37:1 And 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.
37:2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the
land, hearkened to the words of the LORD, which he spoke by the
prophet Jeremiah.
37:3 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.
37:4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for
they had not put him into prison.
37:5 Then Pharaoh's army had come from Egypt: and when the
Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they
departed from Jerusalem.
37:6 Then came the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah,
saying,
37:7 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say
to the king of Judah, that sent you to me to inquire of me;
Behold, Pharaoh's army, which hath come forth to help you,
shall return to Egypt into their own land.
37:8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this
city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
37:9 Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The
Chaldeans will surely depart from us: for they will not depart.
37:10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans
that fight against you, and there remained [but] wounded men
among them, [yet] would they rise up every man in his tent, and
burn this city with fire.
37:11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans
was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
37:12 Then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of
Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the
people.
37:13 And 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.
37:14 Then 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.
37:15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and beat
him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe:
for they had made that the prison.
37:16 When Jeremiah had entered into the dungeon, and into the
cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
37:17 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, There is: for, said he,
thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
37:18 Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, In what have I
offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this
people, that ye have put me in prison?
37:19 Where [are] now your prophets who prophesied to you,
saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor
against this land?
37:20 Therefore 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.
37:21 Then 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 baker's street,
until all the bread in the city should be consumed. Thus
Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
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