1And 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. 2But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.37.2 by…: Heb. by the hand of the prophet 3And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. 4Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. 5Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6¶ Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. 8And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. 9Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.37.9 yourselves: Heb. your souls 10For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.37.10 wounded: Heb. thrust through
11¶ And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,37.11 broken…: Heb. made to ascend 12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.37.12 separate…: or, to slip away from thence in the midst of the people 13And 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. 14Then 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.37.14 false: Heb. falsehood, or, a lie 15Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
16¶ When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;37.16 cabins: or, cells 17Then 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. 18Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? 19Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? 20Therefore 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.37.20 let…: Heb. let my supplication fall 21Then 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 were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Jeremiah Is Put in Prison
1Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed Zedekiah to be king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. Zedekiah ruled in place of Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim. 2Zedekiah and his attendants didn’t pay any attention to what the Lord had said through Jeremiah the prophet. And the people of the land didn’t pay any attention either.
3But King Zedekiah sent Jehukal to Jeremiah the prophet. Zedekiah sent Zephaniah the priest along with him. Jehukal was the son of Shelemiah. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah. Jehukal and Zephaniah brought the king’s message to Jeremiah. It said, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us.”
4At that time Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people. Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison. 5The armies of Babylon were attacking Jerusalem. They received a report that Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt to help Zedekiah. So armies of Babylon pulled back from Jerusalem.
6A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. 7The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, “The king of Judah has sent you to ask me for advice. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army has marched out to help you. But it will go back to its own land. It will return to Egypt. 8Then the armies of Babylon will come back here. They will attack this city. They will capture it. Then they will burn it down.’
9“The Lord says, ‘Do not fool yourselves. You think, “The Babylonians will leave us alone.” But they will not! 10Suppose you destroy all the armies of Babylon that are attacking you. Suppose only wounded men are left in their tents. Even then they will come out and burn down this city.’ ”
11The armies of Babylon had pulled back from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army. 12So Jeremiah started to leave the city. He was planning to go to the territory of Benjamin. Jeremiah wanted to get his share of the property among the people there. 13He got as far as the Benjamin Gate. But the captain of the guard arrested him. He said, “You are going over to the side of the Babylonians!” The captain’s name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah. Shelemiah was the son of Hananiah.
14Jeremiah said to Irijah, “That isn’t true! I’m not going to the side of the Babylonians.” But Irijah wouldn’t listen to him. Instead, he arrested Jeremiah. He brought Jeremiah to the officials. 15They were angry with him. So they had him beaten. Then they took him to the house of Jonathan the secretary. It had been made into a prison. That’s where they put Jeremiah.
16Jeremiah was put into a prison cell below ground level. He remained there a long time. 17Then King Zedekiah sent for him. King Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to the palace. There the king spoke to him in private. The king asked, “Do you have a message from the Lord for me?”
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
18Then Jeremiah continued, “Why have you put me in prison? What crime have I committed against you? What have I done to your attendants or these people? 19Where are your prophets who prophesied to you? They said, ‘The king of Babylon won’t attack you. He won’t march into this land.’ 20But now please listen, my king and master. Let me make my appeal to you. Please don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary. If you do, I’ll die there.”
21Then King Zedekiah gave the order. His men put Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard. They gave him a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers. They did it every day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
