Jeremiah 37

1 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 neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land regarded the words of Jehovah, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.

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

5 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 came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

7 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 And the Chaldaeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

9 Thus saith Jehovah: Deceive not yourselves, saying, “The Chaldaeans shall surely depart from us”; for they shall not depart.

10 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 And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldaeans had marched away from Jerusalem because of the army of Pharaoh,

12 that Jeremiah was going forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive thence his inheritance among the people.

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

17 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 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 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 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 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.