Jeremiah 38
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jeremiah in the Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people:(A) 2 “Thus says the Lord: Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war and live.(B) 3 Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.”(C) 4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to be put to death because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city and all the people by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”(D) 5 King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he is in your hands, for the king is powerless against you.”(E) 6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.(F)
Jeremiah Is Rescued by Ebed-melech
7 Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate,(G) 8 So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king, 9 “My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.”(H) 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take three[a] men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of[b] the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Just put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.(I)
Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Again
14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me.”(J) 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you not? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”(K) 16 So King Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these men who seek your life.”(L)
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will only surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.(M) 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand.”(N) 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for I might be handed over to them, and they would abuse me.”(O) 20 Jeremiah said, “That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared.(P) 21 But if you are determined not to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me: 22 a vision of all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and saying,
‘Your trusted friends have seduced you
and have overcome you.
Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,
they desert you.’(Q)
23 “All your wives and your children 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.”(R)
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone else know of this conversation, or you will die. 25 If the officials should hear that I have spoken with you and come and say to you, ‘Just tell us what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you to death. What did the king say to you?’(S) 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ”(T) 27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard.(U) 28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.(V)
Jeremiah 38
Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah Thrown into a Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal[a] son of Shelemiah,(A) and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people: 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague,(B) but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live.(C) He will retain his life like the spoils of war and will live.’(D) 3 This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon’s army,(E) and he will capture it.’”
4 The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale[b] of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not pursuing the welfare of this people, but their harm.”(F)
5 King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.(G)
7 But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,(H) 8 Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king: 9 “My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”(I)
10 So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, “Take from here thirty men under your authority[c] and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority[d] and went to the king’s palace to a place below the storehouse.[e] From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-melech the Cushite called down to Jeremiah, “Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did this. 13 They pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he remained in the guard’s courtyard.
Zedekiah’s Final Meeting with Jeremiah
14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”
15 Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will kill me, won’t you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won’t listen to me anyway.”
16 King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private,(J) “As the Lord lives, who has given us this life,(K) I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who intend to take your life.”
17 Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon,(L) then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans.(M) They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.’”
19 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”(N)
20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict[f] that the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘All the women[g] who remain in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say to you,[h]
“Your trusted friends[i] misled[j] you
and overcame you.
Your feet sank into the mire,
and they deserted you.”
23 All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans.(O) You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn.’”
24 Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation[k] or you will die. 25 The officials may hear that I have spoken with you(P) and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don’t hide anything from us and we won’t kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?’ 26 If they do, tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”(Q) 27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. He reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because the conversation[l] had not been overheard. 28 Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.[m]
Footnotes
- 38:1 = Jehucal in Jr 37:3
- 38:4 Lit hands
- 38:10 Lit men in your hand
- 38:11 Lit men in his hand
- 38:11 Or treasury
- 38:21 Or promise; lit word
- 38:22 Or wives
- 38:22 to you supplied for clarity
- 38:22 Lit “The men of your peace
- 38:22 Or incited
- 38:24 Lit about these words
- 38:27 Lit word
- 38:28 Or captured. This is what happened when Jerusalem was captured:
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.