Jeremiah 37

1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.

And reign doth king Zedekiah son of Josiah instead of Coniah son of Jehoiakim whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had caused to reign in the land of Judah,

2 But he and his officers and the people of the land refused to obey the words that the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

and he hath not hearkened, he, and his servants, and the people of the land, unto the words of Jehovah, that He spake by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.

3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”

And Zedekiah the king sendeth Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 'Pray, we beseech thee, for us unto Jehovah our God.'

4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.

And Jeremiah is coming in and going out in the midst of the people, (and they have not put him in the prison-house),

5 Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

and the force of Pharaoh hath come out of Egypt, and the Chaldeans, who are laying siege against Jerusalem, hear their report, and go up from off Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet:

And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

7 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt.

'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Thus do ye say unto the king of Judah, who is sending you unto Me, to seek Me: Lo, the force of Pharaoh that is coming out to you for help hath turned back to its land, to Egypt,

8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.

and the Chaldeans have turned back, and fought against this city, and captured it, and burnt it with fire.

9 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not!

'Thus said Jehovah: Lift not up your souls saying, The Chaldeans surely go from off us, for they do not go;

10 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”

for though ye had smitten all the force of the Chaldeans who are fighting with you, and there were left of them wounded men — each in his tent — they rise, and have burnt this city with fire.'

11 When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

And it hath come to pass, in the going up of the force of the Chaldeans from off Jerusalem, because of the force of Pharaoh,

12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.

that Jeremiah goeth out from Jerusalem to go [to] the land of Benjamin, to receive a portion thence in the midst of the people.

13 But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!”

And it cometh to pass, he is at the gate of Benjamin, and there [is] a master of the ward — and his name is Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah — and he catcheth Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 'Unto the Chaldeans thou art falling.'

14 “That is a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officials.

And Jeremiah saith, 'Falsehood — I am not falling unto the Chaldeans;' and he hath not hearkened unto him, and Irijah layeth hold on Jeremiah, and bringeth him in unto the heads,

15 The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.

and the heads are wroth against Jeremiah, and have smitten him, and put him in the prison-house — the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it they had made for a prison-house.

16 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.

When Jeremiah hath entered into the house of the dungeon, and unto the cells, then Jeremiah dwelleth there many days,

17 Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

and the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh him, and the king asketh him in his house in secret, and saith, 'Is there a word from Jehovah?' And Jeremiah saith, 'There is,' and he saith, 'Into the hand of the king of Babylon thou art given.'

18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison?

And Jeremiah saith unto the king Zedekiah, 'What have I sinned against thee, and against thy servants, and against this people, that ye have given me unto a prison-house?

19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?

And where [are] your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon doth not come in against you, and against this land?

20 But now please listen, O my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

And now, hearken, I pray thee, my lord, O king, let my supplication fall, I pray thee, before thee, and cause me not to return [to] the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I die not there.'

21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

And the king Zedekiah commandeth, and they commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, also to give to him a cake of bread daily from the bakers' street, till the consumption of all the bread of the city, and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison.