The Hebrew Prophets

Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Juda, who sent you to inquire of me: Behold the army of Pharao, which is come forth to help you, shall return into their own land, into Egypt.

And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

Thus saith the Lord: Deceive not your souls, saying: The Chaldeans shall surely depart and go away from us: for they shall not go away.

But if you should even beat all the army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there should be left of them some wounded men: they shall rise up, every man from his heart, and burn this city with fire.

Now when the army of the Chaldeans was gone away from Jerusalem, because of Pharao's army,

Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin: and to divide a possession there in the presence of the citizens,

And when he was come to the gate of Benjamin, the captain of the gate, who was there in his turn, was one named Jerias, the son of Selemias, the son of Hananias: and he took hold of Jeremiah the prophet, saying: Thou art fleeing to the Chaldeans.

And Jeremiah answered: It is not so, I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Jerias took Jeremiah and brought him to the princes.

Wherefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him, and cast him into the prison that was in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for he was chief over the prison.

So Jeremiah went into the house of the prison, and into the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained there many days.

Then Sedecias the king, sending, took him: and asked him secretly in his house, and said: Is there, thinkest thou, any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said. There is. And he said: Thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.

And Jeremiah said to king Sedecias: In what have I offended against thee, or thy servants, or thy people, that thou hast cast me into prison?

Where are your prophets that prophesied to you, and said: The king of Babylon shall not come against you, and against this land?

Now therefore hear, I beseech thee, my lord the king: let my petition be accepted in thy sight: and send me not back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

Then king Sedecias commanded that Jeremiah should be committed into the entry of the prison: and that they should give him daily a piece of bread, beside broth, till all the bread in the city were spent: and Jeremiah remained in the entry of the prison.

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.

Now Saphatias the son of Mathan, and Gedelias the son of Phassur, and Juchal the son of Selemias, and Phassur the son of Melchias heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying:

Thus saith the Lord: Whosoever shall remain in this city, shall die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence: but he that shall go forth to the Chaldeans, shall live, and his life shall be safe, and he shall live.

Thus saith the Lord: This city shall surely be delivered into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.

And the princes said to the king. We beseech thee that this man may be put to death: for on purpose he weakeneth the hands of the men of war, that remain in this city, and the hands of the people, speaking to them according to these words: for this man seeketh not peace to this people, but evil.

And king Sedecias said: Behold he is in your hands: for it is not lawful for the king to deny you any thing.

Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Melchias the son of Amelech, which was in the entry of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah by ropes into the dungeon, wherein there was no water, but mire. And Jeremiah sunk into the mire.

Now Abdemelech the Ethiopian, an eunuch that was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon: but the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin.

And Abdemelech went out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying:

My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done against Jeremiah the prophet, casting him into the dungeon to die there with hunger, for there is no more bread in the city.