Jeremiah 37

1 Jehoiakim capa Koniah yueng la Josiah capa manghai Zedekiah te manghai. Anih te Babylon manghai Nebukhanezar loh Judah khohmuen ah a manghai sak.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon replaced Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim with Zedekiah son of Josiah as the ruling king of Judah.

2 Tedae tonghma Jeremiah kut lamloh a thui BOEIPA ol te amah neh a sal rhoek neh khohmuen pilnam loh a hnatun moenih.

But Zedekiah and his officers and everyone else in the country refused to obey what the Lord had said through Jeremiah the prophet.

3 Manghai Zedekiah loh Shelemiah capa Jehukal neh khosoih Maaseiah capa Zephaniah te tonghma Jeremiah taengla a tueih tih, “Mamih kah Pathen BOEIPA taengah kaimih ham thangthui laeh,” a ti nah.

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

4 Te vaengah anih te im kah thongim, thongim ah a khueh uh pawt dongah Jeremiah te pilnam lakli ah mop tih pongpa pueng.

(At this time Jeremiah could come and go freely, because as yet they hadn't put him in prison.)

5 Te vaengah Pharaoh kah tatthai rhoek he Egypt lamloh ha pawk uh. Tedae a olthang te Jerusalem aka dum Khalden rhoek loh a yaak vaengah Khalden rhoek te Jerusalem lamloh nong uh.

Pharaoh's army was advancing from Egypt, and when the Babylonian army heard about it, they moved away from Jerusalem.

6 Te vaengah BOEIPA ol te tonghma Jeremiah taengla ha pawk tih,

Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:

7 Israel Pathen BOEIPA loh he ni a thui. Kai loepdak ham kai nan tueih coeng lah ko, Judah manghai te he thui he pah. Nangmih taengah bomnah ham Pharaoh kah tatthai ha pawk dae amah Egypt kho la mael ni ne.

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, instructs you to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask me for help: Look! Pharaoh's army, which set out to help you, is going to return home to Egypt.

8 Te vaengah Khalden rhoek ha pawk vetih he khopuei he a vathoh thil ni. A tuuk vetih hmai neh a hlup ni.

Then the Babylonians will return and attack Jerusalem. They will capture it and burn it down.

9 BOEIPA loh he ni a thui. Khalden he kaimih taeng lamloh nong nong bitni a ti neh na hinglu te rhaithi boeh. Nong mahpawh.

This is what the Lord says: Don't fool yourselves by saying, “The Babylonians are gone for good,” because they're not!

10 Khalden caem te na vathoh thil tih boeih na ngawn khoem mai cakhaw amih hlang he sueng pueng. A dap khuikah a thun hlang pataeng thoo vetih he khopuei he hmai neh a hoeh ni.

In fact, even if you were able to kill the whole Babylonian army attacking you, leaving only wounded men in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.

11 Pharaoh caem hmai ah Khalden caem khaw Jerusalem lamloh nong uh.

When the Babylonian army moved away from Jerusalem because of the threat of Pharaoh's army,

12 Te dongah Jeremiah Jerusalem lamloh nong tih pilnam lakli ah buhvae pahoi duen ham Benjamin kho la cet.

Jeremiah was on his way out of Jerusalem to go to his home in the territory of Benjamin to claim his share of his family's property.

13 Tedae Benjamin vongka ah Hananiah koca Shelemiah capa, a ming ah rhaltoeng boei Irijah te tapkhoeh om. Te dongah tonghma Jeremiah te a tuuk tih, “Khalden taengla na cungku aya?,” a ti nah.

However, when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the guard captain, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, arrested him, saying, “You're defecting to the Babylonians!”

14 Jeremiah loh, “A poeyoek la, Khalden taengah ka cungku mahpawh,” a ti nah. Tedae anih taengkah te a hnatun pawt dongah Irijah loh Jeremiah te a tuuk tih mangpa rhoek taegla a thak.

“That's not true,” Jeremiah replied. “I'm not defecting to the Babylonians!” But Irijah refused to listen to him. He arrested Jeremiah and took him before the officers.

15 Mangpa rhoek te Jeremiah taengah a thintoek uh. Te dongah amah te a boh uh tih cadaek Jonathan im kah thongim imkhui ah a khueh uh. Te vaengah anih im te thongim la a saii uh.

The officers were furious with Jeremiah. They had him beaten and locked up in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which had been turned into a prison.

16 Te dongah Jeremiah te tangrhom im khuila pawk tih airhol khuiah khaw Jeremiah he khohnin a yet hnap om.

Jeremiah was placed in a cell in the underground dungeon and was kept there for a long time.

17 Te phoeiah manghai Zedekiah loh a tah tih anih te a khuen pah. Anih te manghai loh amah im ah a huep la a dawt tih, “BOEIPA taeng lamkah ol om a te?” a ti nah. Jeremiah loh a doo tih, “Babylon manghai kut dongla m'paek ni,” a ti nah.

Some while later King Zedekiah secretly sent for him and had him brought to the royal palace where he asked, “Is there a message from Lord for me?” “Yes there is,” Jeremiah replied. “You are going to be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

18 Jeremiah loh manghai Zedekiah taengah, “Thongim imkhui ah kai nan khueh ham akhaw nang taeng neh na sal rhoek taengah, he pilnam taengah balae ka tholh,

Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or these people, for you to put me in prison?

19 Namah taengah tonghma uh tih, 'Babylon manghai loh namah neh he khohmuen khaw, vathoh thil mahpawh,’ aka ti na tonghma rhoek te ta melae me?

Where are your prophets now, the ones who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon won't come and attack you and this country’?

20 Tedae ka boei manghai aw hnatun mai dae lamtah kai kah lungmacil he na mikhmuh ah thoeng laeh saeh. Kai he cadaek Jonathan imkhui la nan mael sak pawt daengah ni pahoi ka duek pawt eh?,” a ti nah.

Now please listen to me, my lord the king, and respond positively to my request. Don't send me back to prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, otherwise I'll die there.”

21 Te dongah manghai Zedekiah loh auen tih Jeremiah te thongim vongup ah a khueh. Anih te hnin at ah buh hluem te kholong buh thong taeng lamloh khopuei lamkah buh boeih a cung duela a paek. Jeremiah khaw thongim vongup ah kho a sak.

King Zedekiah gave the order for Jeremiah to be held in the guard's courtyard and be provided with a loaf of bread every day from a bakery until there was no bread left in the city. So Jeremiah stayed in the guard's courtyard.