Jeremiah 37

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.footnote a

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.

6Then 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.footnote b

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.footnote c

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

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

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.footnote f

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.

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

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.footnote h

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 Warns Zedekiah

1Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniahfootnote a son of Jehoiakim. 2But he and his officers and the people of the land refused to obey the words that the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

3Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucalfootnote b 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!”

4Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeansfootnote c who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7“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. 8Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.

9This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not! 10Indeed, 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.”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion therefootnote d among the people. 13But 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“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.

15The 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.

16So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.

17Later, 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.”

18Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison? 19Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’? 20But 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.”

21So 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.