37 Josiah's son Zedekiah became king of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon chose Zedekiah to be king instead of Jehoiakim's son, Jeconiah. 2 Zedekiah did not obey the Lord 's messages that Jeremiah spoke. The king's officers and the people of Judah did not obey those messages either.
3 King Zedekiah sent a message to the prophet Jeremiah. He sent Shelemiah's son Jehucal, and Maaseiah's son Zephaniah, the priest, to deliver this message: ‘Please pray to the Lord our God for us.’
4 Jeremiah was a free man at this time. They had not yet put him in prison. He could go where he wanted among the people. 5 The army of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had marched out of Egypt. Babylon's soldiers who were attacking Jerusalem heard news about that. So they went away from Jerusalem.
6 Then the Lord gave this message to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 ‘The Lord , Israel's God, says: Go to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask for my help. Tell him, “Pharaoh's army marched out of Egypt to bring you help. But they will turn back and return to their own land, Egypt. 8 Then Babylon's army will return here. They will attack this city. They will take it for themselves. They will burn it completely.”
9 The Lord also says, “Do not deceive yourselves. Do not think that Babylon's soldiers will go away and leave you alone. They will not go away! 10 You might even win the fight against the whole army that is attacking you. There might be only a few of Babylon's soldiers who remain. You might have hurt them so much that they are lying down in their tents. But those weak men would still get up and attack this city. They would completely burn down this city.” ’
11 At that time, Babylon's army had gone away from Jerusalem because Pharaoh's army was coming. 12 So Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem. He wanted to go to the land that belonged to Benjamin's tribe. He wanted to receive his part of the land that belonged to his family. 13 He was going out through the Benjamin gate of the city. Irijah, the son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. Irijah was the captain of the guards at the gate. He took hold of Jeremiah. He said, ‘You are going out of the city to join Babylon's army!’ 14 Jeremiah said, ‘That is not true! I would never help the soldiers from Babylon.’ But Irijah would not listen to him. So he took Jeremiah to the king's officers as his prisoner. 15 The officers were very angry with Jeremiah. They beat him with a stick. They put him in a strong room of Jonathan's house. Jonathan was the king's secretary. They had made his house into a place to keep hold of prisoners.
16 They put Jeremiah in a small room in the ground under the house. He stayed there for a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah told his officers to bring Jeremiah to the palace. When they were alone, the king asked him, ‘Do you have any message for me from the Lord ?’
Jeremiah replied, ‘Yes, there is a message. Soldiers will put you under the power of the king of Babylon.’ 18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, ‘Why have your officers put me in prison? Do I deserve that? Have I done something bad against you, your officers or the people of Judah? 19 Your own prophets said that the king of Babylon would not attack you or the land of Judah. That was a lie, so what have you done to them? 20 Please help me now, my master, the king. Do not send me back to the house of your secretary Jonathan. If you do that, I will die there.’
21 Then King Zedekiah told his officers to put Jeremiah in the palace yard where the guards would watch him. He told them to get bread every day from the bakers in the city and give it to Jeremiah. They should do that until there was no more bread in the city. [ a ]
So they kept Jeremiah as prisoner in the palace yard with the royal guards.
37 Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He appointed Zedekiah son of Josiah to be the king of Judah in the place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. 2 But Zedekiah, his servants, and the people of Judah did not pay attention to the messages the Lord had given to Jeremiah the prophet.
3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with a message. This was the message they brought to Jeremiah: “Jeremiah, pray to the Lord our God for us.”
4 At that time Jeremiah had not yet been put into prison, so he was free to go anywhere he wanted. 5 Also at that time Pharaoh’s army had marched from Egypt toward Judah. The Babylonian army had surrounded the city of Jerusalem in order to defeat it. Then they had heard about the army from Egypt marching toward them. So the army from Babylon left Jerusalem to fight with the army from Egypt.
6 This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “This is what the Lord , the God of the people of Israel, says: ‘Jehucal and Zephaniah, I know that King Zedekiah of Judah sent you to me to ask questions. Tell King Zedekiah this: Pharaoh’s army marched out of Egypt to come here to help you against the army of Babylon. But Pharaoh’s army will go back to Egypt. 8 After that the army from Babylon will come back here and attack Jerusalem. Then they will capture and burn it.’ 9 This is what the Lord says: ‘People of Jerusalem, don’t fool yourselves. Don’t say to yourselves, “The army of Babylon will surely leave us alone.” They will not. 10 People of Jerusalem, even if you could defeat all the Babylonian army that is attacking you, there would still be a few wounded men left in their tents. Even those few wounded men would come out of their tents and burn Jerusalem down.’”
