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.

And Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king in the place of Conyahu the son of Jehoyakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

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.

But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the Lord, which he had spoken by means of Jeremiah the prophet.

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!”

And king Zedekiah sent Jehuchal the son of Shelemyah and Zephanyahu the son of Ma'asseyah the priest unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Pray now in our behalf unto the Lord our God.

4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.

Now Jeremiah came and went out among the people; and they put him not into the prison-house.

5 Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

But the army of Pharaoh was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard the report of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet:

Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

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.

Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that hath sent you unto me to inquire of me, Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, returneth into its own land to Egypt.

8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.

But the Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city, and capture it, and burn it with fire.

9 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not!

Thus hath said the Lord, Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us; for they will not go away.

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.”

For if even ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained among them [only such] men as are pierced through: yet should they rise up, every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

11 When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of the army of Pharaoh,

12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.

That Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to make his escape thence in the midst of the people.

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!”

But as he was in the gate of Benjamin, there was there a captain of the guardsmen, whose name was Yiriyah, the son of Shelemyah, the son of Chananyah; and he seized hold of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou runnest away to the Chaldeans.

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.

But Jeremiah said, It is false; I am not running away to the Chaldeans. But he listened not to him; and Yiriyah seized hold of Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

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.

Thereupon were the princes wroth with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for that had they made into a prison-house.

16 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.

When Jeremiah had been placed in the dungeon, within the traders' shops, where Jeremiah remained many days:

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.”

King Zedekiah sent, and had him taken out, and the king asked him in his house in secret, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is:” and he said, Into the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be given up.

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?

And Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I sinned against thee, and against thy servants, and against this people, that ye have put me into the prison-house?

19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?

And where are now your prophets who have prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come against you, and against this land?

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.”

Yet now, do but hear, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let me offer my humble supplication, I pray thee, before thee, that thou wilt not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

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.

Then commanded king Zedekiah that they should put Jeremiah in ward in the court of the prison, and that they should give him a loaf of bread for every day out of the bakers' street, until all the bread was spent out of the city. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.