Jeremias 37
1 THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS FROM THE LORD, SAYING,
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.
2 Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.
But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.
3 For, behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel and Juda, said the Lord: and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall be lords of it.
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 unto the LORD our God for us.
4 AND THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE CONCERNING ISRAEL AND JUDA;
Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.
5 Thus said the Lord: You shall hear a sound of fear, [there is] fear, and there is not peace.
Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6 Enquire, and see if a male has born a child? and [ask] concerning the fear, wherein they shall hold their loins, and [look for] safety: for I have seen every man, and his hands are on his loins; [their] faces are turned to paleness.
Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
7 For that day is great, and there is not such [another]; and it is a time of straitness to Jacob; but he shall be saved out of it.
Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
8 In that day, said the Lord, I will break the yoke off their neck, and will burst their bonds, and they shall no longer serve strangers:
And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
9 but they shall serve the Lord their God; and I will raise up to them David their king.
Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained [but] wounded men among them, [yet] should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
12 Thus says the Lord; I have brought on [you] destruction; your stroke is painful.
Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
13 There is none to judge your cause: you have been painfully treated for healing, there is no help for you.
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.
14 All your friends have forgotten you; they shall not ask [about you] at all, for I have struck you with he stroke of an enemy, [even] severe correction: your sins have abounded above all your iniquity.
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.
15 Your sins have abounded beyond the multitude of your iniquities, [therefore] they have done these things to you. Therefore all that devour you shall be eaten, and all your enemies shall eat all their [own] flesh.
Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
16 And they that spoil you shall become a spoil, and I will give up to be plundered all that have plundered you.
When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
17 For I will bring about your healing, I will heal you of your grievous wound, says the Lord; for you are called Dispersed: she is your prey, for no one seeks after her.
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.
18 Thus said the Lord; Behold, I will turn the captivity of Jacob, and will have pity upon his prisoners; and the city shall be built upon her hill, and the people shall settle after their manner.
Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
19 And there shall go forth from them singers, [even] the sound of men making merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not at all be diminished.
Where [are] now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
20 And their sons shall go in as before, and their testimonies shall be established before me, and I will visit them that afflict them.
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.
21 And their mighty ones shall be over them, and their prince shall proceed of themselves; and I will gather them, and they shall return to me: for who is this that has set his heart to return to me? says the Lord.
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 bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
23 For the wrathful anger of the lord has gone forth, [even] a whirlwind of anger has gone forth: it shall come upon the ungodly.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he shall execute [it], and until he shall establish the purpose of his heart: in the latter days you shall know these things.
