Jeremiah Thrown Into a Pit

Jeremiah 38

Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying, “YHWH says, ‘Whoever remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but anyone who goes out to the Chaldeans will live. They will escape with their life and will live.’ YHWH says, ‘This city will be given-given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’”

Then the princes said to the king, “Please let this man be put to death, because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them; for this man doesn’t seek the welfare of this people, but harm.”

Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in y’all’s hand. The king can’t do anything to oppose y’all.”

Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the cistern there was no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern (the king was then sitting in Benjamin’s gate), Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, and spoke to the king, saying, “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They threw him into the cistern, and he is likely to die in that place because of the famine because there is no more bread in the city.”

Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men with you from here, and life Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

So Ebedmelech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury. They took rags and worn-out garments from there and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the cords.”

Jeremiah did so. So they lifted Jeremiah up with the cords, and took him up out of the cistern, and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

Then Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to himself into the third entry that is in the house of YHWH. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something. Do not hide anything from me.”

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, won’t you kill-kill me? If I give you counsel, you won’t listen to me.”

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As YHWH lives, who made our life, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “YHWH, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned with fire. You and your house will live. But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you won’t escape from their hand.’”

Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may deliver me into their hand and they will torture me.”

But Jeremiah said, “They won’t hand you over. Please obey YHWH’s voice, what I am saying to you, so it will be well with you, and your life be spared. But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that YHWH has shown me: ‘Look! All the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house will be brought out to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women will say,

“Your trusted friends misled you, and have overcome you. Your feet have sunk in the mud, they have turned away from you.”

They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape from their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. You will cause this city to be burned with fire.’”

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know of these words, and you won’t die. But if the officials hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and tell you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and tell us what the king said to you. Don’t hide it from us, and we will not put you to death.’ then you must tell them, ‘I presented my petition before the king, not to make me to return to Jonathan’s house and die there.’”

Then all the officials came to Jeremiah, and asked him, and he said to them all the words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, because their conversation had not been heard.

So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.