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.
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.
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.
11And it came to pass, that when the
army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself 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.
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;
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.
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.
