jeremiah 26 is most commonly viewed as a narrative parallel to the Temple Sermon (Jer 7:1–15), providing a plausible historical background to the prophet's delivery of the famous critique of the Temple cult. The connection between the Temple Sermon and Jeremiah 26 is rather overt: the language and ideas of the former surface at the outset of the latter as a citation (Jer 26:4–6), demonstrating the author's belief in the centrality of the Temple Sermon to the prophet's career and message. Yet, a mere summary would have been redundant: the author's reliance on the Temple Sermon tells us that it was already well known to his exilic audience and (given its contents) central to exilic consciousness. In this respect, we must reconsider the context of the citation and the function of the chapter. Broadly speaking, Jeremiah 26 appears less concerned with the prophet himself than with the forces surrounding him. The people who hear his words seize him (vv. 8–9), the priests/prophets of the Temple prosecute him (v. 11), the royal officials decide his fate (v. 16), a representative of the scribal class saves him from reprisal (v. 24), and the chapter opens and closes with references to King Jehoiakim (vv. 1, 20–23). In short, the chapter is not about the prophet, but about the society of Jerusalem in the twilight years of the Judean monarchy.