Jeremiah 37:11-21

New American Standard Bible 1995

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ^(A)take ^[a]possession of some property there among the people. ¹³ While he was at the ^(B)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ^(C)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are ^[b]going over to the Chaldeans!” ¹⁴ But Jeremiah said, “^(D)A lie! I am not ^[c]going over to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵ Then the officials were ^(E)angry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they ^(F)put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison. ¹⁶ For Jeremiah had come into the ^[d](G)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

¹⁷ Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king ^(H)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a ^(I)word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be ^(J)given into the hand of the king of Babylon!” ¹⁸ Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “^(K)In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? ^19 (L)Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The ^(M)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? ²⁰ But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my ^(N)petition ^[e]come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there.” ²¹ Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the ^(O)court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of ^(P)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was ^(Q)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.