Jeremiah 38:14–39:14

¹⁴And the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh Jeremiah the prophet unto him, unto the third entrance that is in the house of Jehovah, and the king saith unto Jeremiah, ‘I am asking thee a thing, do not hide from me anything.’ ¹⁵And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, ‘When I declare to thee, dost thou not surely put me to death? and when I counsel thee, thou dost not hearken unto me.’ ¹⁶And the king Zedekiah sweareth unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, ‘Jehovah liveth, He who made for us this soul, I do not put thee to death, nor give thee unto the hand of these men who are seeking thy soul.’ ¹⁷And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, ‘Thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: If thou dost certainly go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath thy soul lived, and this city is not burned with fire, yea, thou hast lived, thou and thy house. ¹⁸And if thou dost not go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath this city been given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they have burnt it with fire, and thou dost not escape from their hand.’ ¹⁹And the king Zedekiah saith unto Jeremiah, ‘I am fearing the Jews who have fallen unto the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand, and they have insulted me.’ ²⁰And Jeremiah saith, ‘They do not give thee up; hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of Jehovah, to that which I am speaking unto thee, and it is well for thee, and thy soul doth live.

²¹‘And if thou art refusing to go forth, this is the thing that Jehovah hath shewn me: ²²That, lo, all the women who have been left in the house of the king of Judah are brought forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, and lo, they are saying: Persuaded thee, and prevailed against thee, Have thine allies, Sunk into mire have thy feet, They have been turned backward.

²³‘And all thy wives, and thy sons, are brought forth unto the Chaldeans, and thou dost not escape from their hand, for by the hand of the king of Babylon thou art caught, and this city is burnt with fire.’ ²⁴And Zedekiah saith unto Jeremiah, ‘Let no man know of these words, and thou dost not die; ²⁵and when the heads hear that I have spoken with thee, and they have come in unto thee, and have said unto thee, Declare to us, we pray thee, what thou didst speak unto the king, do not hide it from us, and we do not put thee to death, and what the king spake unto thee, ²⁶then thou hast said unto them, I am causing my supplication to fall before the king, not to cause me to return to the house of Jonathan, to die there.’ ²⁷And all the heads come in unto Jeremiah, and ask him, and he declareth to them according to all these words that the king commanded, and they keep silent from him, for the matter was not heard; ²⁸and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison till the day that Jerusalem hath been captured, and he was there when Jerusalem was captured.

Chapter 39

¹In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, come hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his force unto Jerusalem, and they lay siege against it; ²in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth of the month, hath the city been broken up; ³and come in do all the heads of the king of Babylon, and they sit at the middle gate, Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, chief of the eunuchs, Nergal-Sharezer, chief of the Mages, and all the rest of the heads of the king of Babylon. ⁴And it cometh to pass, when Zedekiah king of Judah, and all the men of war, have seen them, that they flee and go forth by night from the city, the way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and he goeth forth the way of the plain. ⁵And the forces of the Chaldeans pursue after them, and overtake Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and they take him, and bring him up unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he speaketh with him—judgments. ⁶And the king of Babylon slaughtereth the sons of Zedekiah, in Riblah, before his eyes, yea, all the freemen of Judah hath the king of Babylon slaughtered. ⁷And the eyes of Zedekiah he hath blinded, and he bindeth him with brazen fetters, to bring him in to Babylon. ⁸And the house of the king, and the house of the people, have the Chaldeans burnt with fire, and the walls of Jerusalem they have broken down. ⁹And the remnant of the people who are left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to him, and the remnant of the people who are left, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, removed to Babylon. ¹⁰And of the poor people, who have nothing, hath Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, left in the land of Judah, and he giveth to them vineyards and fields on the same day.

¹¹And Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon giveth a charge concerning Jeremiah, by the hand of Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, saying, ¹²‘Take him, and place thine eyes upon him, and do no evil thing to him, but as he speaketh unto thee, so do with him.’ ¹³And Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners sendeth, and Nebushazban, chief of the eunuchs, and Nergal-Sharezer, chief of the Mages, and all the chiefs of the king of Babylon; ¹⁴yea, they send and take Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and give him unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to carry him home, and he dwelleth in the midst of the people.