Jeremiah 37

1 After Jehoiakim died, [his son Jehoiachin became king for only three months, after which] King Josiah’s son Zedekiah became the King of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, appointed him to be the new king.

Now Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned as king instead of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made Zedekiah king over the land of Judah.

2 But King Zedekiah and his palace officials and the other people in the land paid no attention to the messages that Yahweh gave me.

But Zedekiah, his servants, and the people of the land did not listen to the words of Yahweh that he proclaimed by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.

3 However, [one day] King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, who was the son of Maaseiah, to me. They requested me to pray to Yahweh our God for our [nation].

So King Zedekiah, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest sent a message to Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Pray on our behalf to Yahweh our God.”

4 At that time I had not yet been put in prison, so I could come and go wherever and whenever I wanted to, [without being hindered].

Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.

5 [At that time], the army of [Hophra], the King of Egypt, came [to the southern border of Judah]. When the army of Babylonia heard about that, they stopped surrounding Jerusalem and left there [to fight against the army from Egypt].

Pharaoh's army came out from Egypt, and the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the news about them and left Jerusalem.

6 Then Yahweh gave this message to me:

Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

7 “[I], Yahweh, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say this: ‘The King of Judah has sent [messengers] to you to ask me [what is going to happen]. Tell the king that even though the army of the King of Egypt came to help him, they are about to return to Egypt.

“Yahweh, God of Israel, says this: This is what you will say to the king of Judah, because he has sent you to seek advice from me, 'See, Pharaoh's army, which came to help you, is about to go back to Egypt, its own land.

8 Then the army of Babylonia will return here and capture this city and burn everything in it.’

The Chaldeans will return. They will fight against this city, capture it, and burn it.'

9 [So], this is what I say [to you Israelis]: ‘You should not deceive yourselves, thinking that the army from Babylonia has gone and will not return. That is not true.

Yahweh says this: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, 'Surely the Chaldeans are leaving us,' for they will not leave.

10 And even if your soldiers could destroy almost all of the soldiers from Babylonia who are attacking you, and allow only a few of them who were wounded to remain alive in their tents, they would come out [of their tents] and burn this city completely!”’”

Even if you had defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting you so that only wounded men were left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city.”

11 When the army from Babylonia left Jerusalem because the army from Egypt was approaching,

So it was when the Chaldean army had left Jerusalem as Pharaoh's army was coming,

12 I started to leave the city. I intended to go to the area [where the descendants of] Benjamin live, in order to take possession of my share of the property from my family.

then Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin. He wanted to take possession of a tract of land there among his people.

13 But as I was walking out the Benjamin Gate, a guard seized me and said, “You are deserting [us and going] to [the soldiers from] Babylonia!” The man who seized me was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah.

As he was in the Benjamin Gate, a chief guard was there. His name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah. He grabbed hold of Jeremiah the prophet and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”

14 But I [protested and] said, “That is not true! I was not intending to do that!” But Irijah would not pay attention to what I said. He took me to the [king’s] officials.

But Jeremiah said, “That is not true. I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah did not listen to him. He took Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

15 They were very angry with me. They [commanded the guards to] beat me and [then to] put me in the house where Jonathan the king’s secretary stayed. They had changed Jonathan’s house to make it become a prison.

The officials were angry with Jeremiah. They beat him and put him in prison, which had been the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had turned it into a prison.

16 They put me in a dungeon/cell in that prison, and I remained there for several days.

So Jeremiah was put into an underground cell, where he stayed for many days.

17 Then King Zedekiah secretly sent a servant to me, who took me to the palace. There the king asked me, “Do you have any messages from Yahweh?” I replied, “Yes, [the message is that] you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

Then King Zedekiah sent someone who brought him to the palace. In his house, the king asked him privately, “Is there any word from Yahweh?” Jeremiah answered, “There is a word: You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.”

18 Then I asked the king, “What crime have I committed [RHQ] against you or against your officials or against the Israeli people, with the result that you have [commanded that] I be put in a prison?

Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you, your servants, or this people so that you have placed me in prison?

19 Your prophets predicted that the army of the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land. Why were [RHQ] [their messages] not fulfilled?

Where are your prophets, the ones who prophesied for you and said the king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?

20 Your majesty, I plead with you to listen to me. Do not send me back to the dungeon/cell in the house of Jonathan your secretary, because [if you do that, ] I will die there.”

But now listen, my master the king! Let my pleas come before you. Do not return me to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

21 So King Zedekiah commanded that [I not be sent back to the prison cell. Instead, ] I was allowed to be watched by the guards in the courtyard [of the palace]. [The king] also [commanded that they should] bring me a loaf of fresh bread every day, until there was no bread left in the city. So [they put me] in that courtyard and I remained there.

So King Zedekiah gave an order. His servants confined Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard. A loaf of bread was given him every day from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.