< Jeremiah 38 >
1 And he heard Shephatiah [the] son of Mattan and Gedaliah [the] son of Pashhur and Jucal [the] son of Shelemiah and Pashhur [the] son of Malkijah the words which Jeremiah [was] speaking to all the people saying.
At that time, saith the Lord, I will be a God to the family of Israel, and they shall be to me a people.
2 Thus he says Yahweh the [one who] remains in the city this he will die by the sword by famine and by pestilence and the [one who] goes out to the Chaldeans (and he will live *Q(K)*) and it will belong to him life his to plunder and he will live.
Thus saith the Lord, I found him warm in the wilderness with them that were slain with the sword: go ye and destroy not Israel.
3 Thus he says Yahweh certainly it will be given the city this in [the] hand of [the] army of [the] king of Babylon and he will capture it.
The Lord appeared to him from afar, [saying], I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore have I drawn thee in compassion.
4 And they said the officials to the king let him be put to death please the man this for since he [is] making drop [the] hands of [the] men of war who remain - in the city this and [the] hands of all the people by speaking to them according to the words these that - the man this not he [is] seeking for welfare for the people this that except for harm.
For I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt yet take thy timbrel, and go forth with the party of them that make merry.
5 And he said the king Zedekiah there! he [is] in hand your for not the king he is able you anything.
For ye have planted vineyards on the mountains of Samaria: plant ye, and praise.
6 And they took Jeremiah and they threw him into the cistern of - Malkijah [the] son of the king which [was] in [the] courtyard of the guard and they let down Jeremiah with ropes and in the cistern there not [was] water that except mud and he sank Jeremiah in the mud.
For it is a day when those that plead on the mountains of Ephraim shall call, [saying], Arise ye, and go up to Sion to the Lord your God.
7 And he heard Ebed Melech the Cushite a man a court-official and he [was] in [the] house of the king that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern and the king [was] sitting in [the] gate of Benjamin.
For thus saith the Lord to Jacob; Rejoice ye, and exult over the head of the nations: make proclamation, and praise ye: say, The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel.
8 And he went out Ebed Melech from [the] house of the king and he spoke to the king saying.
Behold, I bring them from the north, and will gather them from the end of the earth to the feast of the passover: and [the people] shall beget a great multitude, and they shall return hither.
9 O lord my the king they have done evil the men these all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern and he died in it because of famine for there not [is] the food yet in the city.
They went forth with weeping, and I will bring them back with consolation, causing them to lodge by the channels of waters in a straight way, and they shall not err in it: for I am become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.
10 And he commanded the king Ebed Melech the Cushite saying take in hand your from here thirty men and you will bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he will die.
Hear the words of the Lord, ye nations, and proclaim [them] to the islands afar off; say, He that scattered Israel will also gather him, and keep him as one that feeds his flock.
11 And he took - Ebed Melech the men in hand his and he went [the] house of the king to under the storehouse and he took from there worn out things of (clothes *Q(K)*) and worn out things of rags and he let down them to Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes.
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, he has rescued him out of the hand of them [that were] stronger than he.
12 And he said Ebed Melech the Cushite to Jeremiah put please [the] worn out things of the clothes and the rags under [the] joints of hands your from under to [the] ropes and he did Jeremiah thus.
And they shall come, and shall rejoice in the mount of Sion, and shall come to the good things of the Lord, [even] to a land of corn, and wine, and fruits, and cattle, and sheep: and their soul shall be as a fruitful tree; and they shall hunger no more.
13 And they drew out Jeremiah with ropes and they brought up him from the cistern and he remained Jeremiah in [the] courtyard of the guard.
Then shall the virgins rejoice in the assembly of youth, and the old men shall rejoice; and I will turn their mourning into joy, and will make them merry.
14 And he sent the king Zedekiah and he brought Jeremiah the prophet to him to an entrance third which [was] in [the] house of Yahweh and he said the king to Jeremiah [am] about to ask I you a matter may not you hide from me anything.
I will expand and cheer with wine the soul of the priests the sons of Levi, and my people shall be satisfied with my good things: thus saith the Lord.
15 And he said Jeremiah to Zedekiah if I will tell to you ¿ not certainly will you put to death me and if I will counsel you not you will listen to me.
A voice was heard in Rama, of lamentation, and of weeping, and wailing; Rachel would not cease weeping for her children, because they are not.
16 And he swore the king Zedekiah to Jeremiah in secrecy saying [by] [the] life of Yahweh (*Q(K)*) who he has made for us the life this if I will put to death you and if I will give you in [the] hand of the men these who [are] seeking life your.
