Jeremiah Chapter 37
Jeremiah Imprisoned
1 Zedekiah son of Josiah, that Nebuchadnezzar had appointed as king in Judah, ruled in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim. 2 But he, his attendants, and the people that were left ignored what the LORD said through Jeremiah.
3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest to Jeremiah to say, “Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf.” 4 Jeremiah was still moving freely among the people because they hadn’t put him in prison yet. 5 Meantime, Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt. When the Babylonians besieging Jerusalem heard about that, they lifted the siege.
Jer 37:1-5
6 A Message from the LORD to Jeremiah
7 “Tell the king that sent you to inquire from me, ‘Pharaoh’s army that‘s come out to help you will go back to Egypt. 8 The Babylonians will come back and attack this city, capture and burn it. 9 Don’t deceive yourselves into thinking they’ll leave. 10 Even if you’d defeated the whole Babylonian army and only the wounded were left in their tents, they’d get up and burn the city.’”
11 When the Babylonian army lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah left Jerusalem for the territory of Benjamin to take over some property there. 13 At the Benjamin Gate, a sentry named Irijah (son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah) arrested him, claiming he was deserting to the Babylonians! 14 Jeremiah denied it, but he wouldn’t listen. He arrested him and took him to the officials. 15 They were mad at Jeremiah, and beat him and put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they’d converted into a prison.
Jer 37:6-15
16 When he’d been in the dungeon many days, 17 King Zedekiah secretly brought him to his palace to ask him if any message had come from the LORD.
“Yes! You’ll be turned over to the king of Babylon! 18 How have I sinned against you, your attendants, or the people that you’ve put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets now that said the king of Babylon wouldn’t attack you or this land? 20 But listen now, my lord the king. Don’t put me back in Jonathan’s house to die.”
21 King Zedekiah commanded them to commit him to the courtyard of the guard. They gave him a loaf of bread each day from the bakers’ street till the bread in the city ran out. So he remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Jer 37:16-21