Jeremiah 38
New American Standard Bible
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. 7 But (M)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a [d](N)eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the (O)Gate of Benjamin; 8 and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is (P)no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here [e]under your authority and bring Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his [f]authority and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom, and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags, and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah out with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the (Q)courtyard of the guardhouse.
Zedekiah Seeks an Answer from God
14 Then King Zedekiah (R)sent word and [g]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 am going to (S)ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “(T)If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in (U)secret, saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this [h](V)life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to (W)these men who are seeking your [i]life.”
17 So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord (X)God of armies, the (Y)God of Israel says: ‘If you will indeed (Z)surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then [j]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will [k]survive. 18 But if you do (AA)not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city (AB)will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and (AC)you yourself will not escape from their hands.’” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am (AD)in fear of the Jews who have (AE)deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will (AF)abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not turn you over. Please [l](AG)obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, so that it may go (AH)well for you and [m](AI)you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Behold, all of the (AJ)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,
“[n]Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back.”
23 They are also going to bring out all your wives and your (AK)sons to the Chaldeans, and (AL)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and (AM)this city will be burned with fire.’”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know about these words, and you will not die. 25 But if the (AN)officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell 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,’ 26 then you are to say to them, ‘I was (AO)presenting my plea before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they stopped speaking with him, since the [o]conversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah (AP)stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 38:4 Lit making slack the hands of
- Jeremiah 38:4 Lit the hands of all
- Jeremiah 38:5 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 38:7 Or high official
- Jeremiah 38:10 Lit in your hand
- Jeremiah 38:11 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 38:14 Lit took Jeremiah the prophet to him
- Jeremiah 38:16 Lit soul
- Jeremiah 38:16 Lit soul
- Jeremiah 38:17 Lit your soul
- Jeremiah 38:17 Lit live
- Jeremiah 38:20 Lit listen to the voice of
- Jeremiah 38:20 Lit your soul
- Jeremiah 38:22 Lit The men of your peace
- Jeremiah 38:27 Lit word
Jeremiah 38
New Living Translation
Jeremiah in a Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal[a] son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians[b] will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’ 3 The Lord also says: ‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”
4 So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!”
5 King Zedekiah agreed. “All right,” he said. “Do as you like. I can’t stop you.”
6 So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it.
7 But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,[c] an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, 8 so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. 9 “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.”
10 So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. 12 Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, 13 they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard—the palace prison—where he remained.
Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah
14 One day King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to the third entrance of the Lord’s Temple. “I want to ask you something,” the king said. “And don’t try to hide the truth.”
15 Jeremiah said, “If I tell you the truth, you will kill me. And if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway.”
16 So King Zedekiah secretly promised him, “As surely as the Lord our Creator lives, I will not kill you or hand you over to the men who want you dead.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the Babylonian officers, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned down. 18 But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground.’”
19 “But I am afraid to surrender,” the king said, “for the Babylonians may hand me over to the Judeans who have defected to them. And who knows what they will do to me!”
20 Jeremiah replied, “You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women left in your palace will be brought out and given to the officers of the Babylonian army. Then the women will taunt you, saying,
‘What fine friends you have!
They have betrayed and misled you.
When your feet sank in the mud,
they left you to your fate!’
23 All your wives and children will be led out to the Babylonians, and you will not escape. You will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Don’t tell anyone you told me this, or you will die! 25 My officials may hear that I spoke to you, and they may say, ‘Tell us what you and the king were talking about. If you don’t tell us, we will kill you.’ 26 If this happens, just tell them you begged me not to send you back to Jonathan’s dungeon, for fear you would die there.”
27 Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the king’s officials came to Jeremiah and asked him why the king had called for him. But Jeremiah followed the king’s instructions, and they left without finding out the truth. No one had overheard the conversation between Jeremiah and the king. 28 And Jeremiah remained a prisoner in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
