Old/New Testament
Jeremiah in Prison
37 Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. He appointed Zedekiah son of Josiah as king of Judah. Zedekiah took the place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. 2 But Zedekiah, his servants and the people of Judah did not listen to the words of the Lord. The Lord had spoken his words through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Now King Zedekiah sent Jehucal and Zephaniah with a message to Jeremiah the prophet. Jehucal was the son of Shelemiah. And Zephaniah the priest was the son of Maaseiah. This was the message: “Jeremiah, pray to the Lord our God for us.”
4 At that time Jeremiah had not yet been put into prison. So he was free to go anywhere he wanted. 5 The army of the king of Egypt had marched from Egypt toward Judah. Now the Babylonian army had surrounded the city of Jerusalem so they could attack it. Then they had heard about the Egyptian army marching toward them. So the Babylonian army left Jerusalem to fight the Egyptian army.
6 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Jehucal and Zephaniah, I know Zedekiah king of Judah sent you to ask me questions. Tell this to King Zedekiah: ‘The army of the king of Egypt marched out of Egypt. They came here to help you against the Babylonian army. But that army will go back to Egypt. 8 After that, the Babylonian army will come back here. And they will attack Jerusalem. Then the Babylonian army will take and burn Jerusalem.’
9 “This is what the Lord says: People of Jerusalem, do not fool yourselves. Do not say to yourselves: ‘The Babylonian army will surely leave us alone.’ They will not! 10 You might defeat all of the Babylonian army that is attacking you. But there would still be a few injured men left in their tents. Even those injured men would come from their tents and burn down Jerusalem!”
11 So the Babylonian army left Jerusalem. They left to fight the army of the king of Egypt. 12 Now Jeremiah wanted to travel from Jerusalem to his home in the land of Benjamin. He was going there to get his share of the property that belonged to his family. 13 Jeremiah got to the Benjamin Gate of Jerusalem. But then the captain in charge of the guards arrested him. The captain’s name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah. So Irijah the captain arrested Jeremiah. Irijah said, “You are leaving us to join the Babylonian side!”
14 Jeremiah said to Irijah, “That’s not true! I am not leaving to join the Babylonians.” But Irijah refused to listen to Jeremiah. So he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officers of Jerusalem. 15 Those rulers were very angry with Jeremiah. They gave an order for him to be beaten. Then they put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the royal assistant. Jonathan’s house had been made into a prison. 16 So those people put Jeremiah into a cell in a dungeon. And Jeremiah was there for a long time.
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to the palace. Zedekiah talked to Jeremiah in private. He asked Jeremiah, “Is there any message from the Lord?”
Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is a message from the Lord. Zedekiah, you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” 18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime have I done against you? What crime have I done to your officers or the people of Jerusalem? Why have you thrown me into prison? 19 Where are your prophets now? Those prophets prophesied this message to you: ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land of Judah.’ 20 But now, my master, king of Judah, please listen to me. And please do what I ask of you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the royal assistant. If you do, I will die there!”
21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be put under guard in the courtyard. And he ordered that Jeremiah be given bread from the street of the bakers. Jeremiah was to be given bread until there was no more bread in the city. So he stayed under guard in the courtyard.
Jeremiah Is Thrown into a Well
38 Some of the officers heard what Jeremiah was prophesying. They were Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Pashhur son of Malkijah. Jeremiah was telling all the people this message: 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die in war. Or he will die of hunger or terrible diseases. But everyone who surrenders to the Babylonian army will live. They will escape with their lives and live.’ 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city of Jerusalem will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture this city!’”
4 Then the officers said to the king, “Jeremiah must be put to death! He is making the soldiers who are still in the city become discouraged. He is discouraging everyone by the things he is saying. He does not want good to happen to us. He wants to ruin the people of Jerusalem.”
5 King Zedekiah said to them, “Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop you!”
6 So the officers took Jeremiah and put him into the well of Malkijah, the king’s son. That well was in the courtyard of the guards. The officers used ropes to lower Jeremiah into the well. It did not have any water in it, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
7 But Ebed-Melech heard that the officers had put Jeremiah into the well. Ebed-Melech was a Cushite, and he was a eunuch in the palace. King Zedekiah was sitting at the Benjamin Gate. 8 So Ebed-Melech left the palace and went to the king. Ebed-Melech said, 9 “My master and king, the rulers have acted in an evil way. They have treated Jeremiah the prophet badly! They have thrown him into a well! They have left him there to die! When there is no more bread in the city, he will starve.”
10 Then King Zedekiah commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite: “Ebed-Melech, take 30 men from the palace with you. Go and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the well before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him. And he went to a room under the storeroom in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from that room. Then he let those rags down with some ropes to Jeremiah in the well. 12 Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms. They will be pads for the ropes.” So Jeremiah did as Ebed-Melech said. 13 The men pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the well. And Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard.
Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah
14 Then King Zedekiah sent someone to get Jeremiah the prophet. He had Jeremiah brought to the third entrance to the Temple of the Lord. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something. Do not hide anything from me. But tell me everything honestly.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, you will probably kill me. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
16 But King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us breath and life, I will not kill you. And I promise not to give you to the officers who want to kill you.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. Then your life will be saved. And Jerusalem will not be burned down. And you and your family will live. 18 You must not refuse to surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. If you do, Jerusalem will be given to the Babylonian army. They will burn Jerusalem down. And you will not escape from them.’”
19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I’m afraid of some of the Jews. They have already gone over to the side of the Babylonian army. I’m afraid the Babylonians may hand me over to them. And they will treat me badly.”
20 But Jeremiah answered, “The Babylonians will not hand you over to the Jews. Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then things will go well for you. And your life will be saved. 21 But if you refuse to surrender to the Babylonians, the Lord has shown me what will happen. 22 All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out. They will be taken to the important officers of the king of Babylon. Your women will make fun of you with this song:
‘Your good friends led you the wrong way and were stronger than you.
Those were friends that you trusted.
Your feet are stuck in the mud.
Your friends have left you.’
23 “All your wives and children will be brought out. They will be given to the Babylonian army. You yourself will not even escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylon. And Jerusalem will be burned down.”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not tell anyone that I have been talking to you. If you do, you will die. 25 Those officers might find out that I talked to you. Then they will come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to King Zedekiah. And tell us what King Zedekiah said to you. Don’t keep any secrets from us. If you don’t tell us everything, we will kill you.’ 26 If they ask you, tell them this: ‘I was begging the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die.’”
27 The officers did come to question Jeremiah. So he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. Then the officers said no more to Jeremiah. This was because no one had heard what Jeremiah and the king had discussed.
28 So Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
The Fall of Jerusalem
39 This is how Jerusalem was captured: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He surrounded the city to attack it. This was during the tenth month of the ninth year Zedekiah was king of Judah. 2 This lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah’s eleventh year. Then the city wall was broken through. 3 And all the officers of the king of Babylon came into Jerusalem. They sat down at the Middle Gate. They were Nergal-Sharezer of the district of Samgar; Nebo-Sarsekim, a chief officer; Nergal-Sharezer, an important leader; and all the other important officers.
4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they ran away. They left Jerusalem at night and went out from the king’s garden. They went through the gate that was between the two walls. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley. 5 But the Babylonian army chased them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There Nebuchadnezzar passed his sentence on Zedekiah. 6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons as he watched. And Nebuchadnezzar killed all the important officers of Judah as Zedekiah watched. 7 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes. He put bronze chains on Zedekiah and took him to Babylon.
8 The Babylonians set fire to the palace. And they set fire to the houses of the people of Jerusalem. And they broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan was commander of the king’s special guards. He took the people left in Jerusalem as captives. He also took those captives who had surrendered to him earlier. And he took the rest of the people of Jerusalem. He carried them all away to Babylon. 10 But Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, left some of the poor people of Judah behind. They were the people who owned nothing. So on that day he gave them vineyards and fields.
11 Nebuchadnezzar had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard: 12 “Find Jeremiah and take care of him. Do not hurt him. Give him whatever he asks for.” 13 So these men sent for Jeremiah: Nebuzaradan, commander of the guards; Nebushazban, a chief officer; Nergal-Sharezer, an important leader; and all the other officers of the king of Babylon. 14 They had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan. Gedaliah had orders to take Jeremiah back home. So they took him home, and he stayed among his own people.
15 While Jeremiah was guarded in the courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to him: 16 “Jeremiah, go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite this message: ‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Very soon I will make my words about Jerusalem come true. They will come true through disaster, not through good times. You will see everything come true with your own eyes. 17 But I will save you on that day, Ebed-Melech, says the Lord. You will not be handed over to the people you fear. 18 I will surely save you, Ebed-Melech. You will not die from a sword. But you will escape and live. This will happen because you have trusted in me, says the Lord.’”
Jesus Is Greater Than Moses
3 So all of you, holy brothers, should think about Jesus. You were all called by God. God sent Jesus to us, and he is the high priest of our faith. 2 And Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was. Moses did everything God wanted him to do in God’s family. 3 A man who is the head of a family receives more honor than others in the family. It is the same with Jesus. Jesus should have more honor than Moses. 4 Every family has its head, but God is the head of everything. 5 Moses was faithful in God’s family as a servant. He told what God would say in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a Son who is the head of God’s family. And we are God’s family if we hold on to our faith and are proud of the great hope we have.
We Must Continue to Follow God
7 So it is as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today listen to what he says.
8 Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.
There you tested God in the desert.
9 For 40 years in the desert your ancestors saw the things I did.
But they tested me and my patience.
10 I was angry with them.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me.
They have not understood my ways.’
11 So I was angry and made a promise.
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’”[a] Psalm 95:7-11
12 So brothers, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart. This will stop you from following the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day. Do this while it is “today.”[b] Help each other so that none of you will become hardened because of sin and its tricks. 14 We all share in Christ. This is true if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning. 15 This is what the Scripture says:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.” Psalm 95:7-8
16 Who heard God’s voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. 17 And whom was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert. 18 And whom was God talking to when he promised that they would never enter and have his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. 19 So we see that they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest because they did not believe.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.