And Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of Jehovah, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.
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 Jehovah our God for us.
Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison.
And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans that were besieging Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they brake up from Jerusalem.
Then came the word of Jehovah unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
Thus saith Jehovah, 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.
And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.
Thus saith Jehovah, Deceive not {Hebrew: your souls.}yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us; for they shall not depart.
For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but {Hebrew: thrust through.}wounded men among them, yet would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
And it came to pass that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion {Hebrew: from thence.}there, in the midst of the people.
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 laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou art falling away to the Chaldeans.
Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
And 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.
When Jeremiah was come into the {Or, house of the pit}dungeon-house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from Jehovah? And Jeremiah said, There is. He said also, Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, Wherein have I sinned against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
Where now are your prophets that prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
And now hear, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, {Hebrew: fall.}be presented before thee, that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard; and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Querverweise zu Jeremia 37,8 Jer 37,8
and the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, that are gone away from you.
Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
And they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans; and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and {Hebrew: thou shalt burn &c.}thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city),
that all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, to wit, Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, {Title of an officer.}Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, {Title of an officer.}Rab-mag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
And it came to pass that, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate betwixt the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he {Hebrew: spake judgements with him. See chapter 12:1 (marg.).}gave judgment upon him.
Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.
Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.