Jeremiah 38

1 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard the words that Jeremiah was declaring to all the people. He was saying,

And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,

2 “Yahweh says this: Anyone staying in this city will be killed by sword, famine, and plague. But anyone who goes out to the Chaldeans will survive. He will escape with his own life, and live.

Thus saith Jehovah: 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; and he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

3 Yahweh says this: This city will be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”

Thus saith Jehovah: This city shall certainly be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, and he shall take it.

4 So the officials said to the king, “Let this man die, for in this way he is weakening the hands of the fighting men who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people. He is proclaiming these words, for this man is not working for safety for this people, but disaster.”

And the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; for why should he weaken the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking to them according to these words? for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

5 So King Zedekiah said, “Look, he is in your hand since there is no king able to resist you.”

And king Zedekiah said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do a thing against you.

6 Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah, son of the king. The cistern was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah down on ropes. There was no water in the cistern, but it was muddy, and he sank down into the mud.

Then they took Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the guard, and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

7 Now Ebed-Melek the Cushite was one of the eunuchs in the king's house. He heard that they had placed Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate.

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon — now the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin,

8 So Ebed-Melek went from the king's house and spoke with the king. He said,

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

9 “My master the king, these men have done evil with the way they have treated Jeremiah the prophet. They threw him into a cistern for him to die in it from hunger, since there is no more food in the city.”

My lord, O king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he will die by reason of the famine in the place where he is; for there is no more bread in the city.

10 Then the king gave a command to Ebed-Melek the Cushite. He said, “Take command of thirty men from here and take Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

And the king commanded Ebed-melech 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 Ebed-Melek took command of those men and went to the king's house, to a storeroom for clothing under the house. From there he took rags and worn-out clothing and then let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

And Ebed-melech took the men under his order, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old shreds and worn-out clothes, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

12 Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and worn-out clothing under your arms and on top of the ropes.” So Jeremiah did so.

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put, I pray, [these] old shreds and rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

13 Then they pulled Jeremiah by the ropes. In this way they brought him up from the cistern. So Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.

And they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and brought him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

14 Then King Zedekiah sent word and brought Jeremiah the prophet to himself, to the third entrance in Yahweh's house. The king said to Jeremiah, “I want to ask you something. Do not keep the answer from me.”

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

15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, will you not certainly kill me? But if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

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

16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private and said, “As Yahweh lives, the one who made us, I will not kill you or give you into the hand of those men who are seeking your life.”

And king Zedekiah swore secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, [As] Jehovah 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 So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Yahweh, God of hosts, God of Israel, says this: If you indeed go out to the officials of the king of Babylon then you will live, and this city will not be burned. You and your family will live.

And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt freely 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 But if you do not go out to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you will 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 out of their hand.

19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “But I am afraid of the people of Judah who have deserted to the Chaldeans, because I might be given over into their hand, for them to treat me badly.”

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

20 Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over to them. Obey the message from Yahweh that I am telling you, so that things will go well for you, and so that you will live.

And Jeremiah said, They shall not give [thee] over. Hearken, I beseech thee, unto the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee; so shall it be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

21 But if you refuse to go out, this is what Yahweh has shown me.

But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word which Jehovah hath shewn me:

22 Look! All the women who are left in your house, king of Judah, will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. These women will say to you, 'You have been deceived by your friends; they have ruined you. Your feet are now sunk into the mud, and your friends will run away.'

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 they shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed over thee; thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back.

23 For all of your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from their hand. You will be captured by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned.”

And they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand; for thou shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon, and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not inform anyone about these words, so that you do not die.

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

25 If the officials hear that I have talked with you, and if they come and say to you, 'Tell us what you said to the king and do not hide it from us, or we will kill you,'

And 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; and what hath the king said unto thee?

26 then you must say to them, 'I made a humble plea before the king that he would not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.'”

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 all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, so he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped talking with him, because they had not heard the conversation between Jeremiah and the king.

— And all the princes came to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. And they withdrew quietly from him; for the matter was not reported.

28 So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.