Jeremiah Chapter 37
Jeremiah Imprisoned
1 Zedekiah Ben-Josiah, that Nebuchadnezzar had appointed king in Judah, ruled in place of Coniah Ben-Jehoiakim. 2 But he, his attendants, and the people that were left ignored what Yahveh said through Jeremiah.
3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal Ben-Shelemiah and Zephaniah Ben-Maaseiah the priest to Jeremiah to say, “Pray to Yahveh 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 Yahveh 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 (Ben-Shelemiah Ben-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