Jeremiah 37:1-5

1Josiah's son Zedekiah became king of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon chose Zedekiah to be king instead of Jehoiakim's son, Jeconiah.

2Zedekiah did not obey the Lord's messages that Jeremiah spoke. The king's officers and the people of Judah did not obey those messages either.

3King Zedekiah sent a message to the prophet Jeremiah. He sent Shelemiah's son Jehucal, and Maaseiah's son Zephaniah, the priest, to deliver this message: ‘Please pray to the Lord our God for us.’

4Jeremiah was a free man at this time. They had not yet put him in prison. He could go where he wanted among the people.

5The army of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had marched out of Egypt. Babylon's soldiers who were attacking Jerusalem heard news about that. So they went away from Jerusalem.