Old/New Testament
37 Zedekiah (son of Josiah) was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He reigned instead of his nephew, Coniah (son of Jehoiakim) who had already been deported to Babylon. 2 Neither young Zedekiah nor his inexperienced advisors nor the people of Judah themselves listened to what the Eternal said through His prophet Jeremiah.
3 Zedekiah one day sent Jehucal (son of Shelemiah), along with the priest Zephaniah (son of Maaseiah) to ask the prophet Jeremiah, “Please pray to the Eternal our God for us.” 4 Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison, so he was free to move about the city. 5 This happened when the Chaldeans pulled back from their siege on Jerusalem because they heard Pharaoh’s army was marching out of Egypt toward them. 6 It was then that the word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah the prophet, who faithfully delivered it to the king’s messengers.
Jeremiah: 7 This is what the Eternal God of Israel has to say: “Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask for My help: ‘Look! Pharaoh’s army—which you hoped would help you—will turn back to Egypt to protect its own land. 8 Then the Chaldeans will come back to attack Jerusalem. They will capture this city and burn it to the ground.’” 9 The Eternal says this to you: “Do not fool yourselves into thinking the Chaldeans will leave you alone. They will not! 10 Even if somehow you defeated their entire army, their wounded soldiers lying in tents would come out and burn this city to the ground in a fiery blaze.”
11 Now during this time when the Chaldeans had pulled back from Jerusalem to face Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem. He was heading back to the land of Benjamin to settle his affairs regarding a piece of family property there.[a] 13 But as he was leaving through the Benjamin gate on the north side of the city, the captain of the guard, Irijah (son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah), arrested him.
Many years have now passed since Jehoiakim’s arrogant scroll-burning incident, but the prophecies against him and his people are coming to pass: Babylon is now exerting its power in the land, and Jehoiakim’s legacy has indeed crumbled. His own son Jehoiachin (also known as Coniah) has already been sent into exile by the Babylonians in 598 b.c. In his place, Nebuchadnezzar has placed Zedekiah on the throne of Judah. This new king has pledged to remain loyal to Babylon in exchange for the crown. And while he is not as arrogant and openly rebellious as Jehoiakim, in his own weak way, he, too, disobeys God. At times he seems genuinely interested in the words of Jeremiah, but he never shows the courage necessary to obey God during this dramatic time. Throughout his 11 year reign (597-587 b.c.), Zedekiah is unable to stand up to his advisors and at one point agrees to break with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, siding instead with the pharaoh of Egypt. This sets in motion the final retaliation of the Babylonians, including the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.
Irijah: You traitor! You are trying to desert to the Chaldeans!
Jeremiah: 14 That’s not true! I’m not deserting to the Chaldeans.
But Irijah would not listen to Jeremiah, so he arrested him and brought him to the city leaders. 15 They were already angry with Jeremiah because of his predictions of destruction and his advice to surrender. So they had Jeremiah beaten and placed him under arrest in the house of Jonathan the secretary (which they had made into a prison). 16 He was placed in a dark, damp cell below ground and left there for a long time.
17 Eventually, King Zedekiah had him secretly brought to the palace so the king could talk with him.
King Zedekiah: Have you received any more messages from the Eternal?
Jeremiah: Yes, but they haven’t changed: you will still be handed over to the king of Babylon. But while I’m here, let me ask you— 18 what crime have I committed against you, your advisors, or this nation that I should be imprisoned? 19 I told you nothing but the truth about Babylon from the beginning, so why am I in this cell? Meanwhile, your so-called prophets keep telling you, “Don’t worry, the king of Babylon will never attack you or this land,” and they go unpunished? 20 Please, I’m asking you, my lord the king, do not send me back to that cell in the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.
21 Though the news he heard was not encouraging, King Zedekiah granted Jeremiah’s request. He gave the order and had the prophet transferred to the court of the guard. He also gave strict orders that each day Jeremiah be given bread from the city’s bakers until the supplies ran out. That is how Jeremiah ended up a prisoner in the court of the guard.
38 Shephatiah (son of Mattan), Gedaliah (son of Pashhur), Jucal (son of Shelemiah), and Pashhur (son of Malchijah) overheard Jeremiah speaking to the people of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah: 2 The Eternal says that anyone who stays in the city will die by war, famine, or disease; but those who surrender to the Chaldeans will at least have some reward—they’ll keep their own lives. 3 The Eternal has proclaimed that Jerusalem will be handed over to the army of Babylon’s king, who will capture it.
4 When these officials heard Jeremiah’s remarks, they advised the king.
Court Officials (to King Zedekiah): This man is a traitor; he should be put to death! His words border on treason; they are affecting the morale of what troops we still have in the city, as well as all the rest of the people. This man does not have the best interests of this people at heart—only their downfall.
King Zedekiah: 5 Look, do what you want with Jeremiah. The king will not interfere.