11 When the Babylonian army left Jerusalem to fight the army of the Pharaoh of Egypt, 12 Jeremiah wanted to travel from Jerusalem to the land of Benjamin. [ a ] He wanted to be there for a division of some property that belonged to his family. 13 But when Jeremiah got to the Benjamin Gate of Jerusalem, [ b ] the captain in charge of the guards arrested him. The captain’s name was Irijah son of Shelemiah. Shelemiah was the son of Hananiah. So Irijah the captain arrested Jeremiah and said, “Jeremiah, you are leaving us to join the Babylonian side.”
14 Jeremiah said to Irijah, “That is not true! I am not leaving to join the Babylonians.” But Irijah refused to listen to Jeremiah. And Irijah arrested Jeremiah and took him to the royal officials of Jerusalem. 15 Those officials were very angry with Jeremiah. They gave an order for Jeremiah to be beaten. Then they put him in a prison. The prison was in the house of Jonathan, a scribe for the king of Judah. His house had been made into a prison. 16 They put Jeremiah into a cell under the house of Jonathan. The cell was in a dungeon under the ground. Jeremiah was there for a long time.
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to the palace. Zedekiah talked to Jeremiah in private. He asked Jeremiah, “Is there any message from the Lord ?”
Jeremiah answered, “Yes, he said that you will be given to the king of Babylon.” 18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What have I done wrong? What crime have I done against you or your officials or the people of Jerusalem? Why have you thrown me into prison? 19 King Zedekiah, where are your prophets now? They told you a false message. They said, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land of Judah.’ 20 But now, my lord, king of Judah, please listen to me. Please let me bring my request to you. This is what I ask: Don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe. If you send me back, I will die there.”
21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be put under guard in the courtyard. And he ordered that Jeremiah should be given bread from the street bakers. He was given bread until there was no more bread in the city. So Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard.
37 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 But 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.
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 unto 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.
5 Then 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,
7 Thus 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.
8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
9 Thus saith the Lord ; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
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 should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of 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.
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.
15 Wherefore 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;
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.
18 Moreover 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?
19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against 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.
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 were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
37 Now ( A ) Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had ( B ) made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of ( C ) Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But ( D ) neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Yet ( E ) King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and ( F ) the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “ ( G ) Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet ( H ) put him in prison. 5 Meanwhile, ( I ) Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they ( J ) withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel says: ‘ ( K ) This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, ( L ) Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8 Then the Chaldeans will ( M ) return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ 9 This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not ( N ) deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us,” for they will not go. 10 For ( O ) even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and ( P ) burn this city with fire.’”
11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ( Q ) take [ a ] possession of some property there among the people. 13 While he was at the ( R ) Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ( S ) arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “ ( T ) A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 Then the officials were ( U ) angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and ( V ) put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the [ b ] ( W ) dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.
17 Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out ; and in his palace the king ( X ) secretly asked him and said, “Is there a ( Y ) word from the Lord ?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be ( Z ) handed over to the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “ ( AA ) In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 And ( AB ) where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The ( AC ) king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my ( AD ) plea [ c ] come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there.” 21 Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the ( AE ) courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of ( AF ) bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was ( AG ) gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.
37 Zedekiah ( A ) son of Josiah was made king ( B ) of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin [ a ] ( C ) son of Jehoiakim. 2 Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention ( D ) to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 King Zedekiah, however, sent ( E ) Jehukal ( F ) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah ( G ) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray ( H ) to the Lord our God for us.”
4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. ( I ) 5 Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt, ( J ) and when the Babylonians [ b ] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew ( K ) from Jerusalem. ( L )
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire ( M ) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched ( N ) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt. ( O ) 8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture ( P ) it and burn ( Q ) it down.’
9 “This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive ( R ) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! 10 Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian [ c ] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn ( S ) this city down.”
11 After the Babylonian army had withdrawn ( T ) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property ( U ) among the people there. 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, ( V ) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!” ( W )
14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested ( X ) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten ( Y ) and imprisoned ( Z ) in the house ( AA ) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.
16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sent ( AB ) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked ( AC ) him privately, ( AD ) “Is there any word from the Lord ?”
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered ( AE ) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”
18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime ( AF ) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets ( AG ) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.” ( AH )
21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread ( AI ) in the city was gone. ( AJ ) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. ( AK )
