Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from the book of
Jeremiah, chapters 37 and 38. Chapter 37. Now
King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead
of Coniah, the son of Jehoakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah.
But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people
of the land, gave heed to the words of the Lord,
which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. And Zedekiah
the king sent Jehokal the son of Shalamiah, and
Zephaniah the son of Masiah the priest, to the
prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now to the Lord
our God for us. Now Jeremiah was coming and going
among the people, for they had not yet put him
in prison. Then Pharaoh's army came up from Egypt,
and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem
heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet
Jeremiah, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God
of Israel, Thus you shall say to the king of
Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me, Behold,
Pharaoh's army, which has come up to help you,
will return to Egypt, to their own land. And
the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against
this city, and take it and burn it with fire.
And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans
left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's
army, that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to
go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property
there among the people. And when he was in the
gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was
there, whose name was Erijah, the son of Shalamiah,
the son of Hananiah. And he seized Jeremiah the
prophet, saying, You are defecting to the Chaldeans.
Then Jeremiah said, False, I am not defecting
to the Chaldeans. But he did not listen to him.
So Ereja seized Jeremiah and brought him to the
princes. Therefore the princes were angry with
Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in
prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For
they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah
entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah
had remained there many days, then Zedekiah,
the king, sent and took him out. The king asked
him secretly in his house and said, Is there
any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There
is. Then he said, You shall be delivered into
the hand of the king of Babylon. Moreover, Jeremiah
said to king Zedekiah, What offense have I committed
against you, against your servants, or against
this people, that you have put me in prison?
Where now are your prophets who prophesied to
you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come
against you or against this land. Therefore please
hear now, O my lord the king. Please let my petition
be accepted before you, and do not make me return
to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die
there. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that
they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the
prison, and that they should give him daily a
piece of bread from the baker's street until
all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah
remained in the court of the prison. heard the
words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people,
saying, Thus says the Lord, He who remains in
this city shall die by the sword, by famine,
and by pestilence. But he who goes over to the
Chaldeans shall live. His life shall be as a
prize to him, and he shall live. Thus says the
Lord, This city shall surely be given into the
hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall
take it. Therefore the princes said to the king,
Please let this man be put to death, for thus
he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain
in this city, and the hands of all the people
by speaking such words to them. For this man
does not seek the welfare of this people, but
their harm. Then Zedekiah the king said, Look,
he is in your hand, for the king can do nothing
against you. So they took Jeremiah and cast him
into the dungeon of Malchiah the king's son,
which was in the court of the prison. And they
led Jeremiah down with ropes, and in the dungeon
there was no water but mire. So Jeremiah sank
in the mire. Now Abed -Melech the Ethiopian,
one of the eunuchs who was in the king's house,
heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon.
When the king was sitting at the gate of Benjamin,
Abed -Melech went out to 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 to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have
cast into the dungeon. And he is likely to die
from hunger in the place where he is, for there
is no more bread in the city. Then the king commanded
Abd Malik the Ethiopian, saying, Take from here
thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet
out of the dungeon before he dies. So Abd Malik
took the men with him and went into the house
of the king under the treasury, and took from
there old clothes and old rags, and led them
down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Then
Abd Malik the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Please
put these old clothes and rags under your armpits,
under the ropes. And Jeremiah did so. So they
pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him
out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in
the court of the prison. Then Zedekiah the king
sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to
him at the third entrance of the house of the
Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask
you something. Hide nothing from me. Jeremiah
said to Zedekiah, If I declare it to you, will
you not surely put me to death? And if I give
you advice, you will not listen to me. So Zedekiah
the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying,
As the Lord lives, who made our very souls, I
will not put you to death, nor will I give you
into the hand of these men who seek your life.
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, Thus says the
Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If
you surely surrender to the king of Babylon's
princes, then your soul shall live. and you and
your house shall live. But if you do not surrender
to the king of Babylon's princes, then this city
shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
They shall burn it with fire, and you shall not
escape from their hand. And Zedekiah the king
said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews who
have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver
me into their hand and they abuse me. But Jeremiah
said, They will not deliver you. Please obey
the voice of the Lord, which I speak to you,
so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall
live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is
the word that the Lord has shown me. Now behold,
all the women who are left in the king of Judah's
house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon's
princes. And those women shall say, Your close
friends have set upon you and prevailed against
you. Your feet have sunk in the mire, and they
have turned away again. so they shall surrender
all your wives and children to the chaldeans
you shall not escape from their hand but shall
be taken by the hand of the king of babylon and
you shall cause this city to be burned with fire
then zedekiah said to jeremiah let no one know
of these words and you shall not die but if the
princes hear that i have talked with you and
they come to you and say to you declare to us
now what you have said to the king and also what
the king said to you do not hide it from us and
we will not put you to death then you shall say
to them i presented my request before the king
that he would not make me return to jonathan's
house to die there Then all the princes came
to Jeremiah and asked him, and he told them according
to all these words that the king had commanded.
So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation
had not been heard. Now Jeremiah remained in
the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem
was taken, and he was there when Jerusalem was
taken. I hope you enjoyed today's reading as
much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you
again tomorrow to continue on our journey. God
bless you and have a great day.