Beginning

38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal [also called Jehucal] son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,

² Thus says the Lord: He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life as his only booty [as a prize of war], and he shall live.^(A)

³ Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.

⁴ Therefore the princes said to the king, We beseech you, let this man [Jeremiah] be put to death; for [talking] thus he weakens the hands of the soldiers who remain in this city and the hands of all the people by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of these people, but [to do them] harm.

⁵ Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hands; for the king is in no position to do anything against you.

⁶ So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon or cistern pit [in the charge] of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard; and they let Jeremiah down [into the pit] with ropes. And in the dungeon or cistern pit there was no water, but only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

⁷ Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian [a Cushite], one of the eunuchs who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon or cistern pit; and while the king was then sitting in 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 or cistern pit; and he is liable to die of hunger and is [as good as] dead in the place where he is, for there is no more bread left in the city.

¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from here thirty men with you and raise Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon or cistern pit before he dies.

¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king [to a room] under the treasury, and took along from there old rags and worn-out garments and let them down by ropes into the dungeon or cistern pit to Jeremiah.

¹² And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put now these old rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the ropes. And Jeremiah did so.

¹³ So they drew up Jeremiah with the ropes and took him up out of the dungeon or cistern pit; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

¹⁴ Then Zedekiah the king sent and brought Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, I am going to ask you something; hide nothing from me.

¹⁵ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.

¹⁶ So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, As the Lord lives, Who made our lives, I will not put you to death or give you into the hands of these men who seek your life.

¹⁷ Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will go forth and surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, then you will live and this city will not be burned with fire; and you will live—you and your house.

¹⁸ But if you will not go forth and surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hands of the Chaldeans and they will burn it with fire; and you will not escape out of their hands.

¹⁹ And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest the enemy deliver me into their [these former subjects’] hands and they mock me and abuse me.

²⁰ But Jeremiah said, They will not deliver you [to them]. Obey, I beg of you, the voice of the Lord, Who speaks to you through me. Then it will be well with you, and you will live.

²¹ But if you refuse to go forth and surrender to them, this is the word [the vision] that the Lord has shown me:

²² Behold, [in it] all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes and will say [to you, King Zedekiah], Your friends have prevailed against your better judgment and have deceived you. Now when your feet are sunk in the mire [of trouble], they have turned their backs.

²³ All your wives and your children will be brought out to the Chaldeans; and you [yourself] will not escape out of their hands, but you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and you will cause this city [Jerusalem] to be burned with fire.

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man know of this conversation and you will not die.

²⁵ But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say, Tell us what you said to the king and what he said to you; hide it not from us and we will not put you to death,

²⁶ Then you shall say to them, I was presenting to the king my humble plea that he would not send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.

²⁷ Then came all the princes to Jeremiah and asked him [just what King Zedekiah had anticipated they would ask], and he told them all that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him, for what the conversation [with the king] had been was not discovered.

²⁸ So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken [by the Chaldeans].

39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, ^[a]Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it.^(B)

² And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, they broke into the city.

³ [^[b]When Jerusalem was taken] all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim [the Rabsaris] a chief of the eunuchs, and Nergal-sharezer [II, the Rabmag] a chief of the magicians, with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴ And when Zedekiah king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and went forth out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and [the king] went out toward the Arabah (the Jordan Valley).

⁵ But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the [Syrian] land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence upon him.

⁶ Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes; also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.

⁷ Moreover, he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with shackles to take him to Babylon.^(C)

⁸ And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

⁹ Then Nebuzaradan the [chief executioner and] captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, along with those who deserted to him, and the remainder of the [so-called better class of] people who were left.

¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan the [Babylonian] captain of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor of the people who had nothing, giving them vineyards and fields at the same time.

¹¹ Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,

¹² Take him and look after him well; do him no harm but deal with him as he may ask of you.

