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.