Jeremiah 37:6-38

English Standard Version

⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who ^(A)sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, ^(B)Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to ^(C)return to Egypt, to its own land. ⁸ And ^(D)the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. ^(E)They shall capture it and burn it with fire. ⁹ Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. ^10 (F)For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(G)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now when ^(H)the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, ¹² Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^(I)the land of Benjamin ^(J)to receive his portion there ^(K)among the people. ¹³ When he was at ^(L)the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^(M)Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^(N)“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” ¹⁴ And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^(O)the officials. ¹⁵ And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^(P)and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

^16 (Q)When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, ¹⁷ King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^(R)secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^(S)“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸ Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^(T)that you have put me in prison? ^19 (U)Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? ²⁰ Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^(V)let my humble plea come before you and ^(W)do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” ²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^(X)the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, ^(Y)until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^(Z)the court of the guard.

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^(AA)Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(AB)Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: ² “Thus says the Lord: ^(AC)He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(AD)but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(AE)This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” ⁴ Then the officials said to the king, ^(AF)“Let this man be put to death, ^(AG)for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^(AH)the welfare of this people, but their harm.” ⁵ King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^(AI)for the king can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah ^(AJ)and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in ^(AK)the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^(AL)by ropes. ^(AM)And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^(AN)Jeremiah sank in the mud.