Jeremiah 37

¹And kyng Sedechie, the sone of Josie, regnede for Jeconye, the sone of Joachym, whom Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, made kyng in the lond of Juda.

²And he, and hise seruauntis, and his puple obeieden not to the wordis of the Lord, whiche he spak in the hond of Jeremye, the profete.

³And kyng Sedechie sente Jothal, the sone of Selemye, and Sofonye, the preest, the sone of Maasie, to Jeremye, the profete, and seide, Preie thou for vs oure Lord God.

⁴Forsothe Jeremye yede freli in the myddis of the puple; for thei hadden not sente hym in to the kepyng of the prisoun. Therfor the oost of Farao yede out of Egipt, and Caldeis, that bisegiden Jerusalem, herden sich a message, and yeden awei fro Jerusalem.

⁵And the word of the Lord was maad to Jeremye, the profete,

⁶and seide, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Thus ye schulen seie to the kyng of Juda, that sente you to axe me, Lo! the oost of Farao, which yede out to you in to help, schal turne ayen in to his lond, in to Egipt.

⁷And Caldeis schulen come ayen, and schulen fiyte ayens this citee, and schulen take it, and schulen brenne it bi fier.

⁸The Lord seith these thingis, Nyle ye disseyue youre soulis, seiynge, Caldeis goynge schulen go a wey, and schulen departe fro vs; for thei schulen not go a wei.

⁹But thouy ye sleen al the oost of Caldeis, that fiyten ayens you, and summe woundid men of hem be left, ech man schal rise fro his tente, and thei schulen brenne this citee bi fier.

¹⁰Therfor whanne the oost of Caldeis hadde goon awei fro Jerusalem, for the oost of Farao, Jeremye yede out of Jerusalem,

¹¹to go in to the lond of Beniamyn, and to departe there the possessioun in the siyt of citeseyns.

¹²And whanne he was comun to the yate of Beniamyn, ther was a kepere of the yate bi whiles, Jerie bi name, the sone of Selemye, sone of Ananye; and he took Jeremye, the prophete, and seide, Thou fleest to Caldeis.

¹³And Jeremye answeride, It is fals; Y fle not to Caldeis. And he herde not Jeremye, but Jerie took Jeremye, and brouyte hym to the princes.

¹⁴Wherfor the princes weren wrooth ayens Jeremye, and beeten hym, and senten hym in to the prisoun, that was in the hous of Jonathas, the scryuen; for he was souereyn on the prisoun.

¹⁵Therfor Jeremye entride in to the hous of the lake, and in to the prisoun of trauel; and Jeremye sat there manye daies.

¹⁶Therfor kyng Sedechie sente, and took hym a wei, and axide hym priuyli in his hous, and seide, Gessist thou, whether a word is of the Lord? And Jeremye seide, Ther is. And Jeremye seide, Thou schalt be bitakun in to the hond of the kyng of Babiloyne.

¹⁷And Jeremye seide to Sedechie, the kyng, What haue Y synned to thee, and to thi seruauntis, and to thi puple, for thou hast sent me in to the hous of prisoun?

¹⁸Where ben youre profetis, that profesieden to you, and seiden, The king of Babiloyne schal not come on you, and on this lond?

¹⁹Now therfor, my lord the kyng, Y biseche, here thou, my preier be worth in thi siyt, and sende thou not me ayen in to the hous of Jonathas, the scryuen, lest Y die there.

²⁰Therfor Sedechie comaundide, that Jeremye schulde be bitakun in to the porche of the prisoun, and that a cake of breed schulde be youun to hym ech dai, outakun seew, til alle looues of the citee weren wastid; and Jeremye dwellide in the porche of the prisoun.

Jeremiah 37

¹And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

²But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the Lord, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.

³And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us.

⁴Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.

⁵Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

⁶Then came the word of the Lord unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

⁷Thus 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’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

⁸And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

⁹Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

¹⁰For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

¹¹And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

¹²Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.

¹³And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.

¹⁴Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

¹⁵Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

¹⁶When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

¹⁷Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

¹⁸Moreover 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?

¹⁹Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

²⁰Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

²¹Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.