Jeremiah 38–39

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

The Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon

39In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it.²In the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into. ^z3All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim ^athe Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon’s king. ^b

⁴When he saw them, Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden ^cthrough the gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the Arabah. ^d5However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains ^eof Jericho, arrested him, and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there. ^f

⁶At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah’s nobles. ⁷Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon. ^gh8The Chaldeans next burned down the king’s palace and the people’s houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁱ⁹Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, ^jdeported the rest of the people to Babylon—those who had remained in the city and those deserters who had defected to him along with the rest of the people who had remained. ¹⁰However, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time. ^k

Jeremiah Freed by Nebuchadnezzar

¹¹Speaking through Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah, saying: ¹²“Take him, look after him, and don’t let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.” ¹³Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon ¹⁴had Jeremiah brought from the guard’s courtyard ^land turned him over to Gedaliah ^mson of Ahikam, ⁿson of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.

¹⁵Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard’s courtyard: ^o16“Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite: ^pThis is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill My words for harm and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day. ¹⁷But I will rescue you on that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and you will not be handed over to the men you fear. ¹⁸Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will keep your life like the spoils of war.” ^qThis is the Lord’s declaration.