6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into a muddy cistern in the court of the guard that belonged to the king’s son, Malchijah. Rather than killing him immediately, these officials lowered Jeremiah by ropes into this deep, dark cistern where he sank into the mud. Now he would be silenced. Soon he would be dead.
7-8 But another court servant in the palace, Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, overheard that Jeremiah had been dropped down into this cistern. So he left the palace and went directly to the king who was sitting in the Benjamin gate where he was holding court for the people.
Ebed-melech: 9 My lord the king, do you know what some of your court officials have done? They have done a wicked thing to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a muddy cistern and left him to die, which will surely happen when he, like the rest of the city, runs out of food.
King Zedekiah (to Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian): 10 Take 30[b] of my men with you, and rescue Jeremiah the prophet from that cistern before he dies.
11 So Ebed-melech did as the king commanded and took the men with him. But before he left the palace, he went to a room under the treasury. There he found some rags and old clothes that he lowered with the ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-melech the Ethiopian then called down into the cistern and told Jeremiah:
Ebed-melech: Put these rags and old clothes under your armpits so the ropes won’t hurt you as we pull you up.
The prophet did as he was told, 13 and the men pulled Jeremiah out of that muddy cistern. Still however, Jeremiah remained a prisoner in the court of the guard.
Sometime later Zedekiah summons Jeremiah. This will be the last encounter between prophet and king. Will the king finally respond with courage and faith to the word of God? Despite decades of warnings from a faithful prophet who has the courage to speak truth regardless of the consequences, Jerusalem and her leaders continue to disobey God. And now Jeremiah’s dreaded predictions come true. After a long siege that leaves the city weak and impoverished, the walls of Jerusalem are breached.
14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and had him brought to the third entrance to the Eternal’s temple.
King Zedekiah: I am going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth; don’t hold anything back.
Jeremiah: 15 If I give you another honest answer, how do I know you won’t kill me? Besides, even if I do give you advice, you won’t listen to me.
King Zedekiah (leaning in so no one could hear this secret oath): 16 Jeremiah, as surely as the Eternal lives and gives us life, I promise not to kill you or hand you over to those who want you dead.
Jeremiah: 17 All right. This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, the God of Israel, says about your situation: “If you surrender to the officials of the Babylonian king, you will survive this invasion and Jerusalem will not be burned to the ground. You and your entire family will live. 18 But if you refuse to surrender to the officials of the Babylonian king, not only will this city be handed over to the Chaldeans, but they will burn it to the ground and you will not escape their punishment.”
King Zedekiah: 19 But I am afraid of the Judeans who have already defected and gone over to the Chaldeans. What if our captors hand me over to them and they abuse and torture me?
Jeremiah: 20 That will not happen. The Babylonians will not hand you over to your former subjects. This is your chance to obey the voice of the Eternal by just doing what I tell you. You will come out of this alive, and things will go well for you if you do what God says. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, let me tell you something else the Eternal revealed to me: 22 “All of the women left in your palace will be taken and given to officials of the Babylonian king. As they are being led away, those women will mock you and say:
Look how they misled you and defeated you—
these so-called friends of yours.
While your feet sank in the mud,
your friends all deserted you.
23 All your wives and sons will be marched out before the Chaldeans. And as for you, Zedekiah, you will not escape capture by the king of Babylon. As for this city, Jerusalem, it will be burned to the ground.”
King Zedekiah: 24 Do not tell anyone about our conversation, or you may be killed! We must keep this a secret. 25 If my officials learn that I spoke to you, they may come to you and threaten you saying, “Tell us everything you told the king and what he said to you. Don’t try to hide anything from us or we will execute you.” 26 If that happens, tell them, “I was only begging the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house again because I was afraid of dying there.”
27 The king’s officials were curious about the encounter and did come to Jeremiah and question him just as Zedekiah had predicted. So Jeremiah responded as the king instructed and shared only what they had agreed earlier. Because no one overheard the conversation between Jeremiah and Zedekiah, the officials eventually stopped questioning him. 28 Jeremiah remained a prisoner in the court of the guard until the sorrowful day Jerusalem was captured.
39 This is how Jerusalem fell: When the Egyptian threat in the south was over, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon brought his army back to Jerusalem and resumed the siege. This began in the 10th month of the 9th year of Zedekiah’s reign as Judah’s king. 2 For the next 18 months, the siege continued until the 9th day of the 4th month of Zedekiah’s 11th year. On that sad summer day, Jerusalem finally fell when the Chaldeans broke through the city wall. 3 All the officials designated by Babylon’s king to exercise his authority entered the city and sat at the middle gate. These included Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim (who was a chief officer), Nergal-sar-ezer (a high official), and all the other officials sent by the king of Babylon.
