CHAPTER 37
Nebuchadnezzar
king
of Babylon
named
Zedekiah
son
of Josiah
the king
of Judah,
and he reigned
in place
of Coniah
son
of Jehoiakim.
He
and his officers
and the people
of the land
refused
to obey
the words
that the LORD
had spoken
through
Jeremiah
the prophet.
Yet King
Zedekiah
sent
Jehucal
son
of Shelemiah
and Zephaniah
the priest,
the son
of Maaseiah,
to
Jeremiah
the prophet
with the message,
“Please
pray
for us
to
the LORD
our God!”
Now Jeremiah
was free to come
and go
among
the people,
for they had not
yet put
him into the prison.
Pharaoh’s
army
had left
Egypt,
and when the Chaldeans
who were besieging
Jerusalem
heard
the report,
they withdrew
from
Jerusalem.
“This is what
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
says:
Tell
the king
of Judah,
who is sending
you
to inquire
of Me,
‘Behold,
Pharaoh’s
army,
which has marched out
to help you,
is going back
to its own land
of Egypt.
Then the Chaldeans
will return
and fight
against
this
city.
They will capture
it and burn it down.’
This is what
the LORD
says:
Do not
deceive
yourselves
by saying,
‘The Chaldeans
will go away for good,’
for
they will not!
Indeed,
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
started to leave
Jerusalem
to go
to the land
of Benjamin
to claim his portion
there
among
the people.
But 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!”
“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.
The 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.
Later, King
Zedekiah
sent for him
and received him,
and in his palace
he privately
asked,
“Is there
a word
from the LORD?”
“There is,”
Jeremiah
replied.
“You will be handed over to
the king
of Babylon.”
Then Jeremiah
asked
King
Zedekiah,
“How
have I sinned
against you
or your servants
or these
people,
that
you have put
me in
prison?
Where
are your prophets,
who
prophesied to you,
claiming,
‘The king
of Babylon
will not
come
against you
or this
land’?
But 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.”
So King
Zedekiah
gave orders,
and Jeremiah
was placed
in the courtyard
of the guard
and given
a loaf
of bread
daily
from
the baker’s
street,
until
all
the bread
in the city
was gone.
So Jeremiah
remained
in the courtyard
of the guard.