37:1  Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim.

37:2  But 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.

37:3  Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, " Please pray to the LORD our God on our behalf."

37:4  Now Jeremiah still came in and went out among the people, for they had not yet put him in the prison.

37:5  Meanwhile, Pharaoh's army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had besieged Jerusalem heard the report about them, they lifted the siege from Jerusalem.

37:6  Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

37:7  "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ' Thus you will say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come out for your assistance wills return to its own land of Egypt.

37:8  "The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire."'

37:9  "Thus says the LORD, 'Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go.

37:10  'For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who had fought against you, and there remained only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'"

37:11  Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,

37:12  that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people.

37:13  While he stood at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard who had the name of Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah stood there; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You will go over to the Chaldeans!"

37:14  But Jeremiah said, " A lie! I do not go over to the Chaldeans"; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

37:15  Then the officials expressed anger at Jeremiah and beat him, and they put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison.

37:16  For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, namely, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

37:17  Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king secretly asked him and said, "Do you have a word from the LORD?" And Jeremiah said, "I do!" Then he said, "You will fall into the hand of the king of Babylon!"

37:18  Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, " In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

37:19  " Where then do you find your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land'?

37:20  "But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my petition come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there."

37:21  Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city had disappeared. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.