Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

21 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when ^(A)King Zedekiah sent to him ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah and ^(C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Please ^(D)inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because ^(E)Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(F)Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us ^(G)in accordance with all His ^[a]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

³ But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to ^(H)turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will ^(I)gather them into the middle of this city. ⁵ And I ^(J)Myself will make war against you with an ^(K)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in ^(L)anger, wrath, and great indignation. ⁶ I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great ^(M)plague. ⁷ Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “^(N)I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He ^(O)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’

⁸ “You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am ^(P)setting before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ Anyone who ^(Q)stays in this city will die by the ^(R)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. ¹⁰ For I have ^(S)set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be ^(T)handed over to the king of Babylon and he will ^(U)burn it with fire.”’

Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the ^(A)son of Shelemiah, and ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘Anyone who ^(C)stays in this city will die by the ^(D)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and have his own ^(E)life as plunder, and stay alive.’ ³ This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be ^(F)handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’” ⁴ Then the ^(G)officials said to the king, “Please have this man put to death, since he is ^[a](H)discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and ^[b]all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man ^(I)is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.” ⁵ And King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your ^[c]hands; for the king ^(J)can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the ^(K)cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only ^(L)mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.