“Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,”
Shemaiah's complaint to Zephaniah the priest that God has made Zephaniah priest instead of Jehoiada, responsible for restraining madmen and prophets who act crazy, indicates that there was institutional expectation that priests would suppress or regulate prophetic activity. The complaint suggests that Shemaiah expected Zephaniah to silence Jeremiah as a mad prophet rather than grant him standing as authentic voice. This verse reveals the institutional resistance to Jeremiah's prophecy and the way religious authorities were deployed against him.
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