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Jeremiah 36-38
New King James Version

The Scroll Read in the Temple

36 Now it came to pass in the (A)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 2 “Take a (B)scroll of a book and (C)write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against (D)all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of (E)Josiah even to this day. 3 It (F)may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may (G)turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

4 Then Jeremiah (H)called Baruch the son of Neriah; and (I)Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, [a]at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the Lord. 6 You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written [b]at my instruction, the words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the Lord’s house on (J)the day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities. 7 It may be that they will present their supplication before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger and the fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

9 Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. 10 Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the (K)entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, in the [c]hearing of all the people.

The Scroll Read in the Palace

11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the book, 12 he then went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber; and there all the princes were sitting—(L)Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, (M)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. 13 Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people. 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

16 Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, that they looked in fear from one to another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words—[d]at his instruction?”

18 So Baruch answered them, “He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”

19 Then the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no one know where you are.”

The King Destroys Jeremiah’s Scroll

20 And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of the king. 21 So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in (N)the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. 23 And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 24 Yet they were (O)not afraid, nor did they (P)tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words. 25 Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel [e]the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.

Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll

27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written [f]at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 28 “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29 And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have burned this scroll, saying, (Q)‘Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and cause man and beast to (R)cease from here?’ ” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: (S)“He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be (T)cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will punish him, his [g]family, and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced against them; but they did not heed.” ’ ”

32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it [h]at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words.

Zedekiah’s Vain Hope(U)

37 Now King (V)Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2 (W)But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the Lord which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.

3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and (X)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, (Y)“Pray now to the Lord our God for us.” 4 Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Then (Z)Pharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, (AA)who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. 8 (AB)And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’ 9 Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart. 10 (AC)For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. 13 And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”

14 Then Jeremiah said, [i]“False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him.

So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him (AD)and put him in prison in the (AE)house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.

16 When Jeremiah entered (AF)the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?”

And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be (AG)delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”

18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my petition be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”

21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah (AH)to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers’ street, (AI)until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

Jeremiah in the Dungeon

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, (AJ)Jucal[j] the son of Shelemiah, and (AK)Pashhur the son of Malchiah (AL)heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord: (AM)‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’ 3 Thus says the Lord: (AN)‘This city shall surely be (AO)given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ”

4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, (AP)let this man be put to death, for thus he [k]weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the [l]welfare of this people, but their harm.”

5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” 6 (AQ)So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah [m]the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.

7 (AR)Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the [n]eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, 8 Ebed-Melech went 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 dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is (AS)no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained (AT)in the court of the prison.

Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice

14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will (AU)ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”

15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the Lord lives, (AV)who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely (AW)surrender[o] (AX)to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not [p]surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and (AY)you shall not escape from their hand.’ ”

19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have (AZ)defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they (BA)abuse me.”

20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be (BB)well with you, and your soul shall live. 21 But if you refuse to [q]surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Now behold, all the (BC)women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say:

“Your close friends have [r]set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have [s]turned away again.”

23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and (BD)children to the Chaldeans. (BE)You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, (BF)‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return (BG)to Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”

27 Then all the princes 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 conversation had not been heard. 28 Now (BH)Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 36:4 Lit. from Jeremiah’s mouth
  2. Jeremiah 36:6 Lit. from my mouth
  3. Jeremiah 36:10 Lit. ears
  4. Jeremiah 36:17 Lit. with his mouth
  5. Jeremiah 36:26 Or son of Hammelech
  6. Jeremiah 36:27 Lit. from Jeremiah’s mouth
  7. Jeremiah 36:31 Lit. seed
  8. Jeremiah 36:32 Lit. from Jeremiah’s mouth
  9. Jeremiah 37:14 a lie
  10. Jeremiah 38:1 Jehucal, Jer. 37:3
  11. Jeremiah 38:4 Is discouraging
  12. Jeremiah 38:4 Well-being; lit. peace
  13. Jeremiah 38:6 Or son of Hammelech
  14. Jeremiah 38:7 Or officers
  15. Jeremiah 38:17 Lit. go out
  16. Jeremiah 38:18 Lit. go out
  17. Jeremiah 38:21 Lit. go out
  18. Jeremiah 38:22 Or misled
  19. Jeremiah 38:22 Deserted you
Listen to Jeremiah 36-38
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Jeremiah 36-38
New International Version

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim(A) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll(B) and write on it all the words(C) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah(D) till now. 3 Perhaps(E) when the people of Judah hear(F) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn(G) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive(H) their wickedness and their sin.”

