Jeremiah 37
Legacy Standard Bible
Jeremiah Warns Against Trust in Pharaoh
37 Now (A)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had (B)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of (C)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But (D)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of Yahweh which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Yet (E)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and (F)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “(G)Please pray to Yahweh our God on our behalf.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people; they had not yet (H)put him in the prison. 5 Meanwhile, (I)Pharaoh’s military force had come out from Egypt; and the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them. So they (J)withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘(K)Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, (L)the military force of Pharaoh which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8 The Chaldeans will also (M)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ 9 Thus says Yahweh, ‘Do not (N)deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. 10 For (O)even if you had struck down the entire military force of the Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men remaining among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and (P)burn this city with fire.’”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 Now it happened when the military force of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of the military force of Pharaoh, 12 that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to (Q)obtain his portion of some property there among the people. 13 Now it happened that while he was at the (R)Gate of Benjamin, the master of the guard whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he (S)seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are [a]going over to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “(T)A lie! I am not [b]going over to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 Then the officials were (U)angry at Jeremiah and struck him, and they (V)put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe because they had made that house into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the [c](W)pit, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.
17 Then King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king (X)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a (Y)word from Yahweh?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be (Z)given into the hand of the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “(AA)In what way have I sinned against you or against your servants or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 (AB)Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The (AC)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 (AD)supplication [d]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 (AE)court of the guard and gave him a loaf of (AF)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city had (AG)come to an end. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 37:13 Lit falling
- Jeremiah 37:14 Lit falling
- Jeremiah 37:16 Lit house of the pit
- Jeremiah 37:20 Lit fall
Jeremiah 37
Christian Standard Bible
Jerusalem’s Last Days
37 Zedekiah son of Josiah(A) reigned as king in the land of Judah(B) in place of Coniah[a](C) son of Jehoiakim, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made him king. 2 He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord(D) that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.
3 Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal(E) son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah(F) son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, requesting, “Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf!” 4 Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks[b] among the people, for he had not yet been put into the prison.(G) 5 Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt,(H) and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 The word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king,(I) who is sending you to inquire of me: ‘Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you,(J) is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8 The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it.(K) 9 This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will leave us for good,” for they will not leave. 10 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you,(L) and there remained among them only the badly wounded[c] men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city.’”
Jeremiah’s Imprisonment
11 When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there(M) among the people. 13 But when he was at the Benjamin Gate,(N) an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans.”
14 “That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not defecting to the Chaldeans!” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials. 15 The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan(O) the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. 16 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon(P) and stayed there many days.
Jeremiah Summoned by Zedekiah
17 King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the Lord?” (Q)
“There is,” Jeremiah responded. He continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”(R) 18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land’?(S) 20 So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you.(T) Don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”
21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard.(U) He was given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers’ street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.
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