Now aZedekiah the son
of Josiah
whom
Nebuchadnezzar
king
of Babylon
had bmade
king
in the land
of Judah
, reigned
as king
in place
of cConiah
the son
of Jehoiakim
.
But aneither he nor
his servants
nor
the people
of the land
listened
to the words
of the LORD
which
He spoke
through
Jeremiah
the prophet
.
Yet aKing Zedekiah
sent
Jehucal
the son
of Shelemiah
, and bZephaniah
the son
of Maaseiah
, the priest
, to Jeremiah
the prophet
, saying
, " cPlease
pray
to the LORD
our God
on our behalf
."
Now Jeremiah was still coming
in and going
out among
the people
, for they had not yet aput
him in the prison
.
Meanwhile, aPharaoh's army
had set
out from Egypt
; and when the Chaldeans
who had been besieging
Jerusalem
heard
the report
about them, they blifted
the siege from Jerusalem
.
Then the word of the LORD
came
to Jeremiah
the prophet
, saying
,
"Thus says
the LORD
God
of Israel
, ` aThus
you are to say
to the king
of Judah
, who sent
you to Me to inquire
of Me: "Behold
, bPharaoh's
army
which has come
out for your assistance
is going to return
to its own land
of Egypt
.
"The Chaldeans will also areturn
and fight
against
this
city
, and they will capture
it and burn
it with fire
."'
"Thus says
the LORD
, `Do not adeceive
yourselves
, saying
, "The Chaldeans
will surely
go
away from us," for they will not go
.
`For aeven 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 bburn
this
city
with fire
.' "
Now it happened when the army
of the Chaldeans
had lifted
the siege from Jerusalem
because
of Pharaoh's
army
,
that Jeremiah went
out from Jerusalem
to go
to the land
of Benjamin
in order to atake
1possession
of some property
there
among
the people
.
While he was at the aGate of Benjamin
, a captain
of the guard
whose name
was Irijah
, the son
of Shelemiah
the son
of Hananiah
was there
; and he barrested
Jeremiah
the prophet
, saying
, "You are 1going
over
to the Chaldeans
!"
But Jeremiah said
, " aA lie
! I am not 1going
over
to the Chaldeans
"; yet he would not listen
to him. So Irijah
arrested
Jeremiah
and brought
him to the officials
.
Then the officials were aangry
at Jeremiah
and beat
him, and they bput
him in jail
in the house
of Jonathan
the scribe
, which they had made
into the prison
.
For Jeremiah had come
into the 1 adungeon
, that is, the vaulted
cell
; and Jeremiah
stayed
there
many
days
.
Now King Zedekiah
sent
and took
him out; and in his palace
the king
asecretly
asked
him and said
, "Is there
a bword
from the LORD
?" And Jeremiah
said
, "There
is!" Then he said
, "You will be cgiven
into the hand
of the king
of Babylon
!"
Moreover Jeremiah said
to King
Zedekiah
, " aIn what
way have I sinned
against you, or against your servants
, or against this
people
, that you have put
me in prison
?
" aWhere then are your prophets
who
prophesied
to you, saying
, `The bking
of Babylon
will not come
against
you or against
this
land
'?
"But now, please
listen
, O my lord
the king
; please
let my apetition
1come
before
you and do not make me return
to the house
of Jonathan
the scribe
, that I may not die
there
."
Then King Zedekiah
gave
commandment
, and they committed
Jeremiah
to the acourt
of the guardhouse
and gave
him a loaf
of bbread
daily
from the bakers'
street
, until
all
the bread
in the city
was cgone
. So Jeremiah
remained
in the court
of the guardhouse
.