Jeremiah 38:1-13
Evangelical Heritage Version
Jeremiah Is Imprisoned in a Cistern
38 Shephatiah son of Mattah, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal[a] son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had told the people when he said, 2 “This is what the Lord says. Whoever remains in this city will die by sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes over to the Chaldeans will live. He will escape with his life, and he will live. 3 This is what the Lord says. This city will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”
4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death because he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city. He is demoralizing all the people by saying these things to them. This man is not seeking the welfare of the people. He wants to hurt them.”
5 King Zedekiah answered, “Very well. He is in your hands. The king cannot do anything to stop you.”
6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They let Jeremiah down by ropes. There was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
7 Ebed Melek the Cushite,[b] an official in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, 8 Ebed Melek left the palace and said to the king, 9 “My lord the king, everything that these men have done to Jeremiah the prophet is evil. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he is likely to die because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city.”
10 Then the king gave orders to Ebed Melek the Cushite: “Take thirty men from here under your command and lift Jeremiah the prophet up out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed Melek took command of the men and entered a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothing from there, and he lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” After Jeremiah did that, 13 they lifted him up with the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. After this Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
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- Jeremiah 38:1 Hebrew Jucal, a form of Jehucal. See 37:3.
- Jeremiah 38:7 Cush is the upper Nile region, roughly corresponding to present-day Sudan.
Jeremiah 38:1-13
Lexham English Bible
Jeremiah is Thrown into the Pit of Malchiah
38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, saying,[a] 2 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘The one who stays in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague. But the one who goes out to the Chaldeans will live. And his life will be for him as booty, and he will live.’ 3 Thus says Yahweh, ‘Surely this city will be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’”
4 Then the officials said to the king, “Please, this man must be killed, because[b] he is making slack the hands of the soldiers[c] who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking to them words like these, for this man is not seeking for welfare[d] to this people, but only[e] for harm.” 5 And Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand, for the king is not able to do a thing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit[f] of Malchiah, the son of the king, which was in the courtyard of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down by ropes. Now in the pit[g] there was no water,[h] but only[i] mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
7 When Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch[j] who was in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the pit[k]—now the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin— 8 Ebed-melech went out from the house of the king and spoke to the king, saying,[l] 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, in that they have thrown him into the pit,[m] and he will die there[n] because of[o] starvation, for there is no longer any bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying,[p] “Take with you[q] these thirty men and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the pit[r] before[s] he dies.”
11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him[t] and went to the palace of the king, to a place beneath the storehouse, and he took from there rags[u] and worn-out clothes.[v] And he let them down into the pit[w] by ropes to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Please put the rags[x] and worn-out clothes[y] under the joints of your arms under the ropes,” and Jeremiah did so. 13 And they pulled Jeremiah by the ropes and brought him up from the pit.[z] And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.
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- Jeremiah 38:1 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 38:4 Literally “unto thus”
- Jeremiah 38:4 Literally “the men of the war”
- Jeremiah 38:4 Or “peace”
- Jeremiah 38:4 Literally “but if”
- Jeremiah 38:6 Or “cistern”
- Jeremiah 38:6 Or “cistern”
- Jeremiah 38:6 Hebrew “waters”
- Jeremiah 38:6 Literally “but if”
- Jeremiah 38:7 Literally “a man of a eunuch”
- Jeremiah 38:7 Or “cistern”
- Jeremiah 38:8 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 38:9 Or “cistern”
- Jeremiah 38:9 Literally “in it”
- Jeremiah 38:9 Literally “from the face of”
- Jeremiah 38:10 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 38:10 Literally “in your hand”
- Jeremiah 38:10 Or “cistern”
- Jeremiah 38:10 Literally “at not yet”
- Jeremiah 38:11 Literally “in his hand”
- Jeremiah 38:11 Literally “the rags of rags”
- Jeremiah 38:11 Literally “rags of ragged clothes”
- Jeremiah 38:11 Or “cistern”
- Jeremiah 38:12 Literally “rags of the rags”
- Jeremiah 38:12 Literally “ragged clothes”
- Jeremiah 38:13 Or “cistern”
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