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son of Josiah became king in the land of Judah. He reigned in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzr king of Babylon made him king. 2 Neither Zedekiah nor his officials nor the people of the land obeyed the words of the Lord that He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.
3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shemeliah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet, asking, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us.”
4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Meanwhile, Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has come out to help you, will return to their own land of Egypt. 8 Then the Chaldeans will come back and attack this city, and they will capture it, and burn it with fire” ’. 9 This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us”, for they will not go away. 10 Even if you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained among them only the wounded men, with every man in his tent, they would still rise up and burn down this city with fire’.”
11 After the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army. 12 So Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin and claim his share of property there among the people. 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah son of Shemeliah, the son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!”
14 Then Jeremiah said “That’s not true, I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Irijah would not listen to him, and he seized Jeremiah and took him to the officials. 15 The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. 16 So Jeremiah was put in a dungeon cell, and he remained there for many days.
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king asked him privately in his palace, “Is there any word from the Lord?”
Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “ ‘You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon’!”
18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you, or your servants, or this people that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets now, who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 So please hear me now, my lord the king. Let my petition be accepted before you, and do not sent me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”
21 So King Zedekiah commanded for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard, and that he should be given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of this city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.