This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message delivered through Jeremiah. ¹  The land experienced ²  its sabbatical years; ³  it remained desolate for seventy years, ⁴  as prophesied. ⁵ 

In the days of Joiakim, these were the priests who were leaders of the families: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security ¹  in the Lord’s temple.

So I, Jeremiah, tell you, ¹  “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ ² 

So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem. ¹ 

Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple.

Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! ¹ 

In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ¹  That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant ¹  with all the people in Jerusalem ²  to grant their slaves their freedom.

So I went and got Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah the grandson of Habazziniah, his brothers, all his sons, and all the rest of the Rechabite community.

Then they asked Baruch, “How did you come to write all these words? Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth?” ¹ 

Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are.” ¹ 

Neither he nor the officials who served him nor the people of Judah paid any attention to what the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah. ¹ 

(Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison. ¹  So he was still free to come and go among the people as he pleased. ² 

So ¹  Jeremiah was put in prison in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan’s house. ²  He ³  was kept there for a long time.

Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. ¹  If I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about the conversation we have had. ¹  If you do, you will die. ² 

So Jeremiah remained confined ¹  in the courtyard of the guardhouse until the day Jerusalem ²  was captured.The following events occurred when Jerusalem ³  was captured. ⁴ 

Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had issued orders concerning Jeremiah. He had passed them on through Nebuzaradan, the captain of his royal guard, ¹ 

“Find Jeremiah ¹  and look out for him. ²  Do not do anything to harm him, ³  but do with him whatever he tells you.”