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.

Now King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, 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 regarded the words of Jehovah, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.

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 Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Pray now to Jehovah our God for us.”

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

Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people, for they had not cast him into prison.

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

And Pharaoh's army had come forth out of Egypt; and the Chaldaeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, having heard tidings of them, had departed from Jerusalem.

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

Then came the word of Jehovah to 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 saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt, into their own land.

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

And the Chaldaeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take 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 saith Jehovah: Deceive not yourselves, saying, “The Chaldaeans shall surely depart from us”; for they shall not depart.

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 though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldaeans that fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, each one in his tent, yet should they rise up 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 Chaldaeans had marched away 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 was going forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive thence his inheritance among 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!”

And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Thou art going over to the Chaldaeans.”

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.

And Jeremiah said, “It is false; I am not going over to the Chaldaeans.” But he hearkened not to him; so Irijah took 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.

And the princes were enraged against Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that a prison.

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

And when Jeremiah had gone into the dungeon, and into the cells, and had remained there a long time,

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.”

then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out; and the king asked him in his house privately, and said, “Hast thou any word from Jehovah?” And Jeremiah said, “I have.” And he said, “Into the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be delivered.”

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 to King Zedekiah, What offence have I committed against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?

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 your prophets, who prophesied to you, saying, “The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor 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.”

But now hear, I pray thee, my lord the king! let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee, and cause me not to 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 Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city should be consumed. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.