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.
02 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.
03 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.
04 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the
people: for they had not put him into prison.
05 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.
06 Then came the word of the Lord unto the
prophet Jeremiah saying,
07 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.
08 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight
against this city, and take it, and burn it with
fire.
09 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.
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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.
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