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J EREMIA H 3 7
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary, Baruch. He wrote
everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time
he added much more!
Zedekiah Calls for Jeremiah
Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jehoiachin* son of Jehoiakim as the king of
Judah. He was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar* of Babylon. 2 But neither King Zedekiah
nor his attendants nor the people who were
left in the land listened to what the Lord said
through Jeremiah.
3 Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal
son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest,
son of Maaseiah, to ask Jeremiah, “Please pray
to the Lord our God for us.” 4 Jeremiah had not
yet been imprisoned, so he could come and go
among the people as he pleased.
5 At this time the army of Pharaoh Hophra*
of Egypt appeared at the southern border of Judah. When the Babylonian* army heard about
it, they withdrew from their siege of Jerusalem.
6 Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what
is going to happen. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army is
about to return to Egypt, though he came here to
help you. 8 Then the Babylonians* will come back
and capture this city and burn it to the ground.’
9 “This is what the Lord says: Do not fool
yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians
are gone for good. They aren’t! 10 Even if you
were to destroy the entire Babylonian army,
leaving only a handful of wounded survivors,
they would still stagger from their tents and
burn this city to the ground!”
37
• Success
JE R E MIA H 3 7 :1 5 -1 6
In the world’s eyes, Jeremiah looked
totally unsuccessful. He had given up his
wealth in order to serve God. He had no
family and few friends. He prophesied
the destruction of his nation, its capital
city (Jerusalem), and the Temple. No
political or religious figure would follow
his advice. In fact, no group of people
liked him or listened to him! Yet as we
look back, we see that Jeremiah successfully completed the work God gave
him to do. Popularity, fame, and fortune
will never be accurate measures for
spiritual success. God evaluates us by
the yardsticks of obedience, faithfulness,
and righteousness.
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Jeremiah Is Imprisoned
11 When the Babylonian army left Jerusalem
because of Pharaoh’s approaching army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city on his way to
the territory of Benjamin, to claim his share of
the property among his relatives there.* 13 But
as he was walking through the Benjamin Gate,
a sentry arrested him and said, “You are defecting to the Babylonians!” The sentry making the
arrest was Irijah son of Shelemiah, grandson of
Hananiah.
14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah protested. “I had
no intention of doing any such thing.” But Irijah
wouldn’t listen, and he took Jeremiah before the
officials. 15 They were furious with Jeremiah and
had him flogged and imprisoned in the house
of Jonathan the secretary. Jonathan’s house had
been converted into a prison. 16 Jeremiah was
put into a dungeon cell, where he remained for
many days.
17 Later King Zedekiah secretly requested that
Jeremiah come to the palace, where the king
asked him, “Do you have any messages from
the Lord?”
“Yes, I do!” said Jeremiah. “You will be defeated by the king of Babylon.”
18 Then Jere mi ah asked the king, “What
crime have I committed? What have I done
against you, your attendants, or the people
that I should be imprisoned like this? 19 Where
are your prophets now who told you the king
of Babylon would not attack you or this land?
20 Listen, my lord the king, I beg you. Don’t send
me back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for I will die there.”
21 So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon. Instead,
he was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard
in the royal palace. The king also commanded
that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every
day as long as there was any left in the city. So
Jeremiah was put in the palace prison.
Jeremiah in a Cistern
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal* son of
Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard
what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He
had been saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says:
‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from
war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians* will live. Their reward
will be life. They will live!’ 3 The Lord also says:
‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed
over to the army of the king of Babylon, who
will capture it.’”
38
37:1a Hebrew Coniah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin.
37:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of
Nebuchadnezzar. 37:5a Hebrew army of Pharaoh; see 44:30.
37:5b Or Chaldean; also in 37:10, 11. 37:8 Or Chaldeans;
also in 37:9, 13. 37:12 Hebrew to separate from there in the
midst of the people. 38:1 Hebrew Jucal, a variant spelling of
Jehucal; see 37:3. 38:2 Or Chaldeans; also in 38:18, 19, 23.