Jeremiah 37–38

Zedekiah’s Vain Hope

³⁷Zedekiah son of Josiah, whom King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, succeeded Coniah son of Jehoiakim.^{* 2}But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.^*

³King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.”^{* 4}Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. ⁵Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.^*

⁶Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: ⁷Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: This is what you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh’s army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt.^{* 8}And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire.^{* 9}Thus says the Lord: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away.^{* 10}Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.^*

Jeremiah Is Imprisoned

¹¹Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, ¹²Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property^y among the people there. ¹³When he reached the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”^{* 14}And Jeremiah said, “That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵The officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of the secretary Jonathan, for it had been made a prison.^{* 16}Thus Jeremiah was put in the cistern house, in the cells, and remained there many days.^*

¹⁷Then King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon.”^{* 18}Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison?^{* 19}Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’?^{* 20}Now please hear me, my lord king: be good enough to listen to my plea, and do not send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan to die there.” ²¹So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard, and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.^*

Jeremiah in the Cistern

³⁸Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people:^{* 2}“Thus says the Lord: Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war and live.^{* 3}Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.”^{* 4}Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to be put to death because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city and all the people by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”^{* 5}King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he is in your hands, for the king is powerless against you.”^{* 6}So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.^*

Jeremiah Is Rescued by Ebed-melech

⁷Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate,^{* 8}So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king, ⁹“My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.”^{* 10}Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take three^z men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of^a the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. ¹²Then Ebed-melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Just put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. ¹³Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.^*

Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Again

¹⁴King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me.”^{* 15}Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you not? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”^{* 16}So King Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these men who seek your life.”^*

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will only surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.^{* 18}But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand.”^{* 19}King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for I might be handed over to them, and they would abuse me.”^{* 20}Jeremiah said, “That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared.^{* 21}But if you are determined not to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me: ²²a vision of all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and saying,

‘Your trusted friends have seduced you

and have overcome you.

Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,

they desert you.’^*

²³“All your wives and your children shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”^*

²⁴Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone else know of this conversation, or you will die. ²⁵If the officials should hear that I have spoken with you and come and say to you, ‘Just tell us what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you to death. What did the king say to you?’^{* 26}then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ”^{* 27}All the officials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard.^{* 28}And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.^*