Jeremiah 26:15
But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
Jeremiah directed this warning to his judges, the princes and the people who held his life in their hands, that to put him to death would make them guilty of shedding innocent blood. That guilt would not rest on the executioners alone but would come upon themselves and also upon the city and upon its inhabitants. The ground of the warning was that of a truth the Lord had sent him to them to speak in their ears all the words they had heard.
He made the declaration boldly and without fear in the face of those who had power to condemn him, standing faithful to duty rather than softening the message to save himself. In doing so he affirmed both his own innocence and the divine authority of his commission.
His courageous assertion of that commission gave force to the warning and laid upon his hearers the necessity of considering the consequences of rejecting the message. It helped turn the princes and the people against the priests' demand for his death, and so contributed to his survival at that time.