Jeremiah 38:1-13

New Life Version

Jeremiah in a Dry Water Well

38 Now Shaphatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard Jeremiah telling all the people, ² “The Lord says, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by hunger and by disease. But he who goes over to the Babylonians will live. He will get away with his life and live.’ ³ The Lord says, ‘For sure this city will be given to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’” ⁴ Then the leaders said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death. For he is making the hearts of the men of war weak who are left in this city, and of all the people, by saying such words to them. This man does not care about the well-being of these people, but instead wants them hurt.” ⁵ So King Zedekiah said, “He is in your hands. The king can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and put him into the well of Malchijah the king’s son, in the open space of the prison, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the well, but only mud. And Jeremiah went down into the mud. ⁷ But Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian servant of the king who had been made so he could not have children, heard in the king’s house that they had put Jeremiah into the well. Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin. ⁸ And Ebedmelech went from the king’s house and said to him, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have been very sinful in all they have done to Jeremiah the man of God. They have put him in the well. And he will die there of hunger, for there is no more bread in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king told Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “I am giving you the power to take thirty men with you, and bring Jeremiah the man of God up from the well before he dies.” ¹¹ So Ebed-melech as the leader took the men with him and went into the king’s house to a place under the store-room. He took from there old pieces of cloth and worn-out clothes and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the well. ¹² Then Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the clothes and pieces of cloth between your arms and the ropes,” and Jeremiah did so. ¹³ Then they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the well. And Jeremiah stayed in the open space of the prison.