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Jeremiah
Thrown into the Cistern |
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| Jeremiah 38:1 |
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Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah
the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah
heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, |
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| Jeremiah 38:2 |
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"Thus says the LORD, 'He who stays in this city
will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to
the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as booty and stay alive.' |
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| Jeremiah 38:3 |
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"Thus says the LORD, 'This city will certainly
be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture
it.'" |
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| Jeremiah 38:4 |
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Then the officials said to the king, "Now let
this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are
left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this
man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm." |
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| Jeremiah 38:5 |
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So King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your
hands; for the king can do nothing against you." |
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| Jeremiah 38:6 |
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Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the
cistern of Malchijah the king's son, which was in the court of the guardhouse;
and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but
only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. |
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| Jeremiah 38:7 |
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But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, while
he was in the king's palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern.
Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin; |
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| Jeremiah 38:8 |
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and Ebed-melech went out from the king's palace
and spoke to the king, saying, |
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| Jeremiah 38:9 |
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"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly
in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the
cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is
no more bread in the city." |
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| Jeremiah 38:10 |
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Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,
saying, "Take thirty men from here under your authority and bring up Jeremiah
the prophet from the cistern before he dies." |
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| Jeremiah 38:11 |
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So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority
and went into the king's palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from
there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern
to Jeremiah. |
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| Jeremiah 38:12 |
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Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah,
"Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes";
and Jeremiah did so. |
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| Jeremiah 38:13 |
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So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and
lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse. |
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| Jeremiah 38:14 |
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Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the
prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the LORD;
and the king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something; do not hide anything
from me." |
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| Jeremiah 38:15 |
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Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you,
will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will
not listen to me." |
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| Jeremiah 38:16 |
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But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret
saying, "As the LORD lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you
to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who are seeking your
life." |
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Interview with Zedekiah |
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| Jeremiah 38:17 |
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Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the
LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If you will indeed go out to the officers
of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with
fire, and you and your household will survive. |
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| Jeremiah 38:18 |
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'But if you will not go out to the officers
of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans;
and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hand.'" |
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| Jeremiah 38:19 |
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Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I dread
the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their
hand and they will abuse me." |
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| Jeremiah 38:20 |
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But Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over.
Please obey the LORD in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you
and you may live. |
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| Jeremiah 38:21 |
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"But if you keep refusing to go out, this is
the word which the LORD has shown me: |
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| Jeremiah 38:22 |
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'Then behold, all of the women who have been
left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers
of the king of Babylon; and those women will say, "Your close friends Have misled
and overpowered you; While your feet were sunk in the mire, They turned back."
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| Jeremiah 38:23 |
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'They will also bring out all your wives and
your sons to the Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from their hand,
but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned
with fire.'" |
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| Jeremiah 38:24 |
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Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no man
know about these words and you will not die. |
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| Jeremiah 38:25 |
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"But if the officials hear that I have talked
with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us now what you said to the king
and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you
to death,' |
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| Jeremiah 38:26 |
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then you are to say to them, 'I was presenting
my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to
die there.'" |
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| Jeremiah 38:27 |
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Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and
questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which
the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him, since the conversation
had not been overheard. |
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| Jeremiah 38:28 |
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So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse
until the day that Jerusalem was captured. |
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