How Jeremiah's Absence Let Nebuchadnezzar Burn the Temple

"And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldeans had gone up from before the army of Pharaoh" (and so forth, Jeremiah 37:11), Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go to Anathoth to take his portion among his brethren the priests. And he was going out by the gate of Benjamin, and there was a certain man appointed over those who entered and those who went out; he was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah son of Azzur, the false prophet, who had been leading astray the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, "Behold, the vessels of the house of the LORD shall now shortly be brought back from Babylon" (Jeremiah 27:16), "Do not fear." When Jeremiah heard him, he said to him: Amen, may your words be confirmed and may mine be annulled. I profit and you lose. I am a priest and eat from the Temple, and you are a Gibeonite, a hewer of wood and a drawer of water for the altar. Since you are prophesying about the house of the Holy One, blessed be He, prophesy about yourself, that this year you will die and be buried. In the second year he saw him going out by the gate of Benjamin. He went and seized him and said to him: You are going out to the Chaldeans to make peace with them. Jeremiah said to him: You speak falsely; I am going to take my portion with the priests. He seized him and brought him out before the officials. He said to them: This man has done us much harm, and I found him going out to the Chaldeans to make peace with them. The officials were angry with him and beat him and put him in the prison house, in the house of Jonathan the scribe. At that hour Zedekiah sent and brought him to him and said to him: Is there any word from the LORD? Jeremiah said to him: There is a word; in the future the king of Babylon will carry you into exile. The face of Zedekiah changed, and he was enraged against Jeremiah. And Zedekiah gave orders concerning Jeremiah and put him in the prison house and gave him bread for the day until the bread was finished from Jerusalem, and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. At that hour they came to Zedekiah the king and said to him: This man prophesies many evils against us; he does not seek the welfare of this place. He answered and said to them: Behold, he is in your hand; do as is good in your eyes. They took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king, and the pit was full of water. The Holy One, blessed be He, performed miracles for him: the water went down below and the mire came up above, and Jeremiah sank into the mire.