^19 (A)They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^(B)I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

⁹ Have I not commanded you? ^(A)Be strong and courageous. ^(B)Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

²⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(A)Zephaniah the son of ^(B)Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^(C)charge in the house of the Lord ^(D)over every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^(E)the stocks and neck irons. ²⁷ Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^(F)of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^(G)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

^29 (H)Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ^30 (I)Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^(J)Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^(K)Shemaiah had prophesied to you ^(L)when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³² therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^(M)Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^(N)and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^(O)for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now when ^(A)the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, ¹² Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^(B)the land of Benjamin ^(C)to receive his portion there ^(D)among the people. ¹³ When he was at ^(E)the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^(F)Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^(G)“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” ¹⁴ And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^(H)the officials. ¹⁵ And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^(I)and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

^16 (J)When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, ¹⁷ King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^(K)secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^(L)“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸ Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^(M)that you have put me in prison? ^19 (N)Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? ²⁰ Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^(O)let my humble plea come before you and ^(P)do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” ²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^(Q)the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, ^(R)until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^(S)the court of the guard.

¹¹ Then ^(A)the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, ^(B)“This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. ¹³ Now therefore ^(C)mend your ways and your deeds, ^(D)and obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^(E)and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. ^14 (F)But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. ¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^(G)you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

^16 (H)Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^(I)“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ^17 (J)And certain of ^(K)the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, ¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^(M)Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^(N)and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^(O)But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

²⁰ There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(P)Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. ²¹ And when ^(Q)King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. ²² Then ^(R)King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^(S)Elnathan the son of ^(T)Achbor and others with him, ²³ and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^(U)who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(V)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.