Jeremiah 37

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Zedekiah son of Josiah became king, succeeding Coniah son of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon had made him king of Judah.	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.
2 But neither he nor his courtiers nor the people of the country paid any attention to the words Yahwehspoke through the prophet Jeremiah.	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.
3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophetJeremiah with this message, 'Intercede for us with Yahweh our God.'	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."
4 Now Jeremiah was still moving freely among the people: he had not yet been put in prison.	4 At this time Jeremiah had not yet been put into prison; he still came and went freely among the people.
5 Meanwhile Pharaoh's army was on the move from Egypt and the Chaldaeans besieging Jerusalem hadraised the siege when they heard the news.	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.
6 Then the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Jeremiah as fol ows,	6 This word of the LORD then came to the prophet Jeremiah:
7 'Yahweh, God of Israel, says this, "To the king of Judah who sent you to consult me make this reply: IsPharaoh's army marching to your aid? It wil withdraw to its own country, 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.
8 The Chaldaeans wil return to attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.	8 The Chaldeans shall return to the fight against this city; they shall capture it and destroy it with fire.
9 Yahweh says this: Do not cheer yourselves up by thinking: The Chaldaeans are leaving us for good.They are not leaving.	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!
10 Even if you cut to pieces the whole Chaldaean army now fighting against you until there were only thewounded left, they would stand up again, each man in his tent, to burn this city down." '	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.
11 At the time when the Chaldaean army, threatened by Pharaoh's army, had raised the siege ofJerusalem,	11 When the Chaldean army lifted the siege of Jerusalem at the threat of the army of Pharaoh,
12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem for the territory of Benjamin to see about a piece of his propertyamong the people there.	12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem for the district of Benjamin, to take part with his family in the division of an inheritance.
13 He was at the Benjamin Gate when the guard commander there, a certain Irijah son of Shelemiah,son of Hananiah, arrested the prophet Jeremiah, shouting, 'You are deserting to the Chaldaeans!'	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!"
14 Jeremiah answered, 'It is a lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldaeans.' But Irijah would not listen toJeremiah and took him under arrest to the chief men.	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.
15 And the chief men, furious with Jeremiah, had him beaten and shut up in the house of the scribeJonathan, which had been turned into a 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.
16 Thus Jeremiah found himself in an underground vault. And there for a long time he stayed.	16 And so Jeremiah entered the vaulted dungeon, where he remained a long time.
17 Later, King Zedekiah had him sent for, and the king questioned him privately in his palace. 'Is thereany word from Yahweh?' he asked. 'There is,' Jeremiah answered, and added, 'you wil be handed over to theking 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.
18 Jeremiah then said to King Zedekiah, 'What wrong have I done you, or your courtiers or this people,for you to have put me in prison?	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?
19 Where are your prophets now who prophesied, "The king of Babylon wil not attack you or thiscountry"?	19 And where are your own prophets now,
20 So now I beg you to hear me, my lord king! I beg you to approve my request! Do not have me takenback to the house of the scribe Jonathan, or I shall 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.
21 King Zedekiah then gave an order, and Jeremiah was confined in the Court of the Guard and given aloaf of bread a day from the Street of the Bakers as long as there was bread left in the city. So Jeremiah stayedin the Court of the Guard.	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.