Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh

37 Now (A)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had (B)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of (C)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. But (D)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

Yet (E)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and (F)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “(G)Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.” Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people, for they had not yet (H)put him in the prison. Meanwhile, (I)Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they (J)lifted the siege from Jerusalem.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘(K)Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, (L)Pharaoh’s army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. The Chaldeans will also (M)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not (N)deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. 10 For (O)even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and (P)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to (Q)take [a]possession of some property there among the people. 13 While he was at the (R)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he (S)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are [b]going over to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “(T)A lie! I am not [c]going over to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 Then the officials were (U)angry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they (V)put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the [d](W)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

17 Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king (X)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a (Y)word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be (Z)given into the hand of the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “(AA)In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 (AB)Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The (AC)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my (AD)petition [e]come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there.” 21 Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the (AE)court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of (AF)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was (AG)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the (AH)son of Shelemiah, and (AI)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘He who (AJ)stays in this city will die by the (AK)sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own (AL)life as booty and stay alive.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘This city will certainly be (AM)given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’” Then the (AN)officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is [f](AO)discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and [g]all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man (AP)is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm.” So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your [h]hands; for the king (AQ)can do nothing against you.” Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the (AR)cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only (AS)mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. But (AT)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, [i]a (AU)eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the (AV)Gate of Benjamin; and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he [j]will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is (AW)no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here [k]under your authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his [l]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 up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the (AX)court of the guardhouse.

14 Then King Zedekiah (AY)sent and [m]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 (AZ)ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “(BA)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 (BB)secret saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this [n](BC)life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of (BD)these men who are seeking your [o]life.”

Interview with Zedekiah

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord (BE)God of hosts, the (BF)God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed (BG)go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then [p]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will [q]survive. 18 But if you will (BH)not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city (BI)will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and (BJ)you yourself will not escape from their hand.’” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I (BK)dread the Jews who have [r](BL)gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will (BM)abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please [s](BN)obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go (BO)well with you and [t](BP)you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Then behold, all of the (BQ)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the [u]officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,

[v]Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back.”

23 They will also bring out all your wives and your (BR)sons to the Chaldeans, and (BS)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and (BT)this city will be burned with fire.’”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about these words and you will not die. 25 But if the (BU)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 (BV)presenting my petition 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 ceased speaking with him, since the [w]conversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah (BW)stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured.

Jerusalem Captured

39 [x]Now when Jerusalem was captured [y](BX)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; in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was (BY)breached. Then all the (BZ)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the (CA)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the [z]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the [aa]Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they (CB)fled and went out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate (CC)between the two walls; and he went out toward the [ab]Arabah. But the army of the (CD)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the (CE)plains of Jericho; and they seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at (CF)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. Then the (CG)king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah (CH)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slew all the (CI)nobles of Judah. He then (CJ)blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in (CK)fetters of bronze to bring him to (CL)Babylon. The Chaldeans also (CM)burned with fire the king’s palace and the houses of the people, and they (CN)broke down the walls of Jerusalem. As for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the [ac](CO)deserters who had gone over to him and (CP)the rest of the people who remained, (CQ)Nebuzaradan the (CR)captain of the bodyguard carried them into exile in Babylon. 10 But some of the (CS)poorest people who had nothing, (CT)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields [ad]at that time.

Jeremiah Spared

11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders about (CU)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, 12 “Take him and [ae]look after him, and (CV)do nothing 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 [af]Rab-saris, and Nergal-sar-ezer the [ag]Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; 14 they even sent and (CW)took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to (CX)Gedaliah, the son of (CY)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 (CZ)confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying, 16 “Go and speak to (DA)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city (DB)for disaster and not for [ah]prosperity; and they will (DC)take place before you on that day. 17 But I will (DD)deliver you on that day,” declares the Lord, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread. 18 For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own (DE)life as booty, because you have (DF)trusted in Me,” declares the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 37:12 Or part in a dividing
  2. Jeremiah 37:13 Lit falling
  3. Jeremiah 37:14 Lit falling
  4. Jeremiah 37:16 Lit house of the cistern-pit
  5. Jeremiah 37:20 Lit fall
  6. Jeremiah 38:4 Lit weakening the hands of
  7. Jeremiah 38:4 Lit the hands of all
  8. Jeremiah 38:5 Lit hand
  9. Jeremiah 38:7 Or an official
  10. Jeremiah 38:9 M.T. reads has died
  11. Jeremiah 38:10 Lit in your hand
  12. Jeremiah 38:11 Lit hand
  13. Jeremiah 38:14 Lit took Jeremiah the prophet to him
  14. Jeremiah 38:16 Lit soul
  15. Jeremiah 38:16 Lit soul
  16. Jeremiah 38:17 Lit your soul
  17. Jeremiah 38:17 Lit live
  18. Jeremiah 38:19 Lit fallen
  19. Jeremiah 38:20 Lit listen to the voice of
  20. Jeremiah 38:20 Lit your soul
  21. Jeremiah 38:22 Or princes
  22. Jeremiah 38:22 Lit The men of your peace
  23. Jeremiah 38:27 Lit word
  24. Jeremiah 39:1 Ch 38:28-b in Heb
  25. Jeremiah 39:1 Ch 39:1 in Heb
  26. Jeremiah 39:3 I.e. chief official
  27. Jeremiah 39:3 I.e. title of a high official
  28. Jeremiah 39:4 I.e. Jordan valley
  29. Jeremiah 39:9 Lit fallers who had fallen
  30. Jeremiah 39:10 Lit on that day
  31. Jeremiah 39:12 Lit set your eyes on
  32. Jeremiah 39:13 I.e. chief official
  33. Jeremiah 39:13 I.e. title of a high official
  34. Jeremiah 39:16 Lit good

