耶利米书 38
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
耶利米陷在枯井里
38 玛坦的儿子示法提雅、巴施户珥的儿子基大利、示利米雅的儿子犹甲、玛基雅的儿子巴施户珥听见了耶利米对众人说: 2 “耶和华说,‘凡留在这城的,必死于刀剑、饥荒和瘟疫;凡出去向迦勒底人投降的,必保全性命。’ 3 耶和华说,‘这城必落在巴比伦王的军队手中,他们必攻占这城。’” 4 这几位官长就对西底迦王说:“求你处死这人!因为他的话令这城的军民士气低落。这人不为人民着想,反要害他们。” 5 西底迦王说:“你们可以随意处置他,我不会阻止你们。” 6 于是,他们拿住耶利米,用绳子把他缒到王子玛基雅的蓄水池里。那池子在护卫兵的院子里,池中没有水,只有淤泥。耶利米就陷在淤泥中。
7 那时,王正坐在便雅悯门口。宫廷侍臣古实人以伯·米勒听说他们把耶利米囚在蓄水池里, 8 便从王宫跑去对王说: 9 “我主我王啊!这些人对耶利米先知太狠毒了。他们把他丢在蓄水池里,他必饿死在那里,因为城中绝粮了。” 10 于是,王吩咐古实人以伯·米勒率领三十人,在耶利米先知未死之前把他从池中救出来。 11 以伯·米勒带着他的手下进入王宫,从库房下面的房间拿了些碎布和破衣,用绳索缒到池底给耶利米, 12 让他把这些碎布和破衣垫在腋下,以免被绳索勒伤。耶利米就照做了。 13 他们便把耶利米从池中拉上来拘留在护卫兵的院子里。
西底迦王密会耶利米
14 西底迦王派人把耶利米先知带到耶和华殿的第三道门那里与他会面。他对耶利米说:“我要问你一件事,你不可隐瞒。” 15 耶利米说:“我若从实禀告,你一定会杀我。我就是给你建议,你也不会听。” 16 于是,他私下向耶利米发誓说:“我凭那赐给我们生命的永活的耶和华起誓,我决不杀你,也不把你交在想杀你的人手中。”
17 耶利米说:“以色列的上帝——万军之上帝耶和华说,‘如果你出去向巴比伦王的将领投降,就可以保住你和你全家的性命,这城也不会被烧毁。 18 但如果你不出去向巴比伦王的将领投降,这城必落在迦勒底人手里,被付之一炬,你也逃不掉。’” 19 西底迦王说:“我害怕那些已经向迦勒底人投降的犹大人,恐怕迦勒底人会把我交给他们,任由他们羞辱。” 20 耶利米说:“不会的。只要你听从耶和华吩咐我对你说的话,你就可以平安无事,保全性命。 21 耶和华已指示我,如果你不肯投降, 22 所有留在犹大王宫的妇女都必被巴比伦王的将领俘虏,她们会讽刺你说,‘你被好友欺骗、误导,当你陷入泥潭时,他们就离弃了你。’
23 “你的嫔妃和儿女必被交给迦勒底人,你也逃不掉,必被巴比伦王所擒。这城也要被付之一炬。”
24 西底迦说:“不可让人知道我们的谈话,否则你会丧命。 25 如果有官长知道我曾与你会面,前来以死亡相威胁,逼你说出我们谈话的内容。 26 你可以告诉他们,你是在求我不要把你押回约拿单的房子,以免死在那里。” 27 果然,官长前来查问耶利米,他就照王的吩咐回复他们,他们便不再追问,因为他跟王的谈话无人知道。 28 耶利米被囚在护卫兵的院子里,一直到耶路撒冷沦陷。
Jeremiah 38
New King James Version
Jeremiah in the Dungeon
38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, (A)Jucal[a] the son of Shelemiah, and (B)Pashhur the son of Malchiah (C)heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord: (D)‘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: (E)‘This city shall surely be (F)given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ”
4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, (G)let this man be put to death, for thus he [b]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 [c]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 (H)So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah [d]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 (I)Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the [e]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 (J)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 (K)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 (L)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, (M)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 (N)surrender[f] (O)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 [g]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 (P)you shall not escape from their hand.’ ”
19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have (Q)defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they (R)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 (S)well with you, and your soul shall live. 21 But if you refuse to [h]surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Now behold, all the (T)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 [i]set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have [j]turned away again.”
23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and (U)children to the Chaldeans. (V)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, (W)‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return (X)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 (Y)Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 38:1 Jehucal, Jer. 37:3
- Jeremiah 38:4 Is discouraging
- Jeremiah 38:4 Well-being; lit. peace
- Jeremiah 38:6 Or son of Hammelech
- Jeremiah 38:7 Or officers
- Jeremiah 38:17 Lit. go out
- Jeremiah 38:18 Lit. go out
- Jeremiah 38:21 Lit. go out
- Jeremiah 38:22 Or misled
- Jeremiah 38:22 Deserted you
Jeremiah 38
New International Version
Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern
38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur(A), Jehukal[a](B) 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,(C) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians[b] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’(D) 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.’”(E)
4 Then the officials(F) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.(G) He is discouraging(H) 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,”(I) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing(J) 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.(K) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes(L) into the cistern; it had no water in it,(M) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.(N)
7 But Ebed-Melek,(O) a Cushite,[c] an official[d](P) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,(Q) 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,(R) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread(S) 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(T) 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.(U)
Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again
14 Then King Zedekiah sent(V) 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(W) 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(X) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,(Y) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”(Z)
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender(AA) 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.(AB) 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands(AC) of the Babylonians and they will burn(AD) it down; you yourself will not escape(AE) from them.’”
19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid(AF) of the Jews who have gone over(AG) 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(AH) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well(AI) with you, and your life(AJ) will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women(AK) 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(AL) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud;(AM)
your friends have deserted you.’
23 “All your wives and children(AN) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape(AO) from their hands but will be captured(AP) by the king of Babylon; and this city will[e] be burned down.”(AQ)
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know(AR) 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(AS) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house(AT) 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(AU) until the day Jerusalem was captured.
The Fall of Jerusalem(AV)
This is how Jerusalem(AW) was taken:
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 38:1 Hebrew Jukal, a variant of Jehukal
- Jeremiah 38:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 18, 19 and 23
- Jeremiah 38:7 Probably from the upper Nile region
- Jeremiah 38:7 Or a eunuch
- Jeremiah 38:23 Or and you will cause this city to
Jeremiah 38
English Standard Version
Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, (A)Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and (B)Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the Lord: (C)He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, (D)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: (E)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, (F)“Let this man be put to death, (G)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 (H)the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, (I)for the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah (J)and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in (K)the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down (L)by ropes. (M)And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and (N)Jeremiah sank in the mud.
Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern
7 When (O)Ebed-melech (P)the Ethiopian, (Q)a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting (R)in the Benjamin Gate— 8 (S)Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of (T)hunger, (U)for there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded (V)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So (W)Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern (X)by ropes. 12 Then (Y)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and (Z)the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with (AA)ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the (AB)court of the guard.
Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again
14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore (AC)secretly to Jeremiah, (AD)“As the Lord lives, (AE)who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of (AF)these men who seek your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: (AG)If you will surrender to (AH)the officials of the king of Babylon, (AI)then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to (AJ)the officials of the king of Babylon, (AK)then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, (AL)and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans (AM)who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, (AN)and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to (AO)surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,
(AP)“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.’
23 All your wives and (AQ)your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If (AR)the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, (AS)‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained (AT)in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
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