37 *And aking Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of bConiah the son of Jehoiakim, acwhom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2 dBut neither he, dnor 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 eJehucal the son of efShelemiah and gZephaniah the son of hMaaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us. 4 Now Jeremiah icame in and went out among the people: kfor they had not put him into prison. 5 Then lPharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, mthey 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, nthat sent you unto me to inquire of me; Behold, oPharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, oshall return to Egypt into their own land. 8 And pthe Chaldeans shall come again, and pfight against this city, and ptake it, and prburn 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 qFor 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 rburn this city with fire.

11 And it came to pass, that swhen 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 tinto the land of Benjamin, ||to separate himself thence uin the midst of the people. 13 And when he was vin the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of fShelemiah, the son of wHananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, xThou 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 ythe princes. 15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and zput him in prison in athe house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

16 *When Jeremiah was entered into bthe dungeon, and into the ||cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; 17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and ctook him out: and the king asked him dsecretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, ethou 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 fWhere 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: †glet my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; gthat thou cause me not to return to athe house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah hinto the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily ia piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, kuntil all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained hin the court of the prison.