Jeremiah 37: 1 - 38: 28
| 1Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, listened to the LORD’s words, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. |
| 3Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now to the LORD our God for us.” |
| 4Now Jeremiah came in and went out amongst the people; for they had not put him into prison. 5Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem. |
| 6Then the LORD’s word came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7“The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to enquire of me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, will return to Egypt into their own land. 8The Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city. They will take it and burn it with fire.”’ |
| 9“The LORD says, ‘Don’t deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us;” for they will not depart. 10For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and only wounded men remained amongst them, they would each rise up in his tent and burn this city with fire.’” |
| 11When the army of the Chaldeans had broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the middle of the people. 13When he was in Benjamin’s gate, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!” |
| 14Then Jeremiah said, “That is false! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” |
| But he didn’t listen to him; so Irijah seized Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 15The princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison. |
| 16When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17then Zedekiah the king sent, and had him brought out. The king asked him secretly in his house, “Is there any word from the LORD?” |
| Jeremiah said, “There is.” He also said, “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” |
| 18Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19Now where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you, nor against this land?’ 20Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.” |
| 21Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard. They gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. |
| 1Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying, 2“The LORD says, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live, and he will escape with his life, and he will live.’ 3The LORD says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’” |
| 4Then the princes said to the king, “Please let this man be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn’t seek the welfare of this people, but harm.” |
| 5Zedekiah the king said, “Behold, he is in your hand; for the king can’t do anything to oppose you.” |
| 6Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire. |
| 7Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king was then sitting in Benjamin’s gate), 8Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, and spoke to the king, saying, 9“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon. He is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.” |
| 10Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dies.” |
| 11So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the cords.” |
| Jeremiah did so. 13So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. |
| 14Then Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to himself into the third entry that is in the LORD’s house. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.” |
| 15Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? If I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” |
| 16So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the LORD lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” |
| 17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “The LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul will live, and this city will not be burnt with fire. You will live, along with your house. 18But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you won’t escape out of their hand.’” |
| 19Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.” |
| 20But Jeremiah said, “They won’t deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the LORD’s voice, in that which I speak to you; so it will be well with you, and your soul will live. 21But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that the LORD has shown me: 22‘Behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house will be brought out to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women will say, |
| “Your familiar friends have turned on you, |
| and have prevailed over you. |
| Your feet are sunk in the mire, |
| they have turned away from you.” |
| 23They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape out of their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. You will cause this city to be burnt with fire.’” |
| 24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of these words, and you won’t die. 25But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king; don’t hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also tell us what the king said to you;’ 26then you shall tell them, ‘I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.’” |
| 27Then all the princes came to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. |
| 28So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. |
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