Jeremiah 38:4
Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
The princes charged that his speaking weakened the hands of the soldiers left in the city and the hands of all the people, and that he was seeking not their welfare but their hurt. What they called weakening was his urging that the nation submit to Babylon. He was branded a traitor because his message reproved the people and ran against what they wished, so that those who resisted his message accused him of injuring the nation.
The accusation was false, for he was faithfully repeating God's warning while the princes' own policy of resistance stood against that warning. They treated his faithful warning as a threat and pressed the king to have him put to death. For his integrity he was cast into a pit, but God brought him out and caused his case to find favor with the princes.