¹⁶ So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the Lord lives, ^(A)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 Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?”

And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be ^(A)delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”

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.

^2 (A)This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for ^(B)no one can do these signs that You do unless ^(C)God is with him.”

The Coming Deliverance of Judah

12 The ^[a]burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, ^(A)who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and ^(B)forms the spirit of man within him:

²⁰ I will ^(A)give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their ^(B)dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.

¹⁶ “Let the Lord, ^(A)the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,

²² Then they ^(A)fell^[a] on their faces, and said, “O God, ^(B)the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the ^(C)congregation?”