¹³ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushasban [the Rabsaris] a chief of the eunuchs, Nergal-sharezer [II, the Rabmag] a chief of the magicians, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon

¹⁴ Sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard and entrusted him to Gedaliah [a prominent man whose father had once saved the prophet’s life] son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home [with him to Mizpah]. So Jeremiah was released and dwelt among the people.^(D)

¹⁵ Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was [still] shut up in the court of the guard, saying,

¹⁶ Go and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring to pass My words against this city for evil and not for good; and they will be accomplished before you on that day.

¹⁷ But I will deliver you [Ebed-melech] on that day, says the Lord, and you will not be given into the hands of the men of whom you are afraid.^(E)

¹⁸ For I will surely deliver you; and you will not fall by the sword, but your life will be [as your only booty and] as a reward of battle to you, because you have put your trust in Me, says the Lord.

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were taken as exiles to Babylon.

² And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, The Lord your God pronounced evil upon this place.

³ Now the Lord has brought it about and has done as He said: [It is] because you [of Judah] have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.

⁴ Now, see, I am freeing you today [Jeremiah] from the chains upon your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will keep an eye on you and look after you well. But if it seems bad to you to come with me to Babylon, then do not do it. Behold, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good, right, and convenient for you to go, go there.

⁵ While [Jeremiah] was hesitating, [the captain of the guard] said, Go back then to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go wherever it seems right for you to go. So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present and let him go.

⁶ Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.

⁷ Now when all the captains of the forces that were in the open country [of Judah] and their men heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah son of Ahikam governor in the land [of Judah] and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon,

⁸ They went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.

⁹ And Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans; dwell in [this] land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

¹⁰ As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah to stand [for you] before the Chaldeans who come to us [ministering to them and looking after the king’s interests]; but as for you, gather the juice [of the grape], summer fruits and oil, and store them in your utensils [chosen for such purposes], and dwell in your cities that you have seized.

¹¹ Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab and among the people of Ammon and in Edom and who were in all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had set over them [as governor] Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,

¹² Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered a great abundance of juice [of the grape] and summer fruits.

¹³ Moreover, Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

¹⁴ And said to him, Do you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life? But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵ Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray you, and I will slay Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no man will know it. Why should he slay you and cause all the Jews who are gathered to you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?

¹⁶ But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely of Ishmael.

41 Now in the seventh month [of that year] Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal descendants and one of the princes of the king, came [at the instigation of the Ammonites] with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam in Mizpah. As they were eating a meal together there in Mizpah,

² Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him arose and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him, the one whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.^(F)

³ Ishmael [manipulated by the Ammonites] also slew all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who were found there.

⁴ And the second day after the slaying of Gedaliah, before anyone knew about it,

⁵ There came eighty men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, having their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and having cut themselves, bringing cereal offerings and incense, going up [to Jerusalem] to present them in the house of the Lord.

⁶ And Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all the way as he went. As he met them, he said to them, Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.

⁷ And when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the [city] cistern pit—he and the men with him.

⁸ But ten men were among them who said to Ishmael, Do not kill us! For we have stores hidden in the field—of wheat and barley and oil and honey. So he refrained and did not slay them with their brethren.

⁹ Now the cistern pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain in addition to Gedaliah was the one which Asa the king [of Judah] had once made for fear of Baasha king of Israel [should Baasha lay siege to Mizpah]. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with those who were slain.

¹⁰ Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah—even the king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to cross over [the Jordan] to the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done,

¹² They took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah and found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon.

¹³ Now when all the people who were [captives] with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him, they were glad.

¹⁴ So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan son of Kareah.

¹⁵ But Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.

¹⁶ Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the remainder of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after he had slain Gedaliah son of Ahikam: [they were] the soldiers, the women, the children, and the eunuchs whom [Johanan] had brought back from Gibeon.

¹⁷ And they departed and stayed at the lodging place of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, [intending] to go to Egypt

¹⁸ Because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land [and whose death the king could avenge without much discrimination].