Beginning
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.
14 And Zedekiah the king sent and made someone bring Jeremiah the prophet to him, to the third entrance that was at the temple[aa] of Yahweh. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I am asking you something,[ab] you must not hide anything[ac] from me.” 15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely kill me? Besides,[ad] if I advise you, you will not listen to me. 16 So Zedekiah the king swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying,[ae] “As Yahweh lives,[af] who has made for us this life, I will not kill you and I will not give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If only you will go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you[ag] will live, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you will live, you and your house. 18 But if you do not go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hand.’”
19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand and they abuse me.” 20 And Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please obey the voice of Yahweh with regard to what I am saying to you, and it will go well with you, and you[ah] will live. 21 But if you are refusing to surrender, this is the thing that Yahweh has shown me. 22 Now look, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah are being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And look, they are saying,
‘Your trusted friends[ai] have misled you,
and they have prevailed against you.
Your feet are stuck in the mud,
so they turned backward.’
23 And all your wives and your children will be led out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon you will be seized, and this city will burn with fire.”
24 And Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “No man must know about these words so that you will not die. 25 And if the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Please tell us what you said to the king. You must not conceal it from us so that we will not kill you. And what did the king say to you?’ 26 Then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea before[aj] the king, to not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 And all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he informed them like all these words that the king commanded. So they fell silent, for the conversation[ak] was not heard. 28 And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured. And it happened that Jerusalem was captured.[al]
The Fall of Jerusalem
39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was taken by assault. 3 And all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the chief officer, Nergal-sharezer the high official, with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4 And then[am] when[an] Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the soldiers[ao] with him, they fled and went out at night from the city by the way of the garden of the king through the gate between the walls. And they went out toward the Jordan Valley. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he pronounced sentence[ap] on him. 6 And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7 Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and tied him up with bronze fetters to bring him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the palace[aq] of the king and the houses[ar] of the people with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
9 Then the rest of the people who were left in the city, and those deserting who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[as] deported to Babylon. 10 And some of the poor people, who had nothing,[at] Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[au] left in the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon commanded concerning Jeremiah through[av] Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[aw] saying,[ax] 12 “Take him and set your eyes on him. And you must not do something bad to him, but only[ay] that which he speaks to you, so do with him.” 13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[az] sent word, along with[ba] Nebushazban the chief officer, and Nergal-sharezer the high official, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon. 14 And they sent and took Jeremiah from the courtyard of the guard and gave him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him to the house, so he stayed in the midst of the people.
Ebed-melech is Rewarded for His Faith
15 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah at his confinement in the courtyard of the guard, saying,[bb] 16 “Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying,[bc] ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to bring my words to pass against this city for evil and not for good. And they will be before you[bd] on that day. 17 But I will rescue you on that day,” declares[be] Yahweh, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are frightened.[bf] 18 For surely I will save you, and you will not fall by the sword. But your life will be for you as booty because you have trusted in me,” declares[bg] Yahweh.’”
Jeremiah Decides to Remain in the Land
40 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[bh] had let him go from Ramah, where he had been taken[bi] bound in chains in the midst of all the exiles[bj] of Jerusalem and Judah who were being deported to Babylon. 2 And the captain of the guard[bk] took Jeremiah and said to him, “Yahweh your God threatened this disaster to this place, 3 and now he has brought it about,[bl] and Yahweh has done just as[bm] he threatened. Because you sinned against Yahweh and did not listen to his voice, so this thing has happened to you. 4 And so then look, I have released you today[bn] from the chains that were on your hands.[bo] If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, then come, and I will take care of you.[bp] But if it is bad in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, then refrain. Look, the whole land is before you.[bq] To wherever it is good and right in your eyes to go, then go there.” 5 While he still had not turned back, Nebuzaradan added, “Return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed in an official position over the towns of Judah, and stay with him in the midst of the people. Or to wherever it is right in your eyes to go, then go there.”[br] Then the captain of the guard[bs] gave him an allowance of provisions and a present, and let him go. 6 So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah and stayed with him in the midst of the people who were left in the land.
The Assassination of Gedaliah
7 When all the commanders of the armies who were in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam in an official position in the land, and that he had put him in charge of[bt] men, and women, and little children, and of the poor of the land, of all those who had not been deported to Babylon, 8 then they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, and Jehonathan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying,[bu] “You must not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. 10 As for me,[bv] look, I am staying at Mizpah to represent you before[bw] the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, and put them in your vessels, and live in your towns that you have seized.” 11 And also all the Judeans who were in Moab, and among the Ammonites,[bx] and in Edom, and who were in all the lands, when they heard that the king of Babylon had given a remnant to Judah and that he had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, in an official position over them, 12 then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they were scattered. And they came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and they gathered wine and summer fruit that yielded in great abundance.[by]
13 And Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Are you at all aware[bz] that Baalis, the king of the Ammonites,[ca] has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, to kill you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah said to Gedaliah in secrecy at Mizpah, saying,[cb] “Please let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and nobody[cc] will know. Why should he kill you, so that all of Judah who are gathered to you will be scattered, and the remnant of Judah will perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You must not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”
41 And then[cd] in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, from the offspring of the kingship, and one of the chief officers of the king, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam at Mizpah, along with[ce] ten men. And they ate bread together there at Mizpah. 2 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah got up, along with[cf] the ten men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed in an official position over the land. 3 Then Ishmael killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with[cg] the Chaldeans who were found there, the soldiers.[ch]
The Massacre of the Mourners
4 And then[ci] on the second day of the killing of Gedaliah—and no one[cj] knew— 5 then men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with shaven beards[ck] and torn garments, who had cut themselves with blades, having[cl] grain offerings[cm] and frankincense in their hands[cn] to bring to the temple[co] of Yahweh. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out to meet them from Mizpah, weeping as he came.[cp] And then[cq] as he was meeting them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam.” 7 And then,[cr] the moment of their coming to the middle of the city, then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, along with[cs] the men who were with him, slaughtered[ct] them and threw them to the middle of the pit.[cu] 8 But ten men were found among them, and they said to Ishmael, “You must not kill us, for we have[cv] hidden treasures in the field, wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey. So he refrained and he did not kill them in the midst of their fellow countrymen. 9 Now the pit[cw] into which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed along with[cx] Gedaliah was the same one that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, who was against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain ones.
10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the daughters of the king and all the people who were left at Mizpah, over whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[cy] had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.[cz]
11 When Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were with him, heard[da] all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 then they took all the men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. And they met him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. 13 And then,[db] the moment that all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were with him, they were glad. 14 So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and returned and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped with eight men from[dc] Johanan, and they went to the Ammonites.[dd]
16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who were with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, strong men, soldiers,[de] and women, and little children, and eunuchs whom he brought back from Gibeon. 17 And they set out and stayed at the lodging place of Chimham that is near Bethlehem, intending[df] to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them,[dg] because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed in an official position over the land.
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