Jeremiah 37–38

Jerusalem’s Last Days

37Zedekiah son of Josiah ^dreigned as king in the land of Judah ^ein place of Jehoiachin ^fgson of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made him king. ²He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord ^hthat He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal ⁱson of Shelemiah and Zephaniah ^json of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, requesting, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us!” ⁴Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks ^kamong the people, for they had not yet put him into the prison. ^l5Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, ^mand when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king, ⁿwho is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, ^ois going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down. ^p9This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,’ for they will not leave. ¹⁰Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you, ^qand there remained among them only the badly wounded ^rmen, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city down.”

Jeremiah’s Imprisonment

¹¹When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹²Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there ^samong the people. ¹³But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, ^tan officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”

¹⁴“That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials. ¹⁵The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan ^uthe scribe, for it had been made into a prison. ¹⁶So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon ^vand stayed there many days.

Jeremiah Summoned by Zedekiah

¹⁷King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the Lord?” ^w

“There is,” Jeremiah responded, and he continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” ^x18Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land’? ^y20So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you. ^zDon’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

²¹So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard. ^aHe was given a loaf of bread each day from the baker’s street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.

Jeremiah Thrown into a Cistern

38Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal ^bson of Shelemiah, ^cand Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people: ²“This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, ^dbut whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. ^eHe will keep his life like the spoils of war and will live.’ ^f3This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon’s army, ^gand he will capture it.’ ”

⁴The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but disaster.” ^h

⁵King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.” ⁶So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. ⁱ

⁷But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official employed in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, ^j8Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king: ⁹“My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.” ^k

¹⁰So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here 30 men under your authority and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king’s palace to a place below the storehouse. ^lFrom there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. ¹²Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, ¹³and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he continued to stay in the guard’s courtyard.

Zedekiah’s Final Meeting with Jeremiah

¹⁴King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”

¹⁵Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will kill me, won’t you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway.”

¹⁶King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private, ^m“As the Lord lives, who has given us this life, ⁿI will not kill you or hand you over to these men who want to take your life.”

¹⁷Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, ^othen you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. ¹⁸But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. ^pThey will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape from them.’ ”

¹⁹But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.” ^q

²⁰“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the voice of the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. ²¹But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict ^rthat the Lord has shown me: ²²‘All the women ^swho remain in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say:

Your trusted friends ^tmisled ^uyou

and overcame you.

Your feet sank into the mire,

and they deserted you.

²³All your wives and sons will be brought out to the Chaldeans. ^vYou yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn down.’ ”

²⁴Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Don’t let anyone know about these things or you will die. ²⁵If the officials hear that I have spoken with you ^wand come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don’t hide anything from us and we won’t kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?’ ²⁶then you will tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ” ^x27When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because nothing had been heard. ²⁸Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened. ^y