Jeremiah 38

Modern

Literal

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

¹Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal^a son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard that Jeremiah had been telling all the people:

¹Then Shephatiah son of Mattan, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying:

²“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans^a will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.

²“Thus says YHWH: He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, and the one going forth to the Chaldeans will live, and his life will be to him for a prey, and he will live.

³This is what the LORD says: This city will surely be delivered into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”

³Thus says YHWH: “This city is surely given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”

⁴Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”

⁴And the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for by this he is weakening the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, speaking to them these words. For this man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but only the harm.

⁵“Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.”

⁵And the king Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands; for there is not a thing the king can do against you.

⁶So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

⁶And they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king that was in the court of the guard. And they sent down Jeremiah with the ropes. And in the cistern there was not water, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

⁷Now Ebed-melech the Cushite,^a a court official^b in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,

⁷And Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—and the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin—

⁸Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king,

⁸and Ebed-melech went forth from the house of the king, and he 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. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there is no more bread in the city.”

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 cistern; and he is likely to die from hunger in his place, for there is no more bread in the city.

¹⁰So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

¹⁰And the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying: “Take with you from this place thirty men and lift Jeremiah the prophet out the pit before he dies.

¹¹Then Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the king’s palace, to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

¹¹And Ebed-melech took the men with him, and he went into the house of the king under the treasury, and he took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by cords into the cistern to Jeremiah.

¹²Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Put these worn-out rags and clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,

¹²And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah: “Please put worn-out clothes and rags under the joints of your arms, under the cords.” And Jeremiah did so.

¹³and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

¹³And they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and they lifted him from the cistern; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”

¹⁴And the king Zedekiah sent, and he took Jeremiah the prophet to him at the third entrance of the house of YHWH; and the king said to Jeremiah: “I am going to ask you a thing; do not hide from me a thing.”

¹⁵“If I tell you,” Jeremiah replied, “you will surely put me to death. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

¹⁵And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I should advise you, you will not listen to me.”

¹⁶But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.”

¹⁶And the king Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, “As YHWH lives, who made for us this soul, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your soul!

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.

¹⁷And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “Thus says YHWH, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you will surely go forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, then your soul will live and this city will not be burned with fire; and you will live—you and your house.

¹⁸But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.’”

¹⁸And if you do not go forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hands!’”

¹⁹But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may deliver me into their hands to abuse me.”

¹⁹And the king Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: “I am afraid of the Jews who have fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand, and they heap abuse on me.

²⁰“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the voice of the LORD in what I am telling you, that it may go well with you and you may live.

²⁰And Jeremiah said: “They will not give!” Hear now the voice of YHWH, which I am going to speak to you, that it may go well with you and your soul may live.

²¹But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:

²¹If you refuse to go out, this is the word that YHWH has shown me.

²²All the women who remain in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon, and those women will say:

‘They misled you and overcame you—

those trusted friends of yours.

Your feet sank into the mire,

and they deserted you.’

²²And behold, all the women who are remaining in the house of the king of Judah are being brought out to the princes of the king of Babylon, and they will say, ‘They have deceived you and prevailed against you—men of your well-being; your feet have sunk in the mire; they have turned the back.’

²³All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.”

²³And all your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, for you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will burn with fire.”

²⁴Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die.

²⁴And Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: “Let no man know of these words, and you will not die.

²⁵If the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what he said to you; do not hide it from us, or we will kill you,’

²⁵And when the princes hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare now to us what you have said to the king—do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death—and what the king said to you:’

²⁶then tell them, ‘I was presenting to the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”

²⁶And you shall say to them ‘I caused my supplication to fall before the king, that he would not make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”

²⁷When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he relayed to them the exact words the king had commanded him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had overheard the conversation.

²⁷And all the princes came to Jeremiah, and asked him, and he declared to them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the matter had not been heard.

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

²⁸And Jeremiah dwelt in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured. And he was there when Jerusalem was captured.