4 When King Zedekiah of Judah and his troops saw the Babylonians break through the wall on the north side of the city, they fled under the cloak of darkness. They made their way out of the city by passing through the king’s garden and then through the gate between the two walls. Once they left, they headed toward the Jordan Valley. 5 But the Chaldean army discovered this and chased after Zedekiah, capturing him on the plains of Jericho. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who had set up his command post at Riblah in the old Aramean city of Hamath. It was here that the dreaded king pronounced judgment on Zedekiah for rebelling against him. 6 Zedekiah was forced to watch as his own sons and the nobles of Judah were slaughtered right in front of him. 7 This was the very last thing he saw, because Nebuchadnezzar then blinded the eyes of Zedekiah. This blinded and humiliated king was then placed in bronze shackles and carried off to Babylon. 8 Back in Jerusalem, the Chaldean troops burned down the king’s palace and the commoners’ houses and then tore down the walls of the city. 9 Those who were left in the city, along with those who had previously surrendered, were then deported to Babylon by Nebuzaradan (captain of the imperial guard). 10 But he left some of the poorest people in Judah and gave them vineyards and fields to care for.
Removing only the rich and influential citizens, who might cause them trouble, is a political strategy. They leave behind the poor and destitute to serve as their labor force.
11 In these days of conquest, King Nebuchadnezzar learned about the prophet Jeremiah and gave this order to his captain of the imperial guard, Nebuzaradan:
King Nebuchadnezzar: 12 Go and get this prophet they call Jeremiah, and look after him. Make sure he isn’t harmed, and give him whatever he wants.
13 So Nebuzaradan (the captain of the imperial guard), Nebushazban (a chief officer), Nergal-sar-ezer (a high-ranking official), and the other officials from Babylon 14 ordered Jeremiah released from the court of the guard and brought to them. They eventually handed him over to the care of Gedaliah (son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan), who took Jeremiah back to his home. And so it was that Jeremiah was allowed to remain in the land of Judah among his people.
15 While Jeremiah was still confined in the court of the guard, the word of the Eternal came to him.
Eternal One: 16 Go and give this message to Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian. “This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, promises you: ‘Look! Very soon I will bring disaster not prosperity on Jerusalem and her citizens as I warned through Jeremiah. And you, Ebed-melech, will see all this happen with your own eyes. 17 But do not worry, for I will rescue you on that day so that you will not be taken prisoner by those you fear. 18 I will protect you, and you will not die in the war. Your life will be your reward because you trusted in Me. I, the Eternal One, declare this to you.’”
3 So all of you who are holy partners in a heavenly calling, let’s turn our attention to Jesus, the Emissary of God and High Priest, who brought us the faith we profess; 2 and compare Him to Moses, who also brought words from God. Both of them were faithful to their missions, to the One who called them. 3 But we value Jesus more than Moses, in the same way that we value a builder more than the house he builds. 4 Every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Moses brought healing and redemption to his people as a faithful servant in God’s house, and he was a witness to the things that would be spoken later. 6 But Jesus the Anointed was faithful as a Son of that house. (We become that house, if we’re able to hold on to the confident hope we have in God until the end.)
For the first-century Jewish-Christian audience, Moses is the rescuer of Hebrew slaves out of bondage in Egypt—the receiver of God’s law and the covenant. They remember how he shepherded the children of Israel safely through the desert for 40 years and led them to the brink of the promised land. He was indeed a remarkable man. Yet what Jesus has accomplished for everyone—not just the Jews—is on a totally different level. Moses was indeed faithful to God and accomplished a great deal as God’s servant. Jesus, too, is faithful to God, but He has accomplished what Moses could not because He is God’s very own Son.
7 Listen now, to the voice of the Holy Spirit through what the psalmist wrote:
Today, if you listen to His voice,
8 Don’t harden your hearts the way they did
in the bitter uprising at Meribah
9 Where your ancestors tested Me
though they had seen My marvelous power.
10 For the 40 years they traveled on
to the land that I had promised them,
That generation broke My heart.
Grieving and angry, I said, “Their hearts are unfaithful;
they don’t know what I want from them.”
11 That is why I swore in anger
they would never enter salvation’s rest.[a]
12 Brothers and sisters, pay close attention so you won’t develop an evil and unbelieving heart that causes you to abandon the living God. 13 Encourage each other every day—for as long as we can still say “today”—so none of you let the deceitfulness of sin harden your hearts. 14 For we have become partners with the Anointed One—if we can just hold on to our confidence until the end.
15 Look at the lines from the psalm again:
Today, if you listen to His voice,
Don’t harden your hearts the way they did
in the bitter uprising at Meribah.
16 Now who, exactly, was God talking to then? Who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it all of those whom Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for an entire generation? Wasn’t it those who sinned against Him, those whose bodies are still buried in the wilderness, the site of that uprising? 18 It was those disobedient ones who God swore would never enter into salvation’s rest. 19 And we can see that they couldn’t enter because they did not believe.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.