38 Some of Jerusalem's officers heard the things that Jeremiah had been telling the people. They were Mattan's son Shephatiah, Pashhur's son Gedaliah, Shelemiah's son Jehucal and Malkijah's son Pashhur. 2 They had heard him say this: ‘The Lord says, “Any people who stay in this city will die. War or famine or disease will kill them. But those people who leave the city will not die. If they put themselves under the power of Babylon's soldiers, they will live.” 3 The Lord also says, “I will put this city under the power of the King of Babylon's army. They will take it for themselves.” ’
4 When the officers heard that, they said to the king, ‘You must punish this man with death. He is making our soldiers who remain in the city afraid. The things that he says are making all the people in the city very afraid. He does not want to help our people. He wants to destroy them.’
5 King Zedekiah said to them, ‘You can do to Jeremiah whatever you want to do. I cannot stop you.’
6 So the officers took hold of Jeremiah. They put him in a deep hole in the palace yard where the guards were. Prince Malkijah had made the hole to store water. There was no water in the hole, but only mud. They tied ropes around Jeremiah and they slowly dropped him into the hole. Jeremiah fell deep into the mud.
7 There was an officer who served the king in his palace. His name was Ebed-Melech. He came from the country of Ethiopia. He heard the news that some officers had put Jeremiah into the deep hole in the palace yard. At that time the king was sitting as judge at the Benjamin Gate of the city. 8 So Ebed-Melech quickly left the palace. He went to speak to the king. He said to him, 9 ‘My master, the king, those men have done very wicked things to the prophet Jeremiah. They have put him in a deep hole. He will soon die there because there is no food in the city.’
10 Then the king gave this command to Ebed-Melech. He said, ‘Take 30 men with you from here. Go and lift Jeremiah out of the deep hole before he dies.’
11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him. He went to a room in the palace where they stored valuable things. He took some old clothes and pieces of cloth from there. He tied them to the end of some ropes. Then he let them drop down into the deep hole where Jeremiah was. 12 He said to Jeremiah, ‘Put these old cloths and clothes under your arms. Then tie the ropes over them so that they do not hurt you.’ Jeremiah did as Ebed-Melech told him. 13 Then they pulled Jeremiah up out of the deep hole. But Jeremiah still had to stay in the palace yard with the guards.
14 One day, King Zedekiah sent some men to bring Jeremiah to meet with him. They met at the third gate of the Lord 's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, ‘I would like to ask you a question. Do not hide anything from me.’ 15 Jeremiah said to the king, ‘If I give you a true answer, you will surely kill me. If I give you advice, you will not agree.’
16 But King Zedekiah made a serious promise to Jeremiah. Nobody else knew about it. He said, ‘I promise you that this is true, as surely as the Lord lives. I promise that I will not kill you. And I will not give you to the men who want to kill you.’
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, ‘The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, “You must put yourself under the power of the king of Babylon's officers. If you do that, you will not die. Your enemies will not burn down this city. You and your family will continue to live. 18 But if you do not agree to be under their power, they will take this city for themselves. They will burn it down. You yourself will become their prisoner.” ’
19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, ‘I am afraid to do that. Some of Judah's people have gone out of the city to help Babylon's army. Babylon's officers might give me to them and they will be very cruel to me.’
20 Jeremiah answered the king, ‘They will not give you to those people of Judah. Obey the Lord and do as I tell you. Then you will continue to enjoy your life. 21 But if you refuse to put yourself under the power of the enemy, a terrible thing will happen to you. The Lord has shown me this in a vision. 22 The enemy's soldiers will bring out all the women in the palace of Judah's king. They will give those women to the king of Babylon's officers. The women will say to you,
“Your friends that you trusted to help you have deceived you.
They have won against you.
Your feet are now deep in the mud and you cannot move.
So your friends have gone away and left you.”
23 Babylon's soldiers will take all your wives and your children for themselves. You yourself will not escape from them. The king of Babylon will take hold of you as his prisoner. His soldiers will burn down this city.’