Jeremiah in Prison

37 Zedekiah(A) son of Josiah was made king(B) of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin[a](C) son of Jehoiakim. Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention(D) to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

King Zedekiah, however, sent(E) Jehukal(F) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah(G) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray(H) to the Lord our God for us.”

Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.(I) Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt,(J) and when the Babylonians[b] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew(K) from Jerusalem.(L)

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(M) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched(N) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.(O) Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture(P) it and burn(Q) it down.’

“This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive(R) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! 10 Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian[c] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn(S) this city down.”

11 After the Babylonian army had withdrawn(T) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property(U) among the people there. 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate,(V) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”(W)

14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested(X) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten(Y) and imprisoned(Z) in the house(AA) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.

16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sent(AB) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked(AC) him privately,(AD) “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered(AE) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime(AF) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets(AG) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”(AH)

21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread(AI) in the city was gone.(AJ) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.(AK)

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur(AL), Jehukal[d](AM) son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague,(AN) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians[e] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’(AO) 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.’”(AP)

Then the officials(AQ) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.(AR) He is discouraging(AS) 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.”

“He is in your hands,”(AT) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing(AU) to oppose you.”

So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.(AV) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes(AW) into the cistern; it had no water in it,(AX) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.(AY)

But Ebed-Melek,(AZ) a Cushite,[f] an official[g](BA) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,(BB) Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, “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,(BC) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread(BD) 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(BE) 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.(BF)

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

14 Then King Zedekiah sent(BG) 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(BH) 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(BI) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,(BJ) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”(BK)

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender(BL) 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.(BM) 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands(BN) of the Babylonians and they will burn(BO) it down; you yourself will not escape(BP) from them.’”

19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid(BQ) of the Jews who have gone over(BR) 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(BS) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well(BT) with you, and your life(BU) will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women(BV) 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(BW) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud;(BX)
    your friends have deserted you.’

23 “All your wives and children(BY) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape(BZ) from their hands but will be captured(CA) by the king of Babylon; and this city will[h] be burned down.”(CB)

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know(CC) 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(CD) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house(CE) 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(CF) until the day Jerusalem was captured.

The Fall of Jerusalem(CG)

This is how Jerusalem(CH) was taken: 39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah(CI) king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar(CJ) king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege(CK) to it. And on the ninth day of the fourth(CL) month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall(CM) was broken through.(CN) Then all the officials(CO) of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls,(CP) and headed toward the Arabah.[i](CQ)

But the Babylonian[j] army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah(CR) in the plains of Jericho. They captured(CS) him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah(CT) in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles(CU) of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes(CV) and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.(CW)

The Babylonians[k] set fire(CX) to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls(CY) of Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him,(CZ) and the rest of the people.(DA) 10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: 12 “Take him and look after him; don’t harm(DB) him but do for him whatever he asks.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers(DC) of the king of Babylon 14 sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard.(DD) They turned him over to Gedaliah(DE) son of Ahikam,(DF) the son of Shaphan,(DG) to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.(DH)

15 While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him: 16 “Go and tell Ebed-Melek(DI) the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words(DJ) against this city—words concerning disaster,(DK) not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. 17 But I will rescue(DL) you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear. 18 I will save(DM) you; you will not fall by the sword(DN) but will escape with your life,(DO) because you trust(DP) in me, declares the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 37:1 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin
  2. Jeremiah 37:5 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 9, 13 and 14
  3. Jeremiah 37:10 Or Chaldean; also in verse 11
  4. Jeremiah 38:1 Hebrew Jukal, a variant of Jehukal
  5. Jeremiah 38:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 18, 19 and 23
  6. Jeremiah 38:7 Probably from the upper Nile region
  7. Jeremiah 38:7 Or a eunuch
  8. Jeremiah 38:23 Or and you will cause this city to
  9. Jeremiah 39:4 Or the Jordan Valley
  10. Jeremiah 39:5 Or Chaldean
  11. Jeremiah 39:8 Or Chaldeans