Jeremiah 37

1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon replaced Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim with Zedekiah son of Josiah as the ruling king of Judah.

Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

2 But Zedekiah and his officers and everyone else in the country refused to obey what the Lord had said through Jeremiah the prophet.

But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, listened to the LORD’s words, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.

3 However, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us!”

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

4 (At this time Jeremiah could come and go freely, because as yet they hadn't put him in prison.)

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

5 Pharaoh's army was advancing from Egypt, and when the Babylonian army heard about it, they moved away from Jerusalem.

Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:

Then the LORD’s word came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

7 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, instructs you to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask me for help: Look! Pharaoh's army, which set out to help you, is going to return home to Egypt.

“The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to enquire of me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, will return to Egypt into their own land.

8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack Jerusalem. They will capture it and burn it down.

The Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city. They will take it and burn it with fire.”’

9 This is what the Lord says: Don't fool yourselves by saying, “The Babylonians are gone for good,” because they're not!

“The LORD says, ‘Don’t deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us;” for they will not depart.

10 In fact, even if you were able to kill the whole Babylonian army attacking you, leaving only wounded men in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.

For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and only wounded men remained amongst them, they would each rise up in his tent and burn this city with fire.’”

11 When the Babylonian army moved away from Jerusalem because of the threat of Pharaoh's army,

When the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

12 Jeremiah was on his way out of Jerusalem to go to his home in the territory of Benjamin to claim his share of his family's property.

then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the middle of the people.

13 However, when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the guard captain, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, arrested him, saying, “You're defecting to the Babylonians!”

When he was in Benjamin’s gate, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”

14 “That's not true,” Jeremiah replied. “I'm not defecting to the Babylonians!” But Irijah refused to listen to him. He arrested Jeremiah and took him before the officers.

Then Jeremiah said, “That is false! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he didn’t listen to him; so Irijah seized Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

15 The officers were furious with Jeremiah. They had him beaten and locked up in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which had been turned into a prison.

The princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.

16 Jeremiah was placed in a cell in the underground dungeon and was kept there for a long time.

When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon house and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days,

17 Some while later King Zedekiah secretly sent for him and had him brought to the royal palace where he asked, “Is there a message from Lord for me?” “Yes there is,” Jeremiah replied. “You are going to be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

then Zedekiah the king sent and had him brought out. The king asked him secretly in his house, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” He also said, “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or these people, for you to put me in prison?

Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

19 Where are your prophets now, the ones who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon won't come and attack you and this country’?

Now where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you, nor against this land’?

20 Now please listen to me, my lord the king, and respond positively to my request. Don't send me back to prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, otherwise I'll die there.”

Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”

21 King Zedekiah gave the order for Jeremiah to be held in the guard's courtyard and be provided with a loaf of bread every day from a bakery until there was no bread left in the city. So Jeremiah stayed in the guard's courtyard.

Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard. They gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.