|
Jeremiah 37
1 And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the
son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of
Judah.
2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did
hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.
3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and
Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray
now unto the LORD our God for us.
4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had
not put him into prison.
5 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the
Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from
Jerusalem.
6 Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah saying,
7 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the
king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army,
which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city,
and take it, and burn it with fire.
9 Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The
Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that
fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should
they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was
broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of
Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
13 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 took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.
14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the
Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him
to the princes.
15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him,
and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made
that the prison.
16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins,
and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king
asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And
Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of
the king of Babylon.
18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended
against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put
me in prison?
19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying,
The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
20 Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my
supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to
return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
21 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 were
spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
|
