Jeremias 37
1 THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS FROM THE LORD, SAYING,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.
2 Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.
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.
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.
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!”
4 AND THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE CONCERNING ISRAEL AND JUDA;
Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.
5 Thus said the Lord: You shall hear a sound of fear, [there is] fear, and there is not peace.
Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew 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 the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet:
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.
“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.
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:
Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.
9 but they shall serve the Lord their God; and I will raise up to them David their king.
This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not!
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.”
When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
12 Thus says the Lord; I have brought on [you] destruction; your stroke is painful.
Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.
13 There is none to judge your cause: you have been painfully treated for healing, there is no help for you.
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!”
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.
“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.
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.
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.
16 And they that spoil you shall become a spoil, and I will give up to be plundered all that have plundered you.
So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.
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.
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.”
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.
Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you 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 your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or 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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
