Holman Christian Standard Bible (235 page)

11
 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the
Lord
from the scroll,
12
 he went down to the scribe's chamber in the king's palace. All the officials were sitting there — Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.
13
 Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.
14
 Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.
15
 They said to him, “Sit down and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

16
 When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.”
17
 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us — how did you write all these words? At his dictation? ” 

18
 Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

19
 The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.”
20
 Then they came to the king at the courtyard, having deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and reported everything in the hearing of the king.
21
 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king.
22
 Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning in front of him.
23
 As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll with a scribe's knife and throw the columns into the blazing fire until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the brazier.
24
 As they heard all these words, the king and all of his servants did not become terrified or tear their garments.
25
 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
26
 Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the
Lord
had hidden them.

Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll

27
 After the king had burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the
Lord
came to Jeremiah:
28
 “Take another scroll, and once again write on it the very words that were on the original scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
29
 You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the
Lord
says: You have burned the scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it: The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without man or beast?'
30
 Therefore, this is what the
Lord
says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David's throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. 
31
 I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their wrongdoing. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about but they did not listen.”

32
 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah's dictation all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, Judah's king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

Jeremiah

Jerusalem's Last Days

37
Zedekiah son of Josiah reigned as king in the land of Judah in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made him king.
2
 He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the
Lord
 that He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

3
 Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, requesting, “Please pray to the
Lord
our God for us! ”
4
 Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks among the people, for they had not yet put him into the prison. 
5
 Pharaoh's army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6
 The word of the
Lord
came to Jeremiah the prophet:
7
 “This is what the
Lord
, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah's king, who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh's army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt.
8
 The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down. 
9
 This is what the
Lord
says: Don't deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,' for they will not leave.
10
 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you, and there remained among them only the badly wounded men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city down.”

Jeremiah's Imprisonment

11
 When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,
12
 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.
13
 But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”

14
 “That's a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans! ” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials.
15
 The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
16
 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and stayed there many days.

Jeremiah Summoned by Zedekiah

17
 King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the
Lord
? ” 

“There is,” Jeremiah responded, and he continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” 
18
 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison?
19
 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land'? 
20
 So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Don't send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

21
 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard's courtyard. He was given a loaf of bread each day from the baker's street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah Thrown into a Cistern

38
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people:
2
 “This is what the
Lord
says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will keep his life like the spoils of war and will live.' 
3
 This is what the
Lord
says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon's army, and he will capture it.' ”

4
 The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but disaster.” 

5
 King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he's in your hands since the king can't do anything against you.”
6
 So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the guard's courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. 

7
 But Ebed-melech, a
•Cushite
court official employed in the king's palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, 
8
 Ebed-melech went from the king's palace and spoke to the king:
9
 “My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.” 

10
 So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here 30 men under your authority and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.”

11
 So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king's palace to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
12
 Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,
13
 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he continued to stay in the guard's courtyard.

Zedekiah's Final Meeting with Jeremiah

14
 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the
Lord
's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don't hide anything from me.”

15
 Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will kill me, won't you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won't listen to me anyway.”

16
 King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private, “As the
Lord
lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who want to take your life.”

17
 Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the
Lord
, the God of
•Hosts
, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.
18
 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape from them.' ”

19
 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.” 

20
 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the voice of the
Lord
in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live.
21
 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict that the
Lord
has shown me:
22
 ‘All the women who remain in the palace of Judah's king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say:

23
 All your wives and sons will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn down.' ”

24
 Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Don't let anyone know about these things or you will die.
25
 If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don't hide anything from us and we won't kill you. Also, what did the king say to you? '
26
 then you will tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.' ” 
27
 When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because nothing had been heard.
28
 Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened. 

Jeremiah

The Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon

39
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it.
2
 In the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into.
3
 All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon's king.

4
 When he saw them, Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the
•Arabah
. 
5
 However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, arrested him, and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon's king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there.