Jeremiah 37

37:1 Zedekiah son of Josiah followed Jeconiah1 son of Jehoiakim as king. He was elevated to the throne of the land of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.2 37:2 And neither he nor the officials who served him nor the people of Judah paid any attention to what the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah.3

The Lord Responds to Zedekiah’s Hope for Help

37:3 King Zedekiah sent4 Jehucal5 son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah6 son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah. He told them to say, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.” 37:4 (Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison.7 So he was still free to come and go among the people as he pleased.8 37:5 At that time the Babylonian forces9 had temporarily given up their siege against Jerusalem.10 They had had it under siege, but withdrew when they heard that the army of Pharaoh had set out from Egypt.11) 37:6 The Lord gave the prophet Jeremiah a message for them. He told him to tell them,12 37:7 “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Give a message to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me to help him.13 Tell him, “The army of Pharaoh that was on its way to help you will go back home to Egypt.14 37:8 Then the Babylonian forces15 will return. They will attack the city and will capture it and burn it down. 37:9 Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces16 will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away.17 37:10 For even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces18 fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.”’”19

Jeremiah Charged with Deserting, Arrested, and Imprisoned

37:11 The following events also occurred20 while the Babylonian forces21 had temporarily withdrawn from Jerusalem22 because the army of Pharaoh was coming. 37:12 Jeremiah started out to leave Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin. He wanted to make sure he got his share of the property that was being divided up among his family there.23 37:13 But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate.24 There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah,25 who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said,26 “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”27 37:14 Jeremiah answered, “That’s a lie! I am not deserting to the Babylonians.”28 But Irijah wouldn’t listen to him. Irijah put Jeremiah under arrest and took him to the officials. 37:15 The officials were very angry29 at Jeremiah. They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary, which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners.30

37:16 So31 Jeremiah was put in prison, in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan’s house.32 He33 was kept there for a long time. 37:17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him,34 “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he added,35 “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”36 37:18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you, or the officials who serve you, or the people of Judah? What have I done to make you people throw me into prison?37 37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that38 the king of Babylon wouldn’t attack you or this land? 37:20 But now please listen, your royal Majesty,39 and grant my plea for mercy.40 Don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary. If you do, I will die there.”41 37:21 Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread42 be given to him every day from the baker’s street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept43 in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah Is Charged with Treason and Put in a Cistern to Die

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