Chapter 44

¹ And Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar appointed to reign over Judah. ² And he and his servants and the people of the land hearkened not to the words of the Lord, which he spoke by Jeremiah.

Jer 44:1-2

³ And King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, saying, Pray now for us to the Lord. ⁴ Now Jeremiah came and went through the midst of the city: for they [had] not put him into the house of the prison. ⁵ And the host of Pharaoh was come forth out of Egypt; and the Chaldeans heard the report of them, and they went up from Jerusalem.

Jer 44:3-5

⁶ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ⁷ Thus said the Lord; Thus shalt thou say to the king of Judah who sent to thee, to seek me; Behold, the army of Pharaoh which is come forth to help you: they shall return to the land of Egypt: ⁸ and the Chaldeans themselves shall turn again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. ⁹ For thus saith the Lord; Suppose not in your hearts, saying, The Chaldeans will certainly depart from us: for they shall not depart. ¹⁰ And though ye should smite the whole host of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there should be left a few wounded [men], these should rise up each in his place, and burn this city with fire.

Jer 44:6-10

¹¹ And it came to pass, when the host of the Chaldeans had gone up from Jerusalem for fear of the host of Pharaoh, ¹² that Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to buy thence [a property] in the midst of the people. ¹³ And he was in the gate of Benjamin, and [there was] there a man with whom he lodged, Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he caught Jeremiah, saying, Thou art fleeing to the Chaldeans. ¹⁴ And he said, [It is] false; I do not flee to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; and Irijah caught Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. ¹⁵ And the princes were very angry with Jeremiah, and smote him, and sent him into the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made this a prison.

Jer 44:11-15

¹⁶ So Jeremiah came into the dungeon, and into the cells, and he remained there many days. ¹⁷ Then Zedekiah sent, and called him; and the king asked him secretly, saying, Is there a word from the Lord? and he said, There is: thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon. ¹⁸ And Jeremiah said to the king, Wherein have I wronged thee, or thy servants, or this people, that thou puttest me in prison? ¹⁹ And where are your prophets who prophesied to you saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against this land? ²⁰ Now therefore, my lord the king, let my supplication come before thy face: and why dost thou send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe? and let me not on any account die there. ²¹ Then the king commanded, and they cast him into the prison, and gave him a loaf a day out of the place where they bake, until the bread failed out of the city. So Jeremiah continued in the court of the prison.

Jer 44:16-21