Jeremiah 38
1 Jeremiah mah kaminawk boih khaeah thuih ih loknawk to Mattan capa Shephatiah, Pashur capa Gedaliah, Shelemiah capa Jukal, Malkijah capa Pashur cae mah thaih o,
[Four officials, ] Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malkijah, heard what I had been telling all the people.
2 Angraeng mah, Hae vangpui thungah anghmat kami loe sumsen, khokhahaih, kasae nathaih hoiah dueh o tih; toe Khaldian kaminawk khaeah cawn kami loe hing o tih; a hinghaih loe tangqum hnuk baktiah om ueloe, hing tih, tiah thuih.
[I had been telling them] that Yahweh was saying, “Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die. They will be killed by [their enemies’] swords or from famines or from diseases. But those who surrender to the Babylonian army, they will be spared. They will not be killed.
3 Angraeng mah, Hae vangpui loe Babylon siangpahrang misatuh kaminawk ban ah paek ueloe, nihcae mah la o tih, tiah thuih.
Yahweh also says that the army of the King of Babylon will certainly capture this city [DOU].”
4 To naah ukkung angraengnawk mah siangpahrang khaeah, Anih mah hae baktih lok to thuih pongah, vangpui thungah kaminawk hoi misatuh kaminawk ih bantha to zoksak; anih loe hae kaminawk hoihhaih pakrong ai, sethaih ni a sak; to pongah anih to hum han oh, tiah tahmenhaih hnik o.
So those officials [went] to the king and said, “This man [Jeremiah] should be executed! Because of what he is saying, he is discouraging our soldiers who remain in the city. He is also discouraging the people. He is not saying things that will help us; he is saying things that will defeat us.”
5 Zedekiah siangpahrang mah, Khenah, anih loe nangcae ban ah ni oh; siangpahrang mah nangcae koeh ai ih hmuen tidoeh sah thai ai, tiah a naa.
King Zedekiah said, “All right, do to him what you want to; I do not have the power to stop you.”
6 To pongah Jeremiah to naeh o moe, thongim longhma ah kaom, siangpahrang capa Malkiah ih tangqom khaw thungah pakhrak o; Jeremiah to qui hoiah pathlet o moe, long akhaw thungah pakhrak o tathuk. Tui khaw loe tui om ai, toe tangnong to oh, to pongah Jeremiah loe tangnong thungah krak zup.
So those officials took me from my cell and lowered me by ropes into a well in the courtyard. The well belonged to Malkijah, who was a son of the king. There was no water in the well, but there was [a lot of] mud, so I sank [down deep] into the mud.
7 Toe siangpahrang im ah toksah angraeng maeto ah kaom, tangyat mii dueh Ethiopia kami Ebed-Melek mah, Jeremiah long akhaw thungah pakhrak o, tiah thaih; siangpahrang Benjamin khongkha ah anghnut naah,
But Ebed-Melech, a palace official from Ethiopia, heard [someone say] that I was in the well. [At that time] the king was deciding/judging people’s cases at the Benjamin Gate.
8 Ebed-Melek loe siangpahrang im hoiah tacawt moe, siangpahrang khaeah,
Ebed-Melech went out of the palace and said to the king,
9 ka angraeng siangpahrang, hae kaminawk loe tahmaa Jeremiah nuiah kanung parai sethaih sak o boeh, anih to long akhaw thungah pakhrak o; vangpui thungah takaw om ai boeh pongah, anih loe zok kamthlam ah dueh tih boeh, tiah a naa.
“Your majesty, those men have done a very evil thing. They have put the prophet Jeremiah in a well. [Almost] all the food in the city is gone, [so they will not be able to bring him any food] and as a result he will die from hunger!”
10 To naah Ethiopia kami Ebed-Melek khaeah siangpahrang mah, Hae ih kami qui thumtonawk hae caeh haih ah loe, tahmaa Jeremiah dueh ai naah tangqom khaw thung hoiah pathok oh, tiah a naa.
