Jeremias 37
1 THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAS FROM THE LORD, SAYING,
Now King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, 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 regarded the words of Jehovah, 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 Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Pray now to Jehovah 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 cast him into prison.
5 Thus said the Lord: You shall hear a sound of fear, [there is] fear, and there is not peace.
And Pharaoh's army had come forth out of Egypt; and the Chaldaeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, having heard tidings of them, had 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 Jehovah to 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 saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, 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 Chaldaeans 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 Jehovah: Deceive not yourselves, saying, “The Chaldaeans shall surely depart from us”; for they shall not depart.
For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldaeans that fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, each one in his tent, yet should they rise up and burn this city with fire.
And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldaeans had marched away from Jerusalem because of the army of Pharaoh,
12 Thus says the Lord; I have brought on [you] destruction; your stroke is painful.
that Jeremiah was going forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive thence his inheritance among 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 seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Thou art going over to the Chaldaeans.”
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 said, “It is false; I am not going over to the Chaldaeans.” 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.
And the princes were enraged against Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that 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.
And when Jeremiah had gone into the dungeon, and into the cells, and had 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.
then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out; and the king asked him in his house privately, and said, “Hast thou any word from Jehovah?” And Jeremiah said, “I have.” And he said, “Into the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be delivered.”
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 said to King Zedekiah, What offence have I committed 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.
And where are your prophets, who prophesied to 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.
But now hear, I pray thee, my lord the king! let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee, and 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 should be consumed. And 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.
