Jeremiah 37

Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh

1Now 1Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had 2made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of 3Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2But 4neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

3Yet 5King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and 6the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “7Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.” 4Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet 8put him in prison. 5Meanwhile, 9Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they 10withdrew from Jerusalem.

6Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘11This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, 12Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8Then the Chaldeans will 13return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ 9This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not 14deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us,” for they will not go. 10For 15even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and 16burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to 17take 18possession of some property there among the people. 13While he was at the 19Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he 20arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” 14But Jeremiah said, “21A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15Then the officials were 22angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and 23put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. 16For Jeremiah had come into the 2425dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

17Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king 26secretly asked him and said, “Is there a 27word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be 28handed over to the king of Babylon!” 18Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “29In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19And 30where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The 31king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my 32plea 33come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there.” 21Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the 34courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of 35bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was 36gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.