Thus saith the Lord; Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thine eyes from thy tears: for their is a reward for thy works; and they shall return from the land of [thine] enemies.
17 And he said Jeremiah to Zedekiah thus he says Yahweh [the] God of hosts [the] God of Israel certainly [if] you will go out to [the] commanders of [the] king of Babylon and you will live self your and the city this not it will be burned with fire and you will live you and household your.
[There shall be] an abiding [home] for thy children.
18 And if not you will go out to [the] commanders of [the] king of Babylon and it will be given the city this in [the] hand of the Chaldeans and they will burn it with fire and you not you will escape from hand their.
I have heard the sound of Ephraim lamenting, [and saying], Thou hast chastened me, and I was chastened; I as a calf was not [willingly] taught: turn thou me, and I shall turn; for thou [art] the Lord my God.
19 And he said the king Zedekiah to Jeremiah I [am] dreading the Jews who they have fallen to the Chaldeans lest they should give me in hand their and they will deal wantonly with me.
For after my captivity I repented; and after I knew, I groaned for the day of shame, and shewed thee that I bore reproach from my youth.
20 And he said Jeremiah not they will give listen please - to [the] voice of Yahweh to [that] which I [am] speaking to you so it may go well for you so it may live self your.
Ephraim is a beloved son, a pleasing child to me: for because my words are in him, I will surely remember him: therefore I made haste [to help] him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
21 And if [are] refusing you to go out this [is] the thing which he has shown me Yahweh.
Prepare thyself, O Sion; execute vengeance; look to thy ways: return, O virgin of Israel, by the way by which thou wentest, return mourning to thy cities.
22 And there! all the women who they are left in [the] house of [the] king of Judah [are] about to be brought out to [the] commanders of [the] king of Babylon and they [will be] saying they misled you and they prevailed to you [the] people of peace your they are sunk in the mire feet your they have turned backwards.
How long, O disgraced daughter, wilt thou turn away? for the Lord has created safety for a new plantation: men shall go about in safety.
23 And all wives your and children your [people will] bring out to the Chaldeans and you not you will escape from hand their for by [the] hand of [the] king of Babylon you will be captured and the city this it will burn with fire.
For thus saith the Lord; They shall yet speak this word in the land of Juda, and in the cities thereof, when I shall turn his captivity; blessed be the Lord on his righteous holy mountain!
24 And he said Zedekiah to Jeremiah anyone may not he know in the words these and not you will die.
And there shall be dwellers in the cities of Juda, and in all his land, together with the husbandman, and [the shepherd] shall go forth with the flock.
25 And if they will hear the officials that I have spoken with you and they will come to you and they will say to you tell! please to us what? did you say to the king may not you hide [it] from us and not we will put to death you and what? did he say to you the king.
For I have saturated every thirsting soul, and filled every hungry soul.
26 And you will say to them [was] making fall I supplication my before the king to not to send back me [the] house of Jonathan to die there.
Therefore I awake, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet to me.
27 And they came all the officials to Jeremiah and they asked him and he told to them according to all the words these which he had commanded the king and they kept silent from him for not it had been heard the matter.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Juda with the seed of man, and the seed of beast.
28 And he remained Jeremiah in [the] courtyard of the guard until [the] day when it was captured Jerusalem. And it was just when it was captured Jerusalem.
And it shall come to pass, that as I watched over them, to pull down, and to afflict, so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.
In those days they shall certainly not say, The fathers ate a sour grape, and the children's teeth were set on edge.
But every one shall die in his own sin; and the teeth of him that eats the sour grape shall be set on edge.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:
not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; for they abode not in my covenant, and I disregarded them, saith the Lord.
For this is my covenant which I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will surely put my laws into their mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.
And they shall not at all teach every one his [fellow] citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more.
Thus saith the Lord, who gives the sun for a light by day, the moon and the stars for a light by night, and [makes] a roaring in the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; the Lord Almighty is his name:
if these ordinances cease from before me, saith the Lord, then shall the family of Israel cease to be a nation before me forever.
Though the sky should be raised to a [greater] height, saith the Lord, and though the ground of the earth should be sunk [lower] beneath, yet I will not cast off the family of Israel, saith the Lord, for all that they have done.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Anameel to the gate of the corner.
And the measurement of it shall proceed in front of them as far as the hills of Gareb, and it shall be compassed with a circular wall of choice stones.
And all the Asaremoth even to Nachal Kedron, as far as the corner of the horse-gate eastward, shall be holiness to the Lord; and it shall not fail any more, and shall not be destroyed for ever.