Jeremiah 37

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

And reign doth king Zedekiah son of Josiah instead of Coniah son of Jehoiakim whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had caused to reign 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.

and he hath not hearkened, he, and his servants, and the people of the land, unto the words of Jehovah, that He spake by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.

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!”

And Zedekiah the king sendeth Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 'Pray, we beseech thee, for us unto Jehovah our God.'

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

And Jeremiah is coming in and going out in the midst of the people, (and they have not put him in the prison-house),

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

and the force of Pharaoh hath come out of Egypt, and the Chaldeans, who are laying siege against Jerusalem, hear their report, and go up from off Jerusalem.

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah the prophet, 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.

'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Thus do ye say unto the king of Judah, who is sending you unto Me, to seek Me: Lo, the force of Pharaoh that is coming out to you for help hath turned back to its land, to Egypt,

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

and the Chaldeans have turned back, and fought against this city, and captured it, and burnt 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!

'Thus said Jehovah: Lift not up your souls saying, The Chaldeans surely go from off us, for they do not go;

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 ye had smitten all the force of the Chaldeans who are fighting with you, and there were left of them wounded men — each in his tent — they rise, and have burnt this city with fire.'

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

And it hath come to pass, in the going up of the force of the Chaldeans from off Jerusalem, because of the force of Pharaoh,

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.

that Jeremiah goeth out from Jerusalem to go [to] the land of Benjamin, to receive a portion thence in the midst 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!”

And it cometh to pass, he is at the gate of Benjamin, and there [is] a master of the ward — and his name is Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah — and he catcheth Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 'Unto the Chaldeans thou art falling.'

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.

And Jeremiah saith, 'Falsehood — I am not falling unto the Chaldeans;' and he hath not hearkened unto him, and Irijah layeth hold on Jeremiah, and bringeth him in unto the heads,

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.

and the heads are wroth against Jeremiah, and have smitten him, and put him in the prison-house — the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it they had made for a prison-house.

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

When Jeremiah hath entered into the house of the dungeon, and unto the cells, then Jeremiah dwelleth 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.”

and the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh him, and the king asketh him in his house in secret, and saith, 'Is there a word from Jehovah?' And Jeremiah saith, 'There is,' and he saith, 'Into the hand of the king of Babylon thou art given.'

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?

And Jeremiah saith unto the king Zedekiah, 'What have I sinned against thee, and against thy servants, and against this people, that ye have given me unto a prison-house?

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’?

And where [are] your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon doth not come in against you, and 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.”

And now, hearken, I pray thee, my lord, O king, let my supplication fall, I pray thee, before thee, and cause me not to return [to] the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I die not 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.

And the king Zedekiah commandeth, and they commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, also to give to him a cake of bread daily from the bakers' street, till the consumption of all the bread of the city, and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison.