371 Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah , reigned as king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim . 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet . 3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah , and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah , the priest , to Jeremiah the prophet , saying , " Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf ." 4 Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people , for they had not yet put him in the prison e . 5 Meanwhile, Pharaoh's army had set out from Egypt ; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging e Jerusalem heard the report about them, they lifted the siege from Jerusalem . 6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet , saying , 7 "Thus says the Lord God of Israel , ' Thus you are to say to the king of Judah , who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold , Pharaoh's army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt . 8 "The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city , and they will capture it and burn it with fire ."' 9 "Thus says the Lord , 'Do not deceive yourselves , saying , "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go . 10 'For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent , they would rise up and burn this city with fire .' "
11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because e of Pharaoh's army , 12 that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there e among the people . 13 While he was at the Gate of Benjamin , a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah , the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there ; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet , saying , "You are going over to the Chaldeans !" 14 But Jeremiah said , " A lie ! I am not going over to the Chaldeans "; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials . 15 Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they put him in jail e in the house of Jonathan the scribe , which they had made into the prison e . 16 For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon , that is, the vaulted cell ; and Jeremiah stayed there many days . 17 Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king secretly asked him and said , "Is there a word from the Lord ?" And Jeremiah said , "There is!" Then he said , "You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon !" 18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah , " In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants , or against this people , that you have put me in prison e ? 19 " Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying , 'The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land '? 20 "But now , please listen , O my lord the king ; please let my petition come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe , that I may not die there ." 21 Then King Zedekiah gave commandment , and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers' street , until all the bread in the city was gone . So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse .