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, ‘Do not tell anyone what we have talked about. If you do tell anyone, you will surely die. 25 My officers may know that we have talked together. They may come to you and ask you, “Tell us what you talked about with the king. Tell us everything that you said. If not, we will kill you.” 26 If that happens, tell them, “I was asking the king to help me. I did not want him to send me back to be a prisoner in Jonathan's house. I did not want to die there.” ’
27 All the officers did come to Jeremiah to ask him about his meeting with the king. Jeremiah said to them everything that the king had told him to say. Nobody had heard what Jeremiah and the king had really talked about. So the officers stopped asking Jeremiah any more questions.
28 After that, Jeremiah stayed in the palace yard as a prisoner. He stayed there until the day when Babylon's army took Jerusalem for themselves.
38 Some of the royal officials heard what Jeremiah was saying. They were Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah. Jeremiah was telling all the people this message: 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, hunger, or disease. But everyone who surrenders to the army of Babylon will live and escape with their lives.’ 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city of Jerusalem will surely be given to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture this city.’”
4 Then the royal officials who heard what Jeremiah was telling the people went to King Zedekiah. They said to the king, “Jeremiah should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are still in the city and everyone else by what he is saying. He is not looking for peace; he is just trying to cause trouble.”
5 So King Zedekiah said to the officials, “Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop you.”
6 So the officials took Jeremiah and put him into Malkijah’s cistern. Malkijah was the king’s son. The cistern was in the Temple yard where the king’s guard stayed. They used ropes to lower Jeremiah into the cistern. The cistern didn’t have any water in it, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
7 But a man named Ebed Melech heard that the officials had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Ebed Melech was from Ethiopia, and he was a eunuch in the king’s palace. King Zedekiah was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, so Ebed Melech left the king’s palace and went to talk to the king at the gate. 8-9 Ebed Melech said, “My lord and king, these officials have done evil. They have treated Jeremiah the prophet badly. They have thrown him into a cistern and left him there to die.” [ a ]
10 Then King Zedekiah gave a command to Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian. This was the command: “Ebed Melech, take three [ b ] men from the palace with you, and go get Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed Melech took the men with him. But first he went to a room under the storeroom in the king’s palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from that room. Then he let the rags down with some ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms. When we pull you out, these rags will pad your underarms. Then the ropes will not hurt you.” So Jeremiah did as Ebed Melech said. 13 The men pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah stayed under guard in the Temple yard.
14 Then King Zedekiah sent someone to get Jeremiah the prophet. He had Jeremiah brought to the third entrance to the Temple of the Lord . Then the king said, “Jeremiah, I am going to ask you something. Don’t hide anything from me, but tell me everything honestly.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, you will probably kill me. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
16 But King Zedekiah secretly swore an oath to Jeremiah. Zedekiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, who gives us breath and life, I will not kill you, Jeremiah. And I promise not to give you to the officials who want to kill you.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “The Lord God All-Powerful is the God of Israel. This is what he says, ‘If you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, your life will be saved, and Jerusalem will not be burned down. And you and your family will live. 18 But if you refuse to surrender, Jerusalem will be given to the Babylonian army. They will burn Jerusalem down, and you will not escape from them.’”
19 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “But I am afraid of the men of Judah who have already gone over to the side of the Babylonian army. I am afraid that the soldiers will give me to those men, and they will treat me badly and hurt me.”
20 But Jeremiah answered, “The soldiers will not give you to the men of Judah. King Zedekiah, obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then things will go well for you, and your life will be saved. 21 But if you refuse to surrender to the army of Babylon, the Lord has shown me what will happen. This is what he has told me: 22 All the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out. They will be brought to the important officials of the king of Babylon. Your women will make fun of you with a song. This is what they will say:
‘Your friends were stronger than you,
and they led you the wrong way.
You trusted them,
but now your feet are stuck in the mud,
and your friends have left you.’
23 “All your wives and children will be brought out. They will be given to the Babylonian army. You yourself will not escape from the army of Babylon. You will be captured by the king of Babylon, and Jerusalem will be burned down.”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Don’t tell anyone that I have been talking to you. If you do, you might die. 25 If the officials find out that I talked to you, they will come to you and say, ‘Jeremiah, tell us what you said to King Zedekiah and what he said to you. Be honest with us, and tell us everything, or we will kill you.’ 26 If they say this to you, tell them, ‘I was begging the king not to send me back to the cell in the dungeon under Jonathan’s house. If I were to go back there, I would die.’”
