37King Zedekiah son of Josiah, a puppet king set on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the land of Judah, was now king in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim.H4428H6667H1121H2977H4427H3659H1121H3079H5019H4428H894H4427H776H30632But neither he nor his officials nor the people themselves paid a bit of attention to the Message GOD gave by Jeremiah the prophet.H5650H5971H776H8085H1697H3068H1696H3027H5030H34143However, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "Pray for us—pray hard!—to the Master, our GOD."H6667H4428H7971H3081H1121H8018H6846H1121H4641H3548H5030H3414H559H6419H3068H4304Jeremiah was still moving about freely among the people in those days. This was before he had been put in jail.H3414H935H3318H8432H5971H5414H1004H36285Pharaoh's army was marching up from Egypt. The Chaldeans fighting against Jerusalem heard that the Egyptians were coming and pulled back.H6547H2428H3318H4714H3778H6696H3389H8085H8088H5927H33896Then Jeremiah the prophet received this Message from GOD:H1697H3068H5030H3414H5597"I, the GOD of Israel, want you to give this Message to the king of Judah, who has just sent you to me to find out what he should do. Tell him, 'Get this: Pharaoh's army, which is on its way to help you, isn't going to stick it out. No sooner will they get here than they'll leave and go home to Egypt.H559H3068H430H3478H559H4428H3063H7971H1875H6547H2428H3318H5833H7725H4714H7768And then the Babylonians will come back and resume their attack, capture this city and burn it to the ground.H3778H7725H3898H5892H3920H8313H7849I, GOD, am telling you: Don't kid yourselves, reassuring one another, "The Babylonians will leave in a few days." I tell you, they aren't leaving.H559H3068H5377H5315H559H3778H1980H3212H321210Why, even if you defeated the entire attacking Chaldean army and all that was left were a few wounded soldiers in their tents, the wounded would still do the job and burn this city to the ground.'"H5221H2428H3778H3898H7604H1856H582H6965H376H168H8313H5892H78411When the Chaldean army pulled back from Jerusalem,H2428H3778H5927H3389H6440H6547H242812Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go over to the territory of Benjamin to take care of some personal business.H3414H3318H3389H3212H776H1144H2505H8432H597113When he got to the Benjamin Gate, the officer on guard there, Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, grabbed Jeremiah the prophet, accusing him, "You're deserting to the Chaldeans!"H8179H1144H1167H6488H8034H3376H1121H8018H1121H2608H8610H3414H5030H559H5307H377814"That's a lie," protested Jeremiah. "I wouldn't think of deserting to the Chaldeans." But Irijah wouldn't listen to him. He arrested him and took him to the police.H559H3414H8267H5307H3778H8085H3376H8610H3414H935H826915The police were furious with Jeremiah. They beat him up and threw him into jail in the house of Jonathan the secretary of state. (They were using the house for a prison cell.)H8269H7107H3414H5221H5414H612H1004H3083H5608H6213H360816So Jeremiah entered an underground cell in a cistern turned into a dungeon. He stayed there a long time.H3414H935H1004H953H2588H3414H3427H7227H311717Later King Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to him. The king questioned him privately, "Is there a Message from GOD?" "There certainly is," said Jeremiah. "You're going to be turned over to the king of Babylon."H6667H4428H7971H3947H4428H7592H5643H1004H559H1697H3068H3414H559H3426H559H5414H3027H4428H89418Jeremiah continued speaking to King Zedekiah: "Can you tell me why you threw me into prison? What crime did I commit against you or your officials or this people?H3414H559H4428H6667H2398H5650H5971H5414H1004H360819And tell me, whatever has become of your prophets who preached all those sermons saying that the king of Babylon would never attack you or this land?H346H5030H5012H559H4428H894H935H77620Listen to me, please, my master—my king! Please don't send me back to that dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary. I'll die there!"H8085H113H4428H8467H5307H6440H7725H1004H3083H5608H419121So King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be assigned to the courtyard of the palace guards. He was given a loaf of bread from Bakers' Alley every day until all the bread in the city was gone. And that's where Jeremiah remained—in the courtyard of the palace guards.H6667H4428H6680H6485H3414H2691H4307H5414H3117H3603H3899H644H2351H3899H5892H8552H3414H3427H2691H4307
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