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]

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]

The Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon

39 In the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it.^{(A) 2} In the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into.^{(B) 3} All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim^[a] the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon’s king.^(C)

⁴ When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the fighting men saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden^(D) through the city gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the Arabah.^{(E) 5} However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They arrested him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there.^(F)

⁶ At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah’s nobles. ⁷ Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon.^{(G) 8} The Chaldeans next burned down the king’s palace and the people’s houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem.^{(H) 9} Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards,^(I) deported the rest of the people to Babylon—those who had remained in the city and those deserters who had defected to him along with the rest of the people who remained. ¹⁰ However, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time.^(J)

Jeremiah Freed by Nebuchadnezzar

¹¹ Speaking through Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah: ¹² “Take him and look after him. Don’t do him any harm, but do for him whatever he says.” ¹³ Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, Nebushazban the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the captains of Babylon’s king ¹⁴ had Jeremiah brought from the guard’s courtyard^(K) and turned him over to Gedaliah^(L) son of Ahikam,^(M) son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.

¹⁵ Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard’s courtyard:^{(N) 16} “Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite,^(O) ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words for disaster and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day. ¹⁷ But I will rescue you on that day—this is the Lord’s declaration—and you will not be handed over to the men you dread. ¹⁸ Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in me, you will retain your life like the spoils of war.^(P) This is the Lord’s declaration.’”

The Fall of Jerusalem

52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ² Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.^{(A) 3} Because of the Lord’s anger, it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he finally banished them from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.^(B)

⁴ In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army. They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around. ⁵ The city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the common people had no food. ⁷ Then the city was broken into, and all the warriors fled. They left the city at night by way of the city gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. They made their way along the route to the Arabah.^{(C) 8} The Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army left him and scattered. ⁹ The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.

¹⁰ At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered the Judean commanders. ¹¹ Then he blinded Zedekiah and bound him with bronze chains. The king of Babylon brought Zedekiah to Babylon, where he kept him in custody^[a] until his dying day.^(D)

¹² On the tenth day of the fifth month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, entered Jerusalem as the representative of^[b] the king of Babylon. ¹³ He burned the Lord’s temple, the king’s palace, all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned down all the great houses. ¹⁴ The whole Chaldean army with the captain of the guards tore down all the walls surrounding Jerusalem.^{(E) 15} Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported some of the poorest of the people, as well as the rest of the people who remained in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.^(F)

¹⁷ Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the Lord’s temple and the water carts and the bronze basin^[c] that were in the Lord’s temple,^(G) and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, dishes, and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. ¹⁹ The captain of the guards took away the bowls, firepans, sprinkling basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and drink offering bowls^(H)—whatever was gold or silver.

²⁰ As for the two pillars, the one basin, with the twelve bronze oxen under it, and the water carts^[d] that King Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. ²¹ One pillar was 27 feet^[e] tall, had a circumference of 18 feet,^[f] was hollow—four fingers thick— ²² and had a bronze capital on top of it.^(I) One capital, encircled by bronze grating and pomegranates, stood 7½ feet^[g] high. The second pillar was the same, with pomegranates. ²³ Each capital had ninety-six pomegranates all around it. All the pomegranates around the grating numbered one hundred.

²⁴ The captain of the guards also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers. ²⁵ From the city he took a court official^[h] who had been appointed over the warriors; seven trusted royal aides^[i] found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and sixty men from the common people^[j] who were found within the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.^(J)

²⁸ These are the people Nebuchadnezzar deported:^(K) in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews; ²⁹ in his eighteenth year,^[k] 832 people from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported 745 Jews. Altogether, 4,600 people were deported.

Jehoiachin Pardoned

³¹ On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. ³² He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life. ³⁴ As for his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, for the rest of his life.^(L)

The Living Stone and a Holy People

2 Therefore, rid yourselves of^(A) all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.^{(B) 2} Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word,^[a](C) so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, ³ if you have tasted^(D) that the Lord is good.^{[b](E) 4} As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by^[c] God— ⁵ you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood^[d] to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God^(F) through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

⁷ So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,

⁸ and

They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined^(L) for this.

⁹ But you are a chosen race,^[i][j](M) a royal priesthood,^[k](N) a holy nation,^[l](O) a people for his possession,^[m](P) so that you may proclaim the praises^[n][o](Q) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.^{(R) 10} Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy,^(S) but now you have received mercy.

A Call to Good Works

¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles^(T) to abstain^(U) from sinful^(V) desires that wage war against the soul.^{(W) 12} Conduct^(X) yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,^[p] so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.^(Y)

¹³ Submit^(Z) to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor^[q] as the supreme authority^{(AA) 14} or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. ¹⁵ For it is God’s will^(AB) that you silence the ignorance^(AC) of foolish people by doing good. ¹⁶ Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil,^(AD) but as God’s slaves.^{(AE) 17} Honor everyone. Love^(AF) the brothers and sisters.^(AG) Fear God.^(AH) Honor the emperor.

Submission of Slaves to Masters

¹⁸ Household slaves, submit to your masters^(AI) with all reverence^(AJ) not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel.^{(AK) 19} For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer,^(AL) if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

²¹ For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered^(AM) for you, leaving you an example,^(AN) that you should follow^(AO) in his steps. ²² He did not commit sin,^(AP) and no deceit^(AQ) was found in his mouth;^{[r](AR) 23} when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges^(AS) justly. ²⁴ He himself bore our sins^(AT) in his body^(AU) on the tree;^(AV) so that, having died to sins,^(AW) we might live for righteousness.^(AX) By his wounds^[s](AY) you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray,^[t](AZ) but you have now returned to the Shepherd^(BA) and Overseer^[u] of your souls.