27 It happened that the royal officials of the king did come to Jeremiah to question him. So Jeremiah told them everything the king had ordered him to say. Then they left Jeremiah alone. No one had heard what Jeremiah and the king had talked about.
28 So Jeremiah stayed under guard in the Temple yard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
38 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord , He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
3 Thus saith the Lord , This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king saying,
9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12 And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord : and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord , the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord , which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me:
22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.
23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.
27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the ( A ) son of Shelemiah, and ( B ) Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘ Anyone who ( C ) stays in this city will die by the ( D ) sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and have his own ( E ) life as plunder, and stay alive.’ 3 This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be ( F ) handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’” 4 Then the ( G ) officials said to the king, “Please have this man put to death, since he is [ a ] ( H ) discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and [ b ] all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man ( I ) is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.” 5 And King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your [ c ] hands; for the king ( J ) can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the ( K ) cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only ( L ) mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. 7 But ( M ) Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a [ d ] ( N ) eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the ( O ) Gate of Benjamin; 8 and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is ( P ) no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here [ e ] under your authority and bring Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his [ f ] authority and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom, and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags, and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah out with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the ( Q ) courtyard of the guardhouse.
14 Then King Zedekiah ( R ) sent word and [ g ] had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord ; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ( S ) ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “ ( T ) If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in ( U ) secret, saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this [ h ] ( V ) life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to ( W ) these men who are seeking your [ i ] life.”
17 So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord ( X ) God of armies, the ( Y ) God of Israel says: ‘If you will indeed ( Z ) surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then [ j ] you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will [ k ] survive. 18 But if you do ( AA ) not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city ( AB ) will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and ( AC ) you yourself will not escape from their hands.’” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am ( AD ) in fear of the Jews who have ( AE ) deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will ( AF ) abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not turn you over. Please [ l ] ( AG ) obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, so that it may go ( AH ) well for you and [ m ] ( AI ) you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Behold, all of the ( AJ ) women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,
“ [ n ] Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back.”
23 They are also going to bring out all your wives and your ( AK ) sons to the Chaldeans, and ( AL ) you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and ( AM ) this city will be burned with fire.’”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know about these words, and you will not die. 25 But if the ( AN ) officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you are to say to them, ‘I was ( AO ) presenting my plea before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they stopped speaking with him, since the [ o ] conversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah ( AP ) stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur ( A ) , Jehukal [ a ] ( B ) son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, ( C ) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians [ b ] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’ ( D ) 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” ( E )
4 Then the officials ( F ) said to the king, “This man should be put to death. ( G ) He is discouraging ( H ) the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”
5 “He is in your hands,” ( I ) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing ( J ) to oppose you.”
6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. ( K ) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes ( L ) into the cistern; it had no water in it, ( M ) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. ( N )
7 But Ebed-Melek, ( O ) a Cushite, [ c ] an official [ d ] ( P ) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, ( Q ) 8 Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, ( R ) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread ( S ) in the city.”
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes ( T ) to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. ( U )
14 Then King Zedekiah sent ( V ) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord . “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide ( W ) anything from me.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”
16 But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly ( X ) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath, ( Y ) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.” ( Z )
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender ( AA ) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. ( AB ) 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands ( AC ) of the Babylonians and they will burn ( AD ) it down; you yourself will not escape ( AE ) from them.’”
19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid ( AF ) of the Jews who have gone over ( AG ) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”
20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey ( AH ) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well ( AI ) with you, and your life ( AJ ) will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women ( AK ) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:
“‘They misled you and overcame you—
those trusted friends ( AL ) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud; ( AM )
your friends have deserted you.’
23 “All your wives and children ( AN ) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape ( AO ) from their hands but will be captured ( AP ) by the king of Babylon; and this city will [ e ] be burned down.” ( AQ )
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know ( AR ) about this conversation, or you may die. 25 If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ 26 then tell ( AS ) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house ( AT ) to die there.’”
27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.
28 And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard ( AU ) until the day Jerusalem was captured.
This is how Jerusalem ( AW ) was taken:
