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Jerusalem’s Last Days

¹ Zedekiah son of Josiah^(C1) reigned as king in the land of Judah^(C2) in place of Coniah^(F1)(C3) son of Jehoiakim, for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made him king. ² He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord^(C1) that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.

³ Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal^(C1) son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah^(C2) son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, requesting, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us!” ⁴ Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks^(F1) among the people, for he had not yet been put into the prison.^{(C1) 5} Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt,^(C1) and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ The word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: ⁷ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king,^(C1) who is sending you to inquire of me: ‘Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you,^(C2) is going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸ The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it.^{(C1) 9} This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will leave us for good,” for they will not leave. ¹⁰ Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you,^(C1) and there remained among them only the badly wounded^(F1) men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city.’”

Jeremiah’s Imprisonment

¹¹ When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there^(C1) among the people. ¹³ But when he was at the Benjamin Gate,^(C1) an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans.”

¹⁴ “That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not defecting to the Chaldeans!” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials. ¹⁵ The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan^(C1) the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon^(C1) and stayed there many days.

Jeremiah Summoned by Zedekiah

¹⁷ King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the Lord?” ^(C1)

“There is,” Jeremiah responded. He continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”^{(C2) 18} Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land’?^{(C1) 20} So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you.^(C1) Don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard.^(C1) He was given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers’ street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.