Jeremiah 37

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, was succeeded by King Zedekiah, son of Josiah; he was made king over the land of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.	1 And then king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned in place of Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed him as king in the land of Judah.
2 Neither he, nor his ministers, nor the people of the land would listen to the words of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah the prophet.	2 And neither he himself, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, obeyed the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of Jeremiah, the prophet.
3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah with this request: "Pray to the LORD, our God, for us."	3 And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “Pray to the Lord our God for us.”
4 At this time Jeremiah had not yet been put into prison; he still came and went freely among the people.	4 Now Jeremiah was walking freely in the midst of the people. For they had not yet sent him into the custody of the prison. And then the army of Pharaoh went forth from Egypt. And hearing this, the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, withdrew from Jerusalem.
5 Also, Pharaoh's army had set out from Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard this report they marched away from the city.	5 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
6 This word of the LORD then came to the prophet Jeremiah:	6 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: So shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to question me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has gone forth in assistance to you, will return to their own land, into Egypt.
7 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Give this answer to the king of Judah who sent you to me to consult me: Pharaoh's army which has set out to help you will return to its own land, Egypt.	7 And the Chaldeans will return and will make war against this city. And they will seize it and burn it with fire.
8 The Chaldeans shall return to the fight against this city; they shall capture it and destroy it with fire.	8 Thus says the Lord: Do not be willing to deceive your own souls, saying: ‘The Chaldeans will certainly withdraw and go away from us.’ For they will not go away.
9 Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves with the thought that the Chaldeans will leave you for good, because they shall not leave!	9 But even if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and if there were left behind from among them only a few wounded men, they would rise up, each one from his tent, and they would burn this city with fire.”
10 Even if you were to defeat the whole Chaldean army now attacking you, and only the wounded remained, each in his tent, these would rise up and destroy the city with fire.	10 Therefore, when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army,
11 When the Chaldean army lifted the siege of Jerusalem at the threat of the army of Pharaoh,	11 Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, and to distribute a possession there, in the sight of the citizens.
12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem for the district of Benjamin, to take part with his family in the division of an inheritance.	12 And when he had arrived at the gate of Benjamin, the keeper of the gate, whose turn it was to be there, was named Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. And he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are fleeing to the Chaldeans.”
13 But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, he met the captain of the guard, a man named Irijah, son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah; he seized the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans!"	13 And Jeremiah responded: “That is false. I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him. And so Irijah took Jeremiah, and he brought him to the leaders.
14 "That is a lie!" Jeremiah answered, "I am not deserting to the Chaldeans." Without listening, Irijah kept Jeremiah in custody and brought him to the princes.	14 Therefore, the leaders were angry with Jeremiah, and so they beat him and sent him to the prison that was in the house of Jonathan, the scribe. For he was the chief over the prison.
15 The princes were enraged, and had Jeremiah beaten and thrown into prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they were using as a jail.	15 And so Jeremiah went into the house of the prison and into a dungeon. And Jeremiah sat there for many days.
16 And so Jeremiah entered the vaulted dungeon, where he remained a long time.	16 Then Zedekiah the king, sending, took him out and questioned him secretly in his house, and he said: “Do you think that there is any word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said: “There is.” And he said: “You will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.”
17 Once King Zedekiah had him brought to his palace and he asked him secretly whether there was any message from the LORD. Yes! Jeremiah answered: you shall be handed over to the king of Babylon.	17 And Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah: “How have I sinned against you, or your servants, or your people, such that you would cast me into a house of imprisonment?
18 Jeremiah then asked King Zedekiah: In what have I wronged you, or your ministers, or this people, that you should put me in prison?	18 Where are your prophets, who were prophesying to you, and who were saying: ‘The king of Babylon will not overwhelm you and this land?’
19 And where are your own prophets now,	19 Now therefore, listen, I beg you, my lord the king. Let my petition prevail in your sight. And do not send me back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”
20 who prophesied to you that the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land? Hear now, my lord king, and grant my petition: do not send me back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I shall die there.	20 Then king Zedekiah instructed that Jeremiah be confined to the vestibule of the prison, and that they should give him a twist of bread daily, along with stew, until all the bread in the city had been consumed. And Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison.
21 King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be confined in the quarters of the guard, and given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers' shop until all the bread in the city was eaten up. Thus Jeremiah remained in the quarters of the guard.