So the king told Ebed-Melech, “Take thirty of my men/soldiers with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the well, in order that he does not die!”
11 To pongah Ebed-Melek mah kaminawk to caeh haih, nihcae loe siangpahrang imthung ih hmuenmae pakuemhaih tlim ih imkhaan maeto ah akun o, kaprawn kahninawk to a lak o moe, Jeremiah hanah long akhaw thungah qui hoiah pakhrak pae o tathuk.
So Ebed-Melech took thirty men with him and they went into a room in the palace below the room where they stored very valuable things. There they found some old rags and discarded clothing. They took those things and went to the well. They fastened them to a rope and lowered the rope to me.
12 Ethiopia kami Ebed-Melek mah Jeremiah khaeah, Hae ih kahni kaprawnnawk hae palaeng tlim ah zaeng ah loe qui hoiah pathlet ah, tiah a naa. Anih mah thuih ih lok baktih toengah Jeremiah mah sak.
Then Ebed-Melech called down to me, “Put these rags underneath your armpits, to protect you from [being injured by] the ropes!” So I did that.
13 Nihcae mah long akhaw thung ih Jeremiah to qui hoiah azuh o tahang; to pacoengah loe Jeremiah to thongim thungah suek o.
Then they pulled me out of the well. I [returned] to the courtyard where the palace guards stayed, and I stayed there.
14 To pacoengah Zedekiah siangpahrang mah tahmaa Jeremiah to kawk hanah kami patoeh moe, Angraeng imthung akunhaih khongkha thumto haih ah a cae haih; Zedekiah mah Jeremiah khaeah, lok maeto kang dueng han; ka hmaa ah tidoeh angphat hmah, tiah a naa.
[One day] King Zedekiah summoned me, and I was brought to the king, [who was waiting for me] at the entrance of the temple. He said to me, “I want to ask you something. I want you [to answer me truthfully, and] and to not conceal anything.”
15 Jeremaih mah Zedekiah khaeah, Lok kang thuih nahaeloe, kai hum ai ah na om tang tih maw? Poekhaih kang paek cadoeh, ka lok na tahngai tang tih maw? tiah a naa.
I replied, “If I tell you [the truth], you will [command that I] be executed. And if I give you [good] advice, you will not pay attention to what I say.”
16 Toe Zedekiah mah tamquta hoi Jeremiah khaeah lokkamhaih to a sak; ka hinghaih paekkung, Angraeng loe hing pongah, kang hum mak ai, na hinghaih pakrong hae kaminawk ban ah doeh kang paek mak ai, tiah a naa.
But King Zedekiah secretly promised me, “[Tell me the truth]! And as surely as Yahweh lives, I will not [cause] you to be executed, and I will not hand you over to those who are wanting to kill you.”
17 To naah Jeremiah mah Zedekiah khaeah, Angraeng, misatuh kaminawk ih Angraeng, Israel Sithaw mah hae tiah thuih; Babylon siangpahrang ih angraengnawk khaeah nang aap nahaeloe, na hinghaih pathlung ueloe, hae vangpui doeh hmai hoiah thlaek mak ai; nangmah hoi na imthung takohnawk doeh hing o tih.
[So] then I said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, you and your family will (be spared/not be killed), and this city will not be burned.
18 Toe Babylon siangpahrang ih angraengnawk khaeah nang aap ai nahaeloe, hae vangpui hae Khaldian kaminawk ban ah paek ueloe, nihcae mah hmai hoiah thlaek o tih; nang doeh nihcae ban thung hoi na loih mak ai, tiah thuih, tiah a naa.
But if you refuse to surrender to them, you will not escape. And the army from Babylonia will capture this city and completely burn it.’”
19 Zedekiah siangpahrang mah Jeremiah khaeah, Khaldian kaminawk khaeah kacaeh Judah kaminawk to ka zit, Babylon kaminawk mah kai hae nihcae ban ah paek ueloe, nihcae mah na pacaekthlaek tih, tiah a naa.
