¶ And king Zedekiah¹ the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah² the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made⁵ king in the land of Judah.

But neither⁶ he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet⁷ Jeremiah.

And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah⁸ the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray⁹ now unto the LORD our God for us.

Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for¹⁰ they had not put him into prison.

Then Pharaoh's¹¹ army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they¹² departed from Jerusalem.

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

Thus¹³ 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's¹⁴ army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

¹⁵And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

Thus saith the LORD; Deceive¹⁶ not yourselves¹⁷, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

¶ For though¹⁸ ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men¹⁹ among them, yet²⁰ should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

¶ And it came to pass, that²¹ when the army of the Chaldeans was broken²² up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,

Then Jeremiah went²³ forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land²⁴ of Benjamin, to separate himself thence²⁵ in the midst of the people.

And when he was in the²⁶ gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah²⁷; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou²⁸ fallest away to the Chaldeans.

Then said²⁹ Jeremiah, It is false³⁰; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

Wherefore the princes³¹ were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put³² him in prison in the³³ house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon³⁴, and into the cabins³⁵, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked³⁶ him secretly in his house, and said, Is there³⁷ any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt³⁸ be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

³⁹Moreover 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?

Where⁴⁰ are now your⁴¹ prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

¶ Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before⁴² thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest⁴³ I die there.

Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the⁴⁴ court of the prison, and that⁴⁵ they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until⁴⁶ all the bread in the city were spent. Thus⁴⁷ Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.