Why does Jeremiah say that the Lord “knows all their plotting” to kill him and asks that their iniquity not be forgiven?
Jeremiah finds comfort and certainty in the fact that the Lord knows all their plotting
to kill him. Nothing that is happening to him is hidden from the Lord. He prays that the Lord will not give his enemies any forgiveness for their sins. He calls for their judgment, and that the Lord will deal with them in his anger. This is the same prophet who has interceded with the Lord to spare this people from judgment. However, his prayer now is a further acknowledgement that judgment must now come to the people of Judah because they simply refuse to repent.1
18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”