The king replied, “But I am afraid [to surrender to the soldiers from Babylon], because their officers may hand me over to the people of Judah who have already joined the soldiers from Babylonia, and those people from Judah will mistreat me.”
20 Jeremiah mah, Nihcae mah to kaminawk khaeah na paek o mak ai. Tahmenhaih hoiah kang thuih ih Angraeng ih lok hae tahngai ah; to tiah nahaeloe nang han hoih ueloe, na hinghaih to pathlung tih.
I replied, “If you obey Yahweh by doing what I tell you to do, they will not hand you over to our people. Things will go well for you, and you will remain alive.
21 Toe nihcae khae angpaek hanah nang maak nahaeloe, Angraeng mah hae tiah kai khaeah lok amtuengsak boeh;
But if you refuse to surrender, this is what Yahweh has revealed to me:
22 khenah, Judah siangpahrang im ah caehtaak ih nongpatanawk to Babylon siangpahrang angraengnawk hmaa ah hoi o boih tih, to naah nongpatanawk mah, Nam puinawk mah ang zoek moe, nang ang caeh o taak boeh; tangnong thungah nang tang caeng boeh pongah, nam puinawk mah angqoi o taak boeh, tiah na thui o tih.
All the women who remain in your palace will be brought out and given to the officers of the king of Babylon. Then those women will say to you: ‘You had friends whom [you thought] you could trust, but they have deceived you and caused you to make a wrong decision. Now [it is as though] you are stuck in mud, and your friends have abandoned you.’
23 Na zunawk hoi na caanawk to Babylon kaminawk hmaa ah hoi o boih tih; nihcae ban thung hoiah na loih o mak ai; Babylon siangpahrang mah na naeh tih; hae vangpui doeh hmai hoiah thlaeksak tih, tiah a naa.
All of your wives and children [in the city] will be led out to the soldiers from Babylonia, and you also will not escape. [The soldiers of] the King of Babylon will seize you, and they will burn down this city.”
24 To naah Zedekiah mah Jeremiah khaeah, Hae loknawk hae mi doeh panoeksak hmah, to tiah nahaeloe na dueh mak ai.
Then Zedekiah said to me, “Do not tell anyone what you told me; if you tell anyone, my officials may kill you.
25 Kai hoiah lok aram, tiah ukkung angraengnawk mah panoek o pongah nang khaeah angzoh o moe, siangpahrang khaeah tih lok maw na thuih moe, siangpahrang mah tih lok maw ang thuih, angphak hmah, nang phat nahaeloe kang hum han, tiah na naa o nahaeloe,
If my officials find out that I talked to you, perhaps they will come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you and the king were talking about. If you do not tell us, we will kill you.’
26 nihcae khaeah, Duek han ih Jonathan im ah na caehsak let hmah, to ah ka dueh moeng tih, tiah tahmenhaih ni ka hnik, tiah thui ah, tiah a naa.
If that happens, [just] tell them that you pleaded with me not to send you back to the [dungeon/cell in] Jonathan’s house, [because you were afraid that] you would die [if you were put there again].”
27 Ukkung angraengnawk boih Jeremiah khaeah caeh o moe, anih to lokdueng o: toe siangpahrang mah thuih pae ih lok baktih toengah Jeremiah mah nihcae khaeah thuih pae. Siangpahrang hoiah lokthuih hoi ih lok to mi mah doeh thaih ai pongah, nihcae mah anih khaeah lokdueng o let ai boeh.
And [that is what happened]. The king’s officials came to me and asked [why the king had summoned me. But] I told them what the king told me to tell them. So they did not ask me any more [questions], because no one had heard what the king and I had said to each other.
28 Jeremiah loe Jerusalem lakhaih ni pha ai karoek to thongim thungah oh.
So I remained being guarded in the courtyard [of the palace], until the day that [the army of Babylonia] captured Jerusalem.
