6. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:
7. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king, who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt.
8. The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.
9. This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,’ for they will not leave.
10. Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you, and there remained among them only the badly wounded men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city down.”
11. When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army,
12. Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.
13. But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”
14. “That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans! ” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials.
15. The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
16. So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and stayed there many days.
17. King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the Lord? ” “There is,” Jeremiah responded, and he continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”