Jeremias 37
1 THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS FROM THE LORD, SAYING,
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 Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.
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 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 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 AND THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE CONCERNING ISRAEL AND JUDA;
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 Thus said the Lord: You shall hear a sound of fear, [there is] fear, and there is not peace.
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 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.
And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah the prophet, 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 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 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 have turned back, and fought against this city, and captured it, and burnt it with fire.
9 but they shall serve the Lord their God; and I will raise up to them David their king.
'Thus said Jehovah: Lift not up your souls saying, The Chaldeans surely go from off us, for they do not go;
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.'
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 Thus says the Lord; I have brought on [you] destruction; your stroke is painful.
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 There is none to judge your cause: you have been painfully treated for healing, there is no help for you.
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 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.
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 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.
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 And they that spoil you shall become a spoil, and I will give up to be plundered all that have plundered you.
When Jeremiah hath entered into the house of the dungeon, and unto the cells, then Jeremiah dwelleth 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 And their sons shall go in as before, and their testimonies shall be established before me, and I will visit them that afflict them.
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 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.
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.
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.
