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 American Standard Bible
Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the (A)son of Shelemiah, and (B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Anyone who (C)stays in this city will die by the (D)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and have his own (E)life as plunder, and stay alive.’ 3 This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be (F)handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’” 4 Then the (G)officials said to the king, “Please have this man put to death, since he is [a](H)discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and [b]all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man (I)is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm.” 5 And King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your [c]hands; for the king (J)can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the (K)cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only (L)mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. 7 But (M)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a [d](N)eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the (O)Gate of Benjamin; 8 and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is (P)no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here [e]under your authority and bring Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his [f]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 out with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the (Q)courtyard of the guardhouse.
Zedekiah Seeks an Answer from God
14 Then King Zedekiah (R)sent word and [g]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 (S)ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “(T)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 (U)secret, saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this [h](V)life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to (W)these men who are seeking your [i]life.”
17 So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord (X)God of armies, the (Y)God of Israel says: ‘If you will indeed (Z)surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then [j]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will [k]survive. 18 But if you do (AA)not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city (AB)will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and (AC)you yourself will not escape from their hands.’” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am (AD)in fear of the Jews who have (AE)deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will (AF)abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not turn you over. Please [l](AG)obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, so that it may go (AH)well for you and [m](AI)you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Behold, all of the (AJ)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,
“[n]Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back.”
23 They are also going to bring out all your wives and your (AK)sons to the Chaldeans, and (AL)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and (AM)this city will be burned with fire.’”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know about these words, and you will not die. 25 But if the (AN)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 (AO)presenting my plea 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 stopped speaking with him, since the [o]conversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah (AP)stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 38:4 Lit making slack the hands of
- Jeremiah 38:4 Lit the hands of all
- Jeremiah 38:5 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 38:7 Or high official
- Jeremiah 38:10 Lit in your hand
- Jeremiah 38:11 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 38:14 Lit took Jeremiah the prophet to him
- Jeremiah 38:16 Lit soul
- Jeremiah 38:16 Lit soul
- Jeremiah 38:17 Lit your soul
- Jeremiah 38:17 Lit live
- Jeremiah 38:20 Lit listen to the voice of
- Jeremiah 38:20 Lit your soul
- Jeremiah 38:22 Lit The men of your peace
- Jeremiah 38:27 Lit word
Jeremías 38
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Jeremías en la cisterna
38 Y Sefatías, hijo de Matán, Gedalías, hijo de Pasur, Jucal, hijo de Selemías, y Pasur, hijo de Malquías, oyeron las palabras que Jeremías(A) hablaba a todo el pueblo(B): 2 «Así dice el Señor: “El que se quede en esta ciudad morirá a espada, de hambre o de pestilencia(C), pero el que se pase a los caldeos, vivirá y tendrá su vida por botín y seguirá viviendo(D)”. 3 Así dice el Señor: “Ciertamente esta ciudad será entregada en manos del ejército del rey de Babilonia, y él la tomará(E)”». 4 Entonces dijeron los oficiales al rey: «Den muerte ahora a este hombre(F), porque él desanima a[a] los hombres de guerra que quedan en esta ciudad y a[b] todo el pueblo diciéndoles tales palabras(G). Este hombre no busca el bien de este pueblo, sino el mal(H)».
5 El rey Sedequías dijo: «Él está en sus manos; pues el rey nada puede hacer contra ustedes(I)». 6 Entonces ellos tomaron a Jeremías, y bajándolo con cuerdas lo echaron en la cisterna de Malaquías, hijo del rey, que había en el patio de la guardia(J). En la cisterna no había agua, sino lodo, así que Jeremías se hundió en el lodo(K). 7 Ebed Melec el etíope(L), eunuco[c] del palacio[d] del rey(M), oyó que habían echado a Jeremías en la cisterna. Estando el rey sentado a la puerta de Benjamín(N), 8 salió Ebed Melec del palacio real y habló al rey y le dijo: 9 «Oh rey, mi señor, estos hombres han obrado mal en todo lo que han hecho al profeta Jeremías echándolo en la cisterna. Él morirá[e] donde está a causa del hambre, porque no hay más pan en la ciudad(O)».
