Jeremiah 37
1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.
THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS FROM THE LORD, SAYING,
2 But he and his officers and the people of the land refused to obey the words that the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.
Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write all the words which I have spoken to thee in a book.
3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
For, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel and Juda, said the Lord: and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall be lords of it.
4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.
AND THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE CONCERNING ISRAEL AND JUDA;
5 Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
Thus said the Lord: Ye shall hear a sound of fear, [there is] fear, and there is not peace.
6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet:
Enquire, and see if a male has born a child? and [ask] concerning the fear, wherein they shall hold their loins, and [look for] safety: for I have seen every man, and his hands are on his loins; [their] faces are turned to paleness.
7 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt.
For that day is great, and there is not such [another]; and it is a time of straitness to Jacob; but he shall be saved out of it.
8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.
In that day, said the Lord, I will break the yoke off their neck, and will burst their bonds, and they shall no longer serve strangers:
9 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not!
but they shall serve the Lord their God; and I will raise up to them David their king.
10 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”
11 When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.
Thus saith the Lord; I have brought on [thee] destruction; thy stroke is painful.
13 But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!”
There is none to judge thy cause: thou hast been painfully treated for healing, there is no help for thee.
14 “That is a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officials.
All thy friends have forgotten thee; they shall not ask [about thee] at all, for I have smitten thee with he stroke of an enemy, [even] severe correction: thy sins have abounded above all thine iniquity.
15 The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
Thy sins have abounded beyond the multitude of thine iniquities, [therefore] they have done these things to thee. Therefore all that devour thee shall be eaten, and all thine enemies shall eat all their [own] flesh.
16 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.
And they that spoil thee shall become a spoil, and I will give up to be plundered all that have plundered thee.
17 Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”
For I will bring about thy healing, I will heal thee of thy grievous wound, saith the Lord; for thou art called Dispersed: she is your prey, for no one seeks after her.
18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison?
Thus said the Lord; Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob, and will have pity upon his prisoners; and the city shall be built upon her hill, and the people shall settle after their manner.
19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?
And there shall go forth from them singers, [even] the sound of men making merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not at all be diminished.
20 But now please listen, O my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”
And their sons shall go in as before, and their testimonies shall be established before me, and I will visit them that afflict them.
21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
And their mighty ones shall be over them, and their prince shall proceed of themselves; and I will gather them, and they shall return to me: for who is this that has set his heart to return to me? saith the Lord.
For the wrathful anger of the lord has gone forth, [even] a whirlwind of anger has gone forth: it shall come upon the ungodly.
The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he shall execute [it], and until he shall establish the purpose of his heart: in the latter days ye shall know these things.
