JEREMIAH 38-39

¹ Now Sheph·a·tiʹah the son of Matʹtan, Ged·a·liʹah the son of Pashʹhur, Juʹcal the son of Shel·e·miʹah, and Pashʹhur the son of Mal·chiʹjah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying:

² “This is what Jehovah says, ‘The one who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. But the one who surrenders to the Chal·deʹans will keep living and will have his life as a spoil and live.’

³ This is what Jehovah says, ‘This city will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’”

⁴ The princes said to the king: “Please have this man put to death, for this is how he is weakening the morale of the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as that of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man seeks, not the peace of this people, but their calamity.”

⁵ King Zed·e·kiʹah replied: “Look! He is in your hands, for the king cannot do anything to stop you.”

⁶ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Mal·chiʹjah the son of the king, which was in the Courtyard of the Guard. They let Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah began to sink down into the mud.

⁷ Eʹbed-melʹech the E·thi·oʹpi·an, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin,

⁸ so Eʹbed-melʹech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying:

⁹ “O my lord the king, what these men have done to Jeremiah the prophet is evil! They have thrown him into the cistern, and he will die there because of the famine, for there is no bread left in the city.”

¹⁰ Then the king commanded Eʹbed-melʹech the E·thi·oʹpi·an: “Take 30 men with you from here, and pull Jeremiah the prophet up out of the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹ So Eʹbed-melʹech took the men with him and went into the king’s house to a place beneath the treasury, and they took from there some worn-out rags and worn-out pieces of cloth and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

¹² Then Eʹbed-melʹech the E·thi·oʹpi·an said to Jeremiah: “Please put the rags and the pieces of cloth between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,

¹³ and they drew Jeremiah out with the ropes and pulled him up out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the Courtyard of the Guard.

¹⁴ King Zed·e·kiʹah sent for Jeremiah the prophet to come to him at the third entrance, which is in the house of Jehovah, and the king said to Jeremiah: “I have something to ask of you. Do not hide anything from me.”

¹⁵ Jeremiah then said to Zed·e·kiʹah: “If I tell you, you will certainly put me to death. And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

¹⁶ So King Zed·e·kiʹah secretly swore to Jeremiah, saying: “As surely as Jehovah is alive, who has given us this life, I will not put you to death, and I will not hand you over to these men who are seeking to take your life.”

¹⁷ Jeremiah then said to Zed·e·kiʹah: “This is what Jehovah, the God of armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will be spared.

¹⁸ But if you will not surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Chal·deʹans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape out of their hand.’”

¹⁹ Then King Zed·e·kiʹah said to Jeremiah: “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chal·deʹans, for if I am handed over to them, they may deal cruelly with me.”

²⁰ But Jeremiah said: “You will not be handed over to them. Obey, please, the voice of Jehovah in what I am telling you, and it will go well with you, and you will continue to live.

²¹ But if you refuse to surrender, this is what Jehovah has revealed to me:

²² Now they have turned away in retreat.’

²³ And all your wives and your sons they are bringing out to the Chal·deʹans, and you will not escape out of their hand, but you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and because of you this city will be burned with fire.”

²⁴ Zed·e·kiʹah then said to Jeremiah: “Do not let anyone know about these things, so that you do not die.

²⁵ And if the princes hear that I have spoken with you and they come and say to you, ‘Tell us, please, what you said to the king. Do not hide anything from us, and we will not put you to death. What did the king say to you?’

²⁶ you must answer them, ‘I was making a request of the king, that he not send me back to the house of Je·honʹa·than to die there.’”

²⁷ In time all the princes came in to Jeremiah and questioned him. He told them everything that the king had commanded him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard the conversation.

²⁸ Until the day that Jerusalem was captured, Jeremiah remained in the Courtyard of the Guard; he was still there when Jerusalem was captured.

¹ In the ninth year of King Zed·e·kiʹah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem, and they besieged it.

² In the 11th year of Zed·e·kiʹah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, they broke through the city wall.

³ And all the princes of the king of Babylon went in and sat down in the Middle Gate, namely, Nerʹgal-shar·eʹzer the Samʹgar, Neʹbo-sarʹse·chim the Rabʹsa·ris, Nerʹgal-shar·eʹzer the Rabʹmag, and all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.

⁴ When King Zed·e·kiʹah of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city by night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the double wall, and they continued by the way of the Arʹa·bah.

⁵ But the Chal·deʹan army chased after them, and they overtook Zed·e·kiʹah in the desert plains of Jerʹi·cho. They captured him and brought him up to King Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar of Babylon at Ribʹlah in the land of Haʹmath, where he passed sentence on him.

⁶ The king of Babylon had the sons of Zed·e·kiʹah slaughtered before his eyes there at Ribʹlah, and the king of Babylon had all the nobles of Judah slaughtered.

⁷ Then he blinded the eyes of Zed·e·kiʹah, after which he bound him with copper fetters to bring him to Babylon.

⁸ The Chal·deʹans then burned down the king’s house and the houses of the people, and they tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

⁹ Neb·uʹzar·adʹan the chief of the guard took into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had defected to him, and anyone who remained.

¹⁰ But Neb·uʹzar·adʹan the chief of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poorest people, those who had nothing at all. On that day he also gave them vineyards and fields to work.

¹¹ Now King Neb·u·chad·nezʹzar of Babylon gave Neb·uʹzar·adʹan the chief of the guard these orders concerning Jeremiah:

¹² “Take him and look after him; do him no harm, and grant whatever he asks of you.”

¹³ So Neb·uʹzar·adʹan the chief of the guard, Neb·u·shazʹban the Rabʹsa·ris, Nerʹgal-shar·eʹzer the Rabʹmag, and all the principal men of the king of Babylon sent

¹⁴ and had Jeremiah taken out of the Courtyard of the Guard and handed him over to Ged·a·liʹah the son of A·hiʹkam the son of Shaʹphan to be brought to his house. So he lived among the people.

¹⁵ While Jeremiah was confined in the Courtyard of the Guard, the word of Jehovah came to him, saying:

¹⁶ “Go and tell Eʹbed-melʹech the E·thi·oʹpi·an, ‘This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, says: “Here I am fulfilling my words on this city for calamity and not for good, and in that day you will see it happen.”’

¹⁷ “‘But I will rescue you in that day,’ declares Jehovah, ‘and you will not be handed over to the men you fear.’

¹⁸ “‘For I will surely provide you with escape, and you will not fall by the sword. You will have your life as a spoil, because you trusted in me,’ declares Jehovah.”