Jeremiah 37

1 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.

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

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

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

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

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!”

4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison.

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

5 Pharaoh's army had come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem.

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

6 Then came the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

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

7 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: "Look, Pharaoh's army, which has come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

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.

8 The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire."

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

9 Thus says the LORD, "Do not deceive yourselves, saying, 'The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us'; for they shall not depart.

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

10 For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire."'"

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.

11 It happened that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,

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

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

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.

13 When he was in the Benjamin Gate, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are falling away to the Chaldeans."

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!”

14 Then Jeremiah said, "It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans." But he did not listen to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the officials.

“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.

15 And the officials 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.

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.

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

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

17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the LORD?" Jeremiah said, "There is." He said also, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."

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.”

18 Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, "Wherein have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

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?

19 Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

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’?

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

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.”

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

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.