Jeremiah 37

1 And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.

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

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.

3 And 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.

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!”

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

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

5 Then Pharaoh's army had come from Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

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

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

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

7 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you to me to inquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which hath come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

“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.

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

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

9 Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will surely depart from us: for they will not depart.

This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not!

10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained [but] wounded men among them, [yet] would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

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.”

11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,

When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

12 Then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.

Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there 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 took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.

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!”

14 Then said Jeremiah, [It is] false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

“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.

15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and beat him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

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.

16 When Jeremiah had entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

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

17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there [any] word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

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.”

18 Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, In what have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?

Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison?

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

Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?

20 Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

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.”

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 baker's street, until all the bread in the city should be consumed. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

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.