Jeremiah 37
37
1 And then king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned in place of Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed him as king in the land of Judah.
2 And neither he himself, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, obeyed the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of Jeremiah, the prophet.
3 And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "Pray to the Lord our God for us."
4 Now Jeremiah was walking freely in the midst of the people. For they had not yet sent him into the custody of the prison. And then the army of Pharaoh went forth from Egypt. And hearing this, the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, withdrew from Jerusalem.
5 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
6 "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: So shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to question me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has gone forth in assistance to you, will return to their own land, into Egypt.
7 And the Chaldeans will return and will make war against this city. And they will seize it and burn it with fire.
8 Thus says the Lord: Do not be willing to deceive your own souls, saying: 'The Chaldeans will certainly withdraw and go away from us.' For they will not go away.
9 But even if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and if there were left behind from among them only a few wounded men, they would rise up, each one from his tent, and they would burn this city with fire."
10 Therefore, when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,
11 Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, and to distribute a possession there, in the sight of the citizens.
12 And when he had arrived at the gate of Benjamin, the keeper of the gate, whose turn it was to be there, was named Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. And he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are fleeing to the Chaldeans."
13 And Jeremiah responded: "That is false. I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans." But he did not listen to him. And so Irijah took Jeremiah, and he brought him to the leaders.
14 Therefore, the leaders were angry with Jeremiah, and so they beat him and sent him to the prison that was in the house of Jonathan, the scribe. For he was the chief over the prison.
15 And so Jeremiah went into the house of the prison and into a dungeon. And Jeremiah sat there for many days.
16 Then Zedekiah the king, sending, took him out and questioned him secretly in his house, and he said: "Do you think that there is any word from the Lord?" And Jeremiah said: "There is." And he said: "You will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon."
17 And Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah: "How have I sinned against you, or your servants, or your people, such that you would cast me into a house of imprisonment?
18 Where are your prophets, who were prophesying to you, and who were saying: 'The king of Babylon will not overwhelm you and this land?'
19 Now therefore, listen, I beg you, my lord the king. Let my petition prevail in your sight. And do not send me back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."
20 Then king Zedekiah instructed that Jeremiah be confined to the vestibule of the prison, and that they should give him a twist of bread daily, along with stew, until all the bread in the city had been consumed. And Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison.
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Jeremiah 37: CPDV
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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.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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