Jeremiah 38
38
Jeremiah Thrown into a Cistern
1Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jukal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malkijah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying: 2Thus says the Lord: He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. # Jer 34:17 But he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live, # Jer 39:18 for he shall have his life as plunder, and shall live. 3Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, # Jer 21:10; 32:3–5 and he will capture it.
4Therefore the officials said to the king, “We beseech you, let this man be put to death, for he thus 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 does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.” # Jer 26:11
5Then Zedekiah the king said, “Behold, he is in your hand, for the king cannot do anything against you.” # 2Sa 3:39
6Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malkijah the son of Hammelech that was in the court of the prison, # Jer 37:16, 21 and they let Jeremiah down with cords. And in the cistern there was no water, only mud, so Jeremiah sank in the mud.
7Now Ebed-melek the Cushite, one of the eunuchs who was in the king’s house, # Jer 29:2 heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin. # Jer 37:13 8Ebed-melek went forth out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying, 9“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern. And he will die by hunger in the place where he is, for there is no more bread in the city.” # Jer 52:6
10Then the king commanded Ebed-melek the Cushite, saying, “Take thirty men with you from here and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
11So Ebed-melek took the men under his authority and went into the house of the king under the storeroom and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by cords into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12Then Ebed-melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and worn-out rags under your armpits under the cords,” so Jeremiah did accordingly. 13Then they drew Jeremiah up with cords and took him up out of the cistern, and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. # Jer 37:21; Ac 23:35
Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again
14Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something; hide nothing from me.” # 1Sa 3:17–18; 1Ki 22:16
15Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, shall you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” # Lk 22:67–68
16So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, # Jer 37:17 saying, “As the Lord lives, who made our souls, # Isa 57:16 I surely will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of 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 surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then your soul will live and this city will not be burned with fire. Thus you and your household will live. # Jer 27:12; 38:2 18But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s officials, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, # 2Ki 25:4–10; Jer 38:3 and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape out of their hand.”
19Then Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews # Isa 51:12–13; Jn 12:42 who have fallen over to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand and mock me.”
20But Jeremiah said, “They will not deliver you. Please obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you, so it will be well with you and your soul will live. # 2Ch 20:20; Isa 55:3 21But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me: 22Behold, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women shall say:
‘Your friends have misled
and prevailed against you;
while your feet were sunk in the mud,
they turned back.’
23“So they will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. And you will not escape out of their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon; # Jer 41:10 and you will cause this city to be burned with fire.” # Jer 38:18
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of these words, and you will not die. 25But if the officials hear that I have talked with you and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26then you will say to them, ‘I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan, to die there.’ ” # Jer 37:15, 20
27Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded; so they stopped speaking with him, for the matter was not overheard.
28So Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was captured. # Jer 37:21; 39:14
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Jeremiah 38: MEV
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version
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