“1 And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the
son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the
land of Judah. 2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the
land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the
prophet Jeremiah. 3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of
Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet
Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. 4 Now Jeremiah
came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into
prison. 5 Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the
Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed
from Jerusalem. 6 Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet
Jeremiah, saying, 7 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall
ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me;
Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to
Egypt into their own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and
fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. 9 Thus
saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall
surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. 10 For though ye had
smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and
there remained [but] wounded men among them, [yet] should they rise up
every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.”
“11 And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was
broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Then Jeremiah
went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate
himself thence in the midst of the people. 13 And when he was in the
gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward [was] there, whose name [was]
Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah
the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. 14 Then said
Jeremiah, [It is] false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he
hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the
princes. 15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote
him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they
had made that the prison. 16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon,
and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; 17 Then
Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him
secretly in his house, and said, Is there [any] word from the LORD? And
Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the
hand of the king of Babylon. 18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king
Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or
against this people, that ye have put me in prison? 19 Where [are] now
your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon
shall not come against you, nor against this land? 20 Therefore hear
now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee,
be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house
of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 21 Then Zedekiah the king
commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison,
and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’
street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah
remained in the court of the prison.” (Jeremiah 37:1-21 AV)