4 So Jeremiah called Baruch(I) son of Neriah,(J) and while Jeremiah dictated(K) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.(L) 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting(M) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.(N) Read them to all the people of Judah(O) who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition(P) before the Lord and will each turn(Q) from their wicked ways, for the anger(R) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month(S) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting(T) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah(U) son of Shaphan(V) the secretary,(W) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate(X) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s(Y) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan(Z) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.(AA) 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi(AB) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll(AC) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear(AD) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write(AE) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated(AF) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

19 Then the officials(AG) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.(AH) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi(AI) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king(AJ) and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,(AK) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,(AL) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.(AM) 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,(AN) nor did they tear their clothes.(AO) 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah(AP) and Gemariah(AQ) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest(AR) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden(AS) them.

27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,(AT) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll(AU) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it(AV) both man and beast?”(AW) 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim(AX) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out(AY) and exposed(AZ) to the heat by day and the frost by night.(BA) 31 I will punish him and his children(BB) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster(BC) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.(BD)’”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,(BE) Baruch wrote(BF) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned(BG) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Jeremiah in Prison

37 Zedekiah(BH) son of Josiah was made king(BI) of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin[a](BJ) son of Jehoiakim. 2 Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention(BK) to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

3 King Zedekiah, however, sent(BL) Jehukal(BM) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah(BN) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray(BO) to the Lord our God for us.”

4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.(BP) 5 Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt,(BQ) and when the Babylonians[b] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew(BR) from Jerusalem.(BS)

6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(BT) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched(BU) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.(BV) 8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture(BW) it and burn(BX) it down.’

9 “This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive(BY) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! 10 Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian[c] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn(BZ) this city down.”

11 After the Babylonian army had withdrawn(CA) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property(CB) among the people there. 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate,(CC) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”(CD)

14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested(CE) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten(CF) and imprisoned(CG) in the house(CH) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.

16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sent(CI) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked(CJ) him privately,(CK) “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered(CL) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime(CM) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets(CN) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”(CO)

21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread(CP) in the city was gone.(CQ) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.(CR)

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur(CS), Jehukal[d](CT) son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague,(CU) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians[e] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’(CV) 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”(CW)

4 Then the officials(CX) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.(CY) He is discouraging(CZ) the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”

5 “He is in your hands,”(DA) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing(DB) to oppose you.”

6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.(DC) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes(DD) into the cistern; it had no water in it,(DE) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.(DF)

7 But Ebed-Melek,(DG) a Cushite,[f] an official[g](DH) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,(DI) 8 Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern,(DJ) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread(DK) in the city.”

10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

11 So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes(DL) to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.(DM)

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

14 Then King Zedekiah sent(DN) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide(DO) anything from me.”

15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”

16 But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly(DP) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,(DQ) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”(DR)

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender(DS) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.(DT) 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands(DU) of the Babylonians and they will burn(DV) it down; you yourself will not escape(DW) from them.’”

19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid(DX) of the Jews who have gone over(DY) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”

20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey(DZ) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well(EA) with you, and your life(EB) will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women(EC) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:

“‘They misled you and overcame you—
    those trusted friends(ED) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud;(EE)
    your friends have deserted you.’

23 “All your wives and children(EF) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape(EG) from their hands but will be captured(EH) by the king of Babylon; and this city will[h] be burned down.”(EI)

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know(EJ) about this conversation, or you may die. 25 If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ 26 then tell(EK) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house(EL) to die there.’”

27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.

28 And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard(EM) until the day Jerusalem was captured.

The Fall of Jerusalem(EN)

This is how Jerusalem(EO) was taken:

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 37:1 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin
  2. Jeremiah 37:5 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 9, 13 and 14
  3. Jeremiah 37:10 Or Chaldean; also in verse 11
  4. Jeremiah 38:1 Hebrew Jukal, a variant of Jehukal
  5. Jeremiah 38:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 18, 19 and 23
  6. Jeremiah 38:7 Probably from the upper Nile region
  7. Jeremiah 38:7 Or a eunuch
  8. Jeremiah 38:23 Or and you will cause this city to
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Jeremiah 35
Jeremiah 39
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