15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beatenn and imprisonedo in the housep of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.

16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sentq for him and had him brought to the palace, where he askedr him privately,s “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be deliveredt into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crimeu have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophetsv who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”w

21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the breadx in the city was gone.y So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.z

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhura, Jehukala b son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague,c but whoever goes over to the Babyloniansb will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’d 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’ ”e

4 Then the officialsf said to the king, “This man should be put to death.g He is discouragingh the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”

5 “He is in your hands,”i King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothingj to oppose you.”

6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.k They lowered Jeremiah by ropesl into the cistern; it had no water in it,m only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.n

7 But Ebed-Melek,o a Cushite,c an officiald p in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,q 8 Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern,r where he will starve to death when there is no longer any breads in the city.”

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

11 So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropest to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.u