Jeremiah 38:1-13

Wycliffe Bible

38 Forsooth Shephatiah, son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, son of Pashur, and Jucal, son of Shelemiah, and Pashur, son of Malchiah, heard the words which Jeremy spake to all the people, saying,

² The Lord saith these things, Whoever dwelleth in this city, shall die by sword, and hunger, and pestilence; but he that fleeth to [the] Chaldees, shall live, and his soul shall be whole and living. (The Lord saith these things, Whoever remaineth in this city, shall die by the sword, and by hunger, and by pestilence; but he who fleeth to the Chaldeans, shall live, and he shall be whole and living.)

³ The Lord saith these things, This city to be betaken shall be betaken into the hand of the host of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it. (The Lord saith these things, This city shall be delivered into the hands, or into the power, of the army of the king of Babylon, and they shall capture it.)

⁴ And the princes said to the king, We pray, that this man be slain; for of before-casting he discomforteth the hands of (the) men warriors, that dwelled in this city, and the hands of all the people, and speaketh to them by all these words. For why this man seeketh not peace to this people, but evil. (And the officers said to the king, We pray, that this man be killed; because by such forecasting he weakeneth the hands, or the resolve, of the warriors, and the hands of all the people, who still remain in this city, yea, by speaking to them by all these words. For this man seeketh not peace for this people, but evil.)

⁵ And king Zedekiah said, Lo! he is in your hands, for it is not leaveful that the king deny anything to you. (And King Zedekiah said, Lo! he is in your hands, for it is not lawful for the king to deny anything to you.)

⁶ Therefore they took Jeremy, and casted him down into the pit of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, which was in the porch of the prison; and they sent down Jeremy by cords into the pit, wherein was no water, but fen; therefore Jeremy went down into the filth. (And so they took Jeremiah, and threw him down into the pit of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, which was in the courtyard of the prison; yea, they sent Jeremiah down by cords into the pit, where there was no water, but only dirt, or mire; and so Jeremiah went down into the filth.)

⁷ Forsooth Ebedmelech (the) Ethiopian, a chaste man and honest, heard, that was in the king’s house, that they had sent Jeremy into the pit; soothly the king (then) sat in the gate of Benjamin. (But Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, an honest and chaste servant, that is, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, or the palace, heard that they had sent Jeremiah into the pit; and the king then sat at the Benjamin Gate.)

⁸ And Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, and said, (And Ebedmelech went forth from the palace, and spoke to the king, and said,)

⁹ My lord the king, these men did evil all things, whatever things they did against Jeremy, the prophet, sending him into the pit, that he die there for hunger; for why loaves be no more in the city. (My lord the king, these men have done a very evil thing, yea, what they have done against the prophet Jeremiah, by sending him into the pit, so that he would die there of hunger; for there be no more loaves in the city.)

¹⁰ Therefore the king commanded to Ebedmelech (the) Ethiopian, and said, Take with thee thirty men from hence, and raise thou [up] Jeremy, the prophet, from the pit, before that he die. (And so the king commanded to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, and said, Take three men from here with thee, and raise thou up the prophet Jeremiah, from the pit, before that he die there.)

¹¹ Therefore when Ebedmelech had taken men with him, he entered into the house of the king, that was under the cellar; and he took from thence old clothes, and old rags, that were rotten; and he sent them down to Jeremy, into the pit, by cords. (And so when Ebedmelech had taken the men with him, he entered into the house of the king, and went down to the cellar; and he took from there some old clothes, and some old rags, that were rotten; and then he sent them down by cords, into the pit, to Jeremiah.)

¹² And Ebedmelech (the) Ethiopian said to Jeremy, Put thou [the] old clothes, and these rent and rotten things under the cubit of thine hands, and on the cords. Therefore Jeremy did so (And Jeremiah did so).

¹³ And they drew out Jeremy with cords, and led him out of the pit. Forsooth Jeremy dwelled in the porch of the prison. (And they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and pulled him out of the pit. And then Jeremiah lived in the courtyard of the prison.)