Zedekiah Asks for Prayer
Study note
King Zedekiah had been placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar himself after the previous king Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon. Despite this, Zedekiah eventually rebelled against Babylon. When the Babylonian army briefly withdrew from Jerusalem to deal with an approaching Egyptian army, it seemed like the danger might be over. Zedekiah sent messengers to ask Jeremiah to pray for the nation, hoping for a favorable word from God.
1 King Zedekiah son of Josiah became king of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon put him in power. He took the place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim. And 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.
2 But Zedekiah did not listen to the Lord's words. Neither did his leaders or the people. The Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah. But no one cared. But 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.
3 King Zedekiah sent two men to Jeremiah the prophet. They were Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. Their message said, "Please pray to the Lord our God for us." And 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.
4 At that time, Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison, so he was still moving freely among the people. Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.
5 Meanwhile, Pharaoh's army had marched out of Egypt. The army of Babylon heard about it. So they pulled back from Jerusalem. Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
God's Warning: Egypt Cannot Save You
Study note
God's response through Jeremiah was clear and direct. The Egyptian army that had come to help would turn around and go home. Then the Babylonians would return, capture Jerusalem, and burn it. God told the people not to fool themselves into thinking the Babylonians were gone for good. Even if the Babylonian army were reduced to nothing but wounded men lying in their tents, they would still rise up and burn the city. Nothing could stop what God had determined.
6 Then the Lord gave this message to the prophet Jeremiah: Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
7 "The Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask me what will happen, 'Pharaoh's army marched out to help you. But it is going to turn around and go back to Egypt.'" Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
8 "'Then the Babylonians will come back and attack this city. They will capture it and burn it to the ground.'" And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
9 "The Lord says: Don't fool yourselves into thinking, 'The Babylonians are definitely leaving us alone.' They are not!" Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
10 "Even if you wiped out the whole Babylonian army, it would not matter. Only wounded men would be left in their tents. Those wounded men would get up and burn this city down." For 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.
Jeremiah Is Arrested and Imprisoned
Study note
During the Babylonian withdrawal, Jeremiah tried to leave Jerusalem through the Benjamin Gate to handle family property business in the territory of Benjamin. A guard captain named Irijah accused Jeremiah of trying to desert to the Babylonians. Despite Jeremiah's protests that this was not true, Irijah brought him to the officials, who were furious. They had Jeremiah beaten and locked up in a makeshift prison in the house of Jonathan the secretary.
11 The Babylonian army had pulled back from Jerusalem. Pharaoh's army was on the way. And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem. He was going to the land of Benjamin. He had some matters there to take care of. Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.
13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the guard captain there — a man named Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah — arrested him. He said, "You're deserting to the Babylonians!" And 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.
14 "That's not true!" Jeremiah said. "I am not going over to the Babylonians!" But Irijah would not listen. He grabbed Jeremiah and took him to the officials. Then 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.
15 The officials were furious with Jeremiah. They had him beaten and thrown into prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which had been converted into a jail. Wherefore 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.
Zedekiah's Secret Meeting with Jeremiah
Study note
After many days in the dungeon, King Zedekiah secretly brought Jeremiah to the palace to ask if there was any word from God. Jeremiah's answer had not changed: Zedekiah would be handed over to the king of Babylon. Jeremiah also asked what he had done wrong to deserve imprisonment and pointed out that the prophets who predicted Babylon would not come had been wrong. Zedekiah agreed to move Jeremiah to the courtyard of the guard, where he received a daily ration of bread until the city's food ran out.
16 Jeremiah was put into an underground cell, where he stayed for a long time. When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace, where the king asked him privately, "Is there any message from the Lord?" Jeremiah answered, "Yes — you will be handed over to the king of Babylon." Then 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.
18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, "What wrong have I done to you, your officials, or these people? Why did you put me in prison?" Moreover 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?
19 "Where are your prophets now — the ones who told you, 'The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land'?" Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
20 "Please listen, my lord the king. Please grant my request: don't send me back to the prison in Jonathan's house, or I will die there." Therefore 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.
21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be kept in the courtyard of the guard. He was given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers' street, until there was no more bread left in the city. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. Then 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.