A reading from the book of Jeremiah. Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar

King of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Keniah, the son of Jeholyakim,

but neither he nor his servants, nor the people of the land, listened to the words of the Lord,

that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. King Zedekiah sent Jehucco, the son of

Shalemaiah, and Zefaniah the priest, the son of Measiah, to Jeremiah the prophet saying,

please pray for us to the Lord our God. Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people,

for he had not yet been put in prison. The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt, and when the

Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet. Thus says the Lord, God of Israel,

thus shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me. Behold,

Pharaoh's army that came to help you is

about to return to Egypt to its own land, and the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city.

They shall capture it, and burn it with fire. Thus says the Lord, do not deceive yourself saying,

the Chaldeans will surely go away from us, for they will not go away, for even if you should defeat

the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded

men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire. Now when the

Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, Jeremiah set out from

Jerusalem to go to the land

of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people. When he was at the Benjamin gate,

a century there named Araja, the son of Shalamaya, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet,

saying, You are deserting to the Chaldeans. And Jeremiah said, it is a lie, I am not deserting to the

Chaldeans. But Araja would not listen to him and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the

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