Jeremiah 37
37
Zedekiah Calls for Jeremiah
1Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jehoiachin#37:1a Hebrew Coniah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin. son of Jehoiakim as the king of Judah. He was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar#37:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar. of Babylon. 2But neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the Lord said through Jeremiah.
3Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to ask Jeremiah, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us.” 4Jeremiah had not yet been imprisoned, so he could come and go among the people as he pleased.
5At this time the army of Pharaoh Hophra#37:5a Hebrew army of Pharaoh; see 44:30. of Egypt appeared at the southern border of Judah. When the Babylonian#37:5b Or Chaldean; also in 37:10, 11. army heard about it, they withdrew from their siege of Jerusalem.
6Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 7“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what is going to happen. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you. 8Then the Babylonians#37:8 Or Chaldeans; also in 37:9, 13. will come back and capture this city and burn it to the ground.’
9“This is what the Lord says: Do not fool yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians are gone for good. They aren’t! 10Even if you were to destroy the entire Babylonian army, leaving only a handful of wounded survivors, they would still stagger from their tents and burn this city to the ground!”
Jeremiah Is Imprisoned
11When the Babylonian army left Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s approaching army, 12Jeremiah started to leave the city on his way to the territory of Benjamin, to claim his share of the property among his relatives there.#37:12 Hebrew to separate from there in the midst of the people. 13But as he was walking through the Benjamin Gate, a sentry arrested him and said, “You are defecting to the Babylonians!” The sentry making the arrest was Irijah son of Shelemiah, grandson of Hananiah.
14“That’s not true!” Jeremiah protested. “I had no intention of doing any such thing.” But Irijah wouldn’t listen, and he took Jeremiah before the officials. 15They were furious with Jeremiah and had him flogged and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary. Jonathan’s house had been converted into a prison. 16Jeremiah was put into a dungeon cell, where he remained for many days.
17Later King Zedekiah secretly requested that Jeremiah come to the palace, where the king asked him, “Do you have any messages from the Lord?”
“Yes, I do!” said Jeremiah. “You will be defeated by the king of Babylon.”
18Then Jeremiah asked the king, “What crime have I committed? What have I done against you, your attendants, or the people that I should be imprisoned like this? 19Where are your prophets now who told you the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land? 20Listen, my lord the king, I beg you. Don’t send me back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for I will die there.”
21So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon. Instead, he was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. The king also commanded that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every day as long as there was any left in the city. So Jeremiah was put in the palace prison.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 37: NLT
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
Jeremiah 37
37
Jeremiah falsely accused and imprisoned
1Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah, Josiah’s son, to succeed Coniah, Jehoiakim’s son, as king of Judah. 2Neither Zedekiah, his attendants, nor the people of the land listened to the LORD’s words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.
3Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, Shelemiah’s son, and the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah’s son, to Jeremiah the prophet with this plea: “Please pray for us to the LORD our God.” (4Now Jeremiah hadn’t been imprisoned yet, so he was free to come and go among the people. 5Pharaoh’s army had recently#37.5 Heb lacks recently. set out from Egypt; when the Babylonians who were attacking Jerusalem learned of the Egyptian advance, they withdrew from Jerusalem.)
6Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7The LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims: Tell the king of Judah who sent his emissaries to seek advice from me: “Pharaoh’s army that came to assist you is heading back to Egypt. 8The Babylonians will return and attack this city. They will capture it and burn it down.”
9The LORD proclaims: Don’t let yourself be deceived into thinking that the Babylonians will withdraw for good.#37.9 Heb lacks for good. They won’t! 10Even if you were to crush the entire Babylonian army that’s attacking you and only the wounded in their tents remained, they would rise up and burn this city down.
11Now when the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem due to Pharaoh’s advance, 12Jeremiah set out for the land of Benjamin to secure his share of the family property.#37.12 Heb uncertain 13He got as far as the Benjamin Gate in Jerusalem when the guard there named Irijah, Shelemiah’s son and Hananiah’s grandson, arrested the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are deserting to the Babylonians.”
14“That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I’m not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah wouldn’t listen to him. He arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials, 15who were furious with him. They beat him and threw him into the house of the scribe Jonathan, which had been turned into a prison. 16So Jeremiah was put in a cistern, which was like a dungeon, where he remained a long time.
17Later King Zedekiah sent for him and questioned Jeremiah secretly in the palace: “Is there a word from the LORD?”
“There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You are going to be handed over to the king of Babylon.” 18Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What have I done wrong to you or your attendants or this people that you should throw me into prison? 19Where are your prophets now who prophesied that the king of Babylon wouldn’t attack you and this land? 20Now, my master and king, I beg you, don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I’ll die there.” 21So King Zedekiah gave orders that Jeremiah be held in the prison quarters and that he receive a loaf of bread daily from the street vendors#37.21 Or from the street of the bakers—until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the prison quarters.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.