage shows that such treatment does not mean God has left you. Jeremiah turns to God honestly, telling Him everything and asking God to judge. While we are called to love our enemies, it is still right to bring the pain of slander and unfair treatment to God, trusting that He hears, knows the truth, and will deal with every wrong in His time and way.

Question 9

What was the sin of the people who planned against Jeremiah?

Accepted Answer

Their sin was not only that they disliked Jeremiah. They refused to listen to God’s warnings and chose their own way. They trusted in their priests, wise men, and prophets even while those leaders kept people in false security. They decided in advance not to pay attention to Jeremiah’s words and instead to harm him with their tongues and, if needed, to kill him. They repaid good with evil, trying to destroy the one who had prayed for them. Their stubborn resistance to God’s word and their violent intentions showed a hardened, settled rebellion against God Himself.

Question 10

Why does Jeremiah remind God that he once prayed for these people?

Accepted Answer

Jeremiah says, “Remember that I stood before you to speak good for them, and to turn away your wrath.” He reminds God that he has already acted in love and mercy toward these people. He did not start as their enemy. He stood in the gap, asking God to spare them. By saying this, he shows how deep their ingratitude is and how patient he has been. It also underlines that his later hard words are not coming from a cold heart. He had truly sought their good, but they answered his prayers and warnings with plans to destroy him.

Jeremiah 18:18

¶ Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

Another Plot against Jeremiah

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Jeremiah 18:18

¶ Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

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Another Plot against Jeremiah

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