Jeremiah 38

1 And Shephatiah son of Mattan, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah, hear the words that Jeremiah is speaking to all the people, saying,

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 to all the people, saying,

2 “Thus said YHWH: He who is remaining in this city dies, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and he who is going forth to the Chaldeans lives, and his soul has been to him for a prey, and he lives.

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 said YHWH: This city is certainly given into the hand of the force of the king of Babylon, and he has captured it.”

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 And the heads say to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, because that he is making feeble the hands of the men of war who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking to them according to these words, for this man is not seeking for the peace of this people, but for its calamity.”

Therefore the princes said to 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 to them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

5 And King Zedekiah says, “Behold, he [is] in your hand: for the king is not able [to do] anything against you.”

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 And they take Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king, that [is] in the court of the prison, and they send Jeremiah down with cords; and there is no water in the pit, but mire, and Jeremiah sinks in the mire.

Then they took 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 And Ebed-Melech the Cushite, a eunuch who [is] in the king’s house, hears that they have put Jeremiah into the pit; and the king is sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,

Now when Ebed-melech the Cushite, one of the eunuchs who 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 and Ebed-Melech goes forth from the king’s house, and speaks to the king, saying,

Ebed-melech went out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying,

9 “My lord, O king, these men have done evil [in] all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the pit, and he dies in his place because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city.”

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 by hunger in the place where he is: for [there is] no more bread in the city.

10 And the king commands Ebed-Melech the Cushite, saying, “Take with you thirty men from here, and you have brought up Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dies.”

Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dieth.

11 And Ebed-Melech takes the men with him, and enters the house of the king, to the place of the treasury, and takes there worn-out shreds of cloth, and worn-out rags, and sends them by cords into the pit to Jeremiah.

So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old decayed rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

12 And Ebed-Melech the Cushite says to Jeremiah, “Now put the worn-out pieces of cloth and rags under your arms, at the place of the cords,” and Jeremiah does so,

And Ebed-melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, Put now [these] old cast clouts and decayed rags under thy arm-holes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

13 and they draw Jeremiah out with cords, and bring him up out of the pit, and Jeremiah dwells in the court of the prison.

So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

14 And King Zedekiah sends, and takes Jeremiah the prophet to him, to the third entrance that [is] in the house of YHWH, and the king says to Jeremiah, “I am asking you something, do not hide anything from me.”

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entry that [is] in the house of the LORD: and the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

15 And Jeremiah says to Zedekiah, “When I declare [it] to you, do you not surely put me to death? And when I counsel you, you do not listen to me.”

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I declare [it] to thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken to me?

16 And King Zedekiah swears to Jeremiah in secret, saying, “YHWH lives, He who made this soul for us, I do not put you to death, nor give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your soul.”

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to 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 And Jeremiah says to Zedekiah, “Thus said YHWH, God of Hosts, God of Israel: If you certainly go forth to the heads of the king of Babylon, then your soul has lived, and this city is not burned with fire, indeed, you have lived, you and your house.

Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth to 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 thy house:

18 And if you do not go forth to the heads of the king of Babylon, then this city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they have burned it with fire, and you do not escape from their hand.”

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 from their hand.

19 And King Zedekiah says to Jeremiah, “I am fearing the Jews who have fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand, and they have insulted me.”

And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that have fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.

20 And Jeremiah says, “They do not give you up; please listen to the voice of YHWH, to that which I am speaking to you, and it is well for you, and your soul lives.

But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver [thee]. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak to thee: so it shall be well to thee, and thy soul shall live.

21 And if you are refusing to go forth, this [is] the thing that YHWH has shown me:

But if thou shalt refuse to go forth, this [is] the word that the LORD hath shown me:

22 That, behold, all the women who have been left in the house of the king of Judah are brought forth to the heads of the king of Babylon, and behold, they are saying: Persuaded you, and prevailed against you, Have your allies, Your feet have sunk into mire, They have been turned backward.

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 And all your wives and your sons are brought forth to the Chaldeans, and you do not escape from their hand, for you are caught by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city is burned with fire.”

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 And Zedekiah says to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of these words, and you do not die;

Then said Zedekiah to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.

25 and when the heads hear that I have spoken with you, and they have come to you, and have said to you, Now declare to us what you spoke to the king, do not hide [it] from us, and we do not put you to death, and what the king spoke to you,

But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come to thee, and say to thee, Declare to us now what thou hast said to the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said to thee:

26 then you have said to them, I am causing my supplication to fall before the king, not to cause me to return to the house of Jonathan, to die there.”

Then thou shalt say to them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.

27 And all the heads come to Jeremiah, and ask him, and he declares to them according to all these words that the king commanded, and they keep silent from him, for the matter was not heard;

Then came all the princes to 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 and Jeremiah dwells in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem has been captured, and he was [there] when Jerusalem was captured.

So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was [there] when Jerusalem was taken.