Jeremiah 37
New American 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 the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Yet (E)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and (F)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “(G)Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet (H)put him in prison. 5 Meanwhile, (I)Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they (J)withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘(K)This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, (L)Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8 Then the Chaldeans will (M)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ 9 This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not (N)deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us,” for they will not go. 10 For (O)even 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 (P)burn this city with fire.’”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to (Q)take [a]possession of some property there among the people. 13 While he was at the (R)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he (S)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “(T)A lie! I am not deserting 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 (U)angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and (V)put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the [b](W)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.
17 Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king (X)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a (Y)word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be (Z)handed over to the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “(AA)In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 And (AB)where 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, my lord the king; please let my (AD)plea [c]come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there.” 21 Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the (AE)courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of (AF)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was (AG)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 37:12 Or part in a dividing
- Jeremiah 37:16 Lit house of the cistern-pit
- Jeremiah 37:20 Lit fall
Jeremiah 37
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Zedekiah’s Vain Hope
37 Zedekiah son of Josiah, whom King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, succeeded Coniah son of Jehoiakim.(A) 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.(B)
3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.”(C) 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.(D)
6 Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: This is what you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh’s army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt.(E) 8 And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire.(F) 9 Thus says the Lord: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away.(G) 10 Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.(H)
Jeremiah Is Imprisoned
11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property[a] among the people there. 13 When he reached the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”(I) 14 And Jeremiah said, “That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 The officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of the secretary Jonathan, for it had been made a prison.(J) 16 Thus Jeremiah was put in the cistern house, in the cells, and remained there many days.(K)
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon.”(L) 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison?(M) 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’?(N) 20 Now please hear me, my lord king: be good enough to listen to my plea, and do not send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan to die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard, and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.(O)
Footnotes
- 37.12 Or to slip away
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.