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,

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.

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 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.

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.'

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.

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),

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

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.

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

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

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

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,

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.

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

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

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

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

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.'

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.

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,

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

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.

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

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.'

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.

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,

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.

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.

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.

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

When Jeremiah had entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many 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 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.

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?

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?

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?

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

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.'

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.

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.

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.