10 Entonces el rey ordenó al etíope Ebed Melec: «Toma bajo tu mando[f] tres[g] hombres de aquí, y saca al profeta Jeremías de la cisterna antes que muera». 11 Ebed Melec tomó a los hombres bajo su mando[h], entró en el palacio del rey al lugar debajo del cuarto del tesoro[i] y tomó de allí ropas raídas y trapos viejos, y con sogas los bajó a Jeremías en la cisterna. 12 Y el etíope Ebed Melec dijo a Jeremías: «Ponte ahora estas ropas raídas y trapos bajo tus brazos, debajo de las sogas»; y así lo hizo Jeremías. 13 Tiraron de Jeremías con las sogas y lo subieron de la cisterna. Y Jeremías se quedó en el patio de la guardia(P).
El rey consulta a Jeremías
14 Entonces el rey Sedequías mandó que le trajeran al profeta Jeremías a la entrada tercera que había en la casa del Señor; y el rey le dijo a Jeremías: «Voy a preguntarte una cosa(Q); no me ocultes nada(R)». 15 Y Jeremías dijo a Sedequías: «Si se la hago saber a usted, ¿no es cierto que me matará? Además, si le doy un consejo, no me escuchará(S)». 16 Pero el rey Sedequías le juró en secreto a Jeremías(T): «Vive el Señor, que nos dio esta vida[j](U), que ciertamente no te mataré ni te entregaré en manos de esos hombres que buscan tu vida[k](V)».
17 Entonces Jeremías dijo a Sedequías: «Así dice el Señor, Dios de los ejércitos(W), el Dios de Israel(X): “Si en verdad usted se pasa[l] a los oficiales del rey de Babilonia, entonces vivirá[m], y esta ciudad no será incendiada(Y), y usted y su casa vivirán. 18 Pero si usted no se pasa[n] a los oficiales del rey de Babilonia(Z), entonces esta ciudad será entregada en manos de los caldeos; y ellos la incendiarán(AA) y usted no escapará de su mano(AB)”».
19 Entonces el rey Sedequías respondió a Jeremías: «Tengo temor(AC) de los judíos que se han pasado a[o](AD) los caldeos, no sea que me entreguen en sus manos y me maltraten(AE)». 20 Pero Jeremías dijo: «No lo entregarán. Le ruego que escuche la voz del Señor en lo que le digo(AF), y le irá bien(AG) y vivirá[p](AH). 21 Pero si sigue usted rehusando pasarse, esta es la palabra que el Señor me ha mostrado: 22 “Todas las mujeres que quedan en el palacio del rey de Judá, serán llevadas a los oficiales[q] del rey de Babilonia, y ellas dirán:
‘Te han engañado(AI) y han prevalecido contra ti;
Tus buenos amigos[r],
Mientras tus pies estaban hundidos en el lodo,
Se volvieron atrás’.
23 Todas sus mujeres y sus hijos serán llevados a los caldeos. Tampoco usted escapará de sus manos, sino que será apresado por la mano del rey de Babilonia(AJ), y esta ciudad será incendiada(AK)”».
24 Entonces Sedequías dijo a Jeremías: «Que nadie sepa de estas palabras, y no morirás. 25 Pero si los oficiales se enteran de que he hablado contigo, y vienen a ti y te dicen: “Dinos ahora lo que dijiste al rey y lo que el rey te dijo, no nos lo ocultes, y no te mataremos(AL)”, 26 tú les dirás: “Presentaba al rey mi súplica de que no me hiciera volver a la casa de Jonatán, a morir allí(AM)”». 27 Luego vinieron todos los oficiales a Jeremías y lo interrogaron. Y él les informó conforme a todas estas palabras que el rey le había ordenado; y no volvieron a preguntarle, ya que de la conversación nadie había oído nada. 28 Así Jeremías quedó en el patio de la guardia(AN) hasta el día en que Jerusalén fue tomada.
Footnotes
- 38:4 Lit. debilita las manos de.
- 38:4 Lit. las manos de.
- 38:7 U oficial.
- 38:7 Lit. casa, y así en el resto del cap.
- 38:9 En el T.M., ha muerto.
- 38:10 Lit. en tu mano.
- 38:10 Así en un ms.; en el texto heb. treinta.
- 38:11 Lit. mano.
- 38:11 O despensa.
- 38:16 Lit. hizo esta alma.
- 38:16 Lit. hizo esta alma.
- 38:17 Lit. sales.
- 38:17 Lit. tu alma vivirá.
- 38:18 Lit. no sales.
- 38:19 Lit. caído con.
- 38:20 Lit. y tu alma viva.
- 38:22 O príncipes.
- 38:22 Lit. los hombres de tu paz.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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