Jeremiah 37

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.

1Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He made Zedekiah the king of Judah. Zedekiah was the son of Josiah. He became king instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim.

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 obey what the LORD said. His helpers and the people did not obey either. The LORD had spoken these words through Jeremiah, a prophet who told people what God said.

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 two men to Jeremiah. They were Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah. They said, "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 that time Jeremiah could still come and go among the people. No one had 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.

5The army of Egypt had marched out of its land. The army of Babylon was camped all around Jerusalem. When they heard that Egypt was coming, they left the city.

Note"Chaldeans" in the old wording means the people of Babylon. Here it means their army.

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

6Then the LORD gave a message to Jeremiah the prophet.

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.

7The LORD, the God of Israel, said: Tell this to the king of Judah, who sent men to ask me. The army of Egypt 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 army of Babylon will come back here. They will fight against this city. They will take 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.

9The LORD says: Do not fool yourselves. Do not say, "The army of Babylon is 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, they would not stay down. Even if only hurt men were left lying in their tents, they would get up. They would still 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,

11The army of Babylon had left Jerusalem because they were afraid of Egypt'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.

12So Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem. He was going to the land of Benjamin to get the piece of land that was his.

NoteThe old wording is hard to follow. Jeremiah was going to Benjamin to claim the land that belonged to his family.

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.

13He reached the city gate called the Gate of Benjamin. The captain of the guards was there. His name was Irijah, son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah. He grabbed Jeremiah and said, "You are running away to join the army of Babylon!"

Note"Thou fallest away" means running off to join the enemy side.

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.

14Jeremiah said, "That is not true. I am not going to join them." But Irijah would not listen. He took Jeremiah to the king's leaders.

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 leaders were angry with Jeremiah. They beat him. Then they shut him up in the house of Jonathan the writer. That house had been made into a prison.

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

16Jeremiah was put down in a small room under the ground. He stayed there many days.

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.

17Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought out. In his house, the king asked him quietly, "Is there any word from the LORD?" Jeremiah said, "There is. 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?

18Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, "What wrong have I done to you? What wrong have I done to your helpers or to these people? Why have 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? They told you the king of Babylon would never come against 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.

20Now please listen, my lord the king. Please say yes to what I ask. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the writer. If you do, 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 gave an order. Jeremiah was to be kept in the open yard by the guards. Each day he was to be given a loaf of bread from the bakers' street. This lasted until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah stayed in the guards' yard.