Jeremiah 37

Revised Geneva Translation

37 And King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, made king in the land of Judah.

² But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land would obey the Words of the LORD which He spoke by the ministry of 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 to the LORD our God for us.”

⁴ Now Jeremiah went in and out among the people, for they had not put him in prison.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s army came out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who besieged Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

⁶ Then came the Word of the LORD to the Prophet Jeremiah, saying,

⁷ “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to Me to inquire of Me, “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which came forth to help you, shall return to Egypt, into their own land.

⁸ “And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.”’

⁹ “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us.” For they shall not depart.

¹⁰ ‘For even if you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans that fights against you, and there only remained wounded men among them, every man would still rise up in his tent and burn this city with fire.’”

¹¹ When the army of the Chaldeans withdrew from Jerusalem because they feared Pharaoh’s army,

¹² then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to claim property there among the people.

¹³ And when he was at the gate of Benjamin, there was a chief officer whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. And he took Jeremiah the Prophet, saying, “You flee to the Chaldeans!”

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah said, “That is false. I do not flee to the Chaldeans.” But he would not listen to him. So, Irijah took Jeremiah and brought him to the princes.

¹⁵ Therefore, the princes were angry with Jeremiah and struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jehonathan the scribe (for they had made that the prison).

¹⁶ After Jeremiah had entered into the dungeon, and into the prisons, and had remained there a long time,

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, “Indeed.” he said. “For you shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babel.

¹⁸ Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

¹⁹ “Where are your prophets, now, who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babel shall not come against you or against this land?’

²⁰ “Therefore, please hear now, O my lord the king. Let my prayer be acceptable before you, so that you cause me not to return to the house of Jehonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”

²¹ Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should put Jeremiah in the court of the prison, and that they should give him a piece of daily bread out of the baker’s street until all the bread in the city was eaten up. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.