Day 301 of 730

¹Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

²But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, listened to the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.

³Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Pray now to the Lord our God for us."

⁴Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison.

⁵Pharaoh's army had come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem.

⁶Then came the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

⁷"Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

⁸The Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire."

⁹Thus says the Lord, "Do not deceive yourselves, saying, 'The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us'; for they shall not depart.

¹⁰For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire."'"

¹¹It happened that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,

¹²then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the midst of the people.

¹³When he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are falling away to the Chaldeans."

¹⁴Then Jeremiah said, "It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans." But he did not listen to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

¹⁵The princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.

¹⁶When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

¹⁷Then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the Lord?" Jeremiah said, "There is." He said also, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon."

¹⁸Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, "Wherein have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

¹⁹Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

²⁰Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."

²¹Then 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.

¹Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord, 'He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.'

³Thus says the Lord, 'This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.'"

⁴Then the princes said to the king, "Please let this man be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn't seek the welfare of this people, but the hurt."

⁵Zedekiah the king said, "Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he who can do anything against you."

⁶Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

⁷Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin),

⁸Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying,

⁹"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 in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city."

¹⁰Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take from here thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dies."

¹¹So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

¹²Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Put now these rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the cords." Jeremiah did so.

¹³So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

¹⁴Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said to Jeremiah, "I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me."

¹⁵Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me."

¹⁶So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, "As the Lord lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life."

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: 'If you will go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house.

¹⁸But if you will not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand.'"

¹⁹Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me."

²⁰But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of the Lord, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.

²¹But if you refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord has shown me:

²²behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, 'Your familiar friends have set you on, and have prevailed over you. Your feet are sunk in the mire, they have turned away back.'

²³They shall bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans; and you shall not escape out of 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."

²⁴Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no man know of these words, and you shall not die.

²⁵But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, 'Declare to us now what you have said to the king; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also what the king said to you':

²⁶then you shall tell them, 'I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.'"

²⁷Then came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.

²⁸So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

¹Blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;

²but his delight is in the Lord's Law. On his Law he meditates day and night.

³He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.

⁴The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

⁶For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.

¹A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common: The Lord is the maker of them all.

³A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

⁴The result of humility and the fear of the Lord is wealth, honor, and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: whoever guards his soul stays from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.

¹¹He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king's friend.

¹²The eyes of the Lord watch over knowledge; but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!"

¹⁴The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit: he who is under the Lord's wrath will fall into it.

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child: the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

¹⁶Whoever oppresses the poor for his own increase and whoever gives to the rich, both come to poverty.

¹⁷Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart to my teaching.

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.

¹⁹That your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you.

²⁰Haven't I written to you thirty excellent things of counsel and knowledge,

²¹To teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to the ones who sent you?

²²Do not exploit the poor, because he is poor; and do not crush the needy in court;

²³for the Lord will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.

²⁴Do not befriend a hot-tempered man, and do not associate with one who harbors anger:

²⁵lest you learn his ways, and ensnare your soul.

²⁶Do not be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts.

²⁷If you do not have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not move the ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set up.

²⁹Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won't serve obscure men.