Jeremiah 37

1 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,

After Jehoiakim died, [his son Jehoiachin became king for only three months, after which] King Josiah’s son Zedekiah became the King of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, appointed him to be the new king.

2 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.

But King Zedekiah and his palace officials and the other people in the land paid no attention to the messages that Yahweh gave me.

3 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.'

However, [one day] King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, who was the son of Maaseiah, to me. They requested me to pray to Yahweh our God for our [nation].

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

At that time I had not yet been put in prison, so I could come and go wherever and whenever I wanted to, [without being hindered].

5 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.

[At that time], the army of [Hophra], the King of Egypt, came [to the southern border of Judah]. When the army of Babylonia heard about that, they stopped surrounding Jerusalem and left there [to fight against the army from Egypt].

6 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

Then Yahweh gave this message to me:

7 '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,

“[I], Yahweh, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say this: ‘The King of Judah has sent [messengers] to you to ask me [what is going to happen]. Tell the king that even though the army of the King of Egypt came to help him, they are about to return to Egypt.

8 and the Chaldeans have turned back, and fought against this city, and captured it, and burnt it with fire.

Then the army of Babylonia will return here and capture this city and burn everything in it.’

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

[So], this is what I say [to you Israelis]: ‘You should not deceive yourselves, thinking that the army from Babylonia has gone and will not return. That is not true.

10 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.'

And even if your soldiers could destroy almost all of the soldiers from Babylonia who are attacking you, and allow only a few of them who were wounded to remain alive in their tents, they would come out [of their tents] and burn this city completely!”’”

11 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,

When the army from Babylonia left Jerusalem because the army from Egypt was approaching,

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

I started to leave the city. I intended to go to the area [where the descendants of] Benjamin live, in order to take possession of my share of the property from my family.

13 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.'

But as I was walking out the Benjamin Gate, a guard seized me and said, “You are deserting [us and going] to [the soldiers from] Babylonia!” The man who seized me was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah.

14 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,

But I [protested and] said, “That is not true! I was not intending to do that!” But Irijah would not pay attention to what I said. He took me to the [king’s] officials.

15 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.

They were very angry with me. They [commanded the guards to] beat me and [then to] put me in the house where Jonathan the king’s secretary stayed. They had changed Jonathan’s house to make it become a prison.

16 When Jeremiah hath entered into the house of the dungeon, and unto the cells, then Jeremiah dwelleth there many days,

They put me in a dungeon/cell in that prison, and I remained there for several days.

17 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.'

Then King Zedekiah secretly sent a servant to me, who took me to the palace. There the king asked me, “Do you have any messages from Yahweh?” I replied, “Yes, [the message is that] you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

18 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?

Then I asked the king, “What crime have I committed [RHQ] against you or against your officials or against the Israeli people, with the result that you have [commanded that] I be put in a prison?

19 And where [are] your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon doth not come in against you, and against this land?

Your prophets predicted that the army of the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land. Why were [RHQ] [their messages] not fulfilled?

20 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.'

Your majesty, I plead with you to listen to me. Do not send me back to the dungeon/cell in the house of Jonathan your secretary, because [if you do that, ] I will die there.”

21 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.

So King Zedekiah commanded that [I not be sent back to the prison cell. Instead, ] I was allowed to be watched by the guards in the courtyard [of the palace]. [The king] also [commanded that they should] bring me a loaf of fresh bread every day, until there was no bread left in the city. So [they put me] in that courtyard and I remained there.