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,

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.

Jerusalem Captured

39 ^[p]Now when Jerusalem was captured ^[q](AQ)in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; ² in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was ^(AR)breached. ³ Then all the ^(AS)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the ^(AT)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the ^[r]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^[s]Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. ⁴ And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they ^(AU)fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate ^(AV)between the two walls; and he went out toward the ^[t]Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the ^(AW)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the ^(AX)plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at ^(AY)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he ^[u]passed sentence on him. ⁶ Then the ^(AZ)king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah ^(BA)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the ^(BB)nobles of Judah. ⁷ He then ^(BC)blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in ^(BD)shackles of bronze to bring him to ^(BE)Babylon. ⁸ The Chaldeans also ^(BF)burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they ^(BG)tore down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ^(BH)deserters who had deserted to him and ^(BI)the rest of the people who remained, ^(BJ)Nebuzaradan the ^(BK)captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon. ¹⁰ But some of the ^(BL)poorest people, who had nothing, ^(BM)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields ^[v]at that time.

Jeremiah Spared

¹¹ Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding ^(BN)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, ¹² “Take him and ^[w]look after him, and ^(BO)do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.” ¹³ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the ^[x]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^[y]Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; ¹⁴ they even sent word and ^(BP)took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to ^(BQ)Gedaliah, the son of ^(BR)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

¹⁵ Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was ^(BS)confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying, ¹⁶ “Go and speak to ^(BT)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city ^(BU)for disaster and not for ^[z]prosperity; and they will ^(BV)take place before you on that day. ¹⁷ But I will ^(BW)save you on that day,” declares the Lord, “and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own ^(BX)life as plunder, because you have ^(BY)trusted in Me,” declares the Lord.’”

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after ^(BZ)Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from ^(CA)Ramah, when he had taken him bound in ^(CB)chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The ^(CC)Lord your God promised this disaster against this place; ³ and the Lord has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people ^(CD)sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you. ⁴ But now, behold, I am ^(CE)setting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If ^[aa]you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will ^[ab]look after you; but if ^[ac]you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, ^[ad]do not come. Look, the ^(CF)whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.” ⁵ As ^[ae]Jeremiah was still not going back, ^[af]he said, “Go on back then to ^(CG)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has ^(CH)appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ^(CI)ration and a ^(CJ)gift, and let him go. ⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(CK)Mizpah to ^(CL)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

^7 (CM)Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and ^[ag]children, those of the ^(CN)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. ⁸ So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(CO)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(CP)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^(CQ)Netophathite, and ^(CR)Jezaniah the son of the ^(CS)Maacathite, both they and their men. ⁹ Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(CT)swore to them and to their men, saying, “^(CU)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you. ¹⁰ Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^(CV)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(CW)gather wine, ^(CX)summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.” ¹¹ Likewise, also all the Jews who were in ^(CY)Moab and among the sons of ^(CZ)Ammon and in ^(DA)Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had ^[ah]left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. ¹² Then all the Jews ^(DB)returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

¹³ Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, ¹⁴ and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of ^(DC)Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “^(DD)Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he ^(DE)take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^(DF)remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “^(DG)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

Appeal to Unity

1 Paul, ^(A)called as an apostle of Jesus Christ ^[a]by ^(B)the will of God, and our ^(C)brother ^(D)Sosthenes,

² To ^(E)the church of God which is in ^(F)Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^[b]saints ^(G)by calling, with all who in every place ^(H)call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

^3 (I)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^4 (J)I thank ^[c]my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in everything you were ^(K)enriched in Him, in all ^(L)speech and ^(M)all knowledge, ⁶ just as ^(N)the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed ^[d]in you, ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly ^(O)await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8 (P)who will also ^[e]confirm you to the end, blameless on ^(Q)the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9 (R)God is faithful, through whom you were ^(S)called into ^(T)fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰ Now ^(U)I urge you, ^(V)brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all ^[f]agree and that there be no ^[g](W)divisions among you, but that you be ^[h]made complete in ^(X)the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. ¹² Now I mean this, that ^(Y)each one of you is saying, “I am ^[i]with Paul,” ^[j]or “I am ^[k]with ^(Z)Apollos,” ^[l]or “I am ^[m]with ^[n](AA)Cephas,” ^[o]or “I am ^[p]with Christ.” ^13 [q]Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you ^(AB)baptized ^[r]in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I am thankful that I ^(AC)baptized none of you except ^(AD)Crispus and ^(AE)Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one would say you were baptized ^[s]in my name! ¹⁶ But I did baptize the ^(AF)household of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. ^17 (AG)For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, ^(AH)not with ^[t]cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.

The Wisdom of God

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is ^(AI)foolishness to ^(AJ)those who ^[u]are perishing, but to us who ^[v]are being saved it is ^(AK)the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

^20 (AM)Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of ^(AN)this age? Has God not ^(AO)made foolish the wisdom of ^(AP)the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God ^(AQ)the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, ^(AR)God ^[w]was pleased through the ^(AS)foolishness of the ^[x]message preached to ^(AT)save those who believe. ²² For indeed ^(AU)Jews ask for ^[y]signs and Greeks search for wisdom; ²³ but we preach ^[z](AV)Christ crucified, ^(AW)to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles ^(AX)foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are ^(AY)the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(AZ)the power of God and ^(BA)the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the ^(BB)foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and ^(BC)the weakness of God is stronger than mankind.

²⁶ For ^[aa]consider your ^(BD)calling, brothers and sisters, that there were ^(BE)not many wise according to ^[ab]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷ but ^(BF)God has chosen the foolish things of ^(BG)the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of ^(BH)the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸ and the ^[ac]insignificant things of ^(BI)the world and the despised God has chosen, ^(BJ)the things that are not, so that He may ^(BK)nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that ^(BL)no ^[ad]human may boast before God. ³⁰ But it is ^[ae]due to Him that you are in ^(BM)Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(BN)wisdom from God, ^[af]and ^(BO)righteousness and ^(BP)sanctification, and ^(BQ)redemption, ³¹ so that, just as it is written: “^(BR)Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

2 And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I ^(BS)did not come as someone superior in ^[ag]speaking ability or ^[ah]wisdom, as I proclaimed to you ^(BT)the ^[ai]testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except ^(BU)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I also was with you in ^(BV)weakness and ^(BW)fear, and in great trembling, ⁴ and my ^[aj]message and my preaching were ^(BX)not in persuasive words of ^[ak]wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(BY)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not ^[al]rest on the ^[am]wisdom of mankind, but on ^(BZ)the power of God.

⁶ Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are ^(CA)mature; a wisdom, however, not of ^(CB)this age nor of the rulers of ^(CC)this age, who are ^(CD)passing away; ⁷ but we speak God’s wisdom in a ^(CE)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ^(CF)predestined before the ^(CG)ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom ^(CH)which none of the rulers of ^(CI)this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified ^(CJ)the Lord of glory; ⁹ but just as it is written:

^10 [an](CL)For to us God revealed them ^(CM)through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the ^(CN)depths of God. ¹¹ For who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the ^(CO)spirit of the person that is in him? So also the thoughts of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we ^(CP)have not received the spirit of ^(CQ)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. ¹³ We also speak these things, ^(CR)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, ^[ao]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

¹⁴ But ^[ap]a ^(CS)natural person ^(CT)does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(CU)foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But the one who is ^(CV)spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is ^[aq]discerned by no one. ¹⁶ For ^(CW)who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But ^(CX)we have the mind of Christ.