Jeremiah

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.

1King Zedekiah, son of Josiah, ruled in place of Coniah, son of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had made Zedekiah king over Judah.

2But 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.

2But Zedekiah did not listen to the words the LORD spoke through the prophet Jeremiah. Neither did his officials or the people of the land.

3And 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.

3Still, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah with this message: "Please pray to the LORD our God for us."

4Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.

4At this time Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people. They had not put him in prison yet.

5Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

5Pharaoh's army had marched out of Egypt. When the Babylonians who were surrounding Jerusalem heard the news, they pulled back from the city.

NoteThe KJV calls the Babylonians "Chaldeans." It is another name for the same people, so this rendering uses "Babylonians" throughout.

6Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

6Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah:

7Thus 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.

7"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says. Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask me: Pharaoh's army came out to help you, but it will go back home to Egypt.

8And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

8Then the Babylonians will come back. They will fight against this city, capture it, and burn it down.

9Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

9This is what the LORD says. Do not fool yourselves by saying, 'The Babylonians are gone for good.' They are not gone.

10For 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.

10Even if you beat their whole army, so only wounded men were left lying in their tents, those men would still get up and burn this city down."

11And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

11When the Babylonian army pulled back from Jerusalem because they feared Pharaoh's army,

12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.

12Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin. He was going to claim his share of family land there among the people.

NoteThe KJV says Jeremiah went "to separate himself thence in the midst of the people." It means he was going to claim a piece of family property, not to hide from anyone.

13And 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.

13But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard was there. His name was Irijah, son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah. He grabbed Jeremiah and said, "You are running off to join the Babylonians!"

14Then 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.

14"That is a lie," Jeremiah said. "I am not going over to the Babylonians." But Irijah would not listen. He arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officials.

15Wherefore 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.

15The officials were angry with Jeremiah. They beat him and locked him up in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had turned into a prison.

Note"Princes" in the KJV here means royal officials, not the king's sons.

16When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

16So Jeremiah was put into a cell in the underground prison, and he stayed there a long time.

NoteThe KJV word "cabins" means small cells, and the "dungeon" was a prison built below ground.

17Then 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.

17Later King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace. There the king asked him privately, "Is there any word from the LORD?" "There is," Jeremiah said. "You will be handed over to the king of Babylon."

18Moreover 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?

18Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "What wrong have I done to you, or to your officials, or to these people, that you put me in prison?

19Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

19Where are your prophets now, the ones who told you, 'The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land'?

20Therefore 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.

20Please listen to me now, my lord the king. Let my request be granted. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there."

21Then 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.

21So King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be kept in the prison courtyard. Each day he was given a loaf of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah stayed in the prison courtyard.