Jeremiah Chapter 38
Jeremiah Put in a Cistern
1 Shephatiah Ben-Mattan, Gedaliah Ben-Pashhur, Jucal Ben-Shelemiah, and Pashhur Ben-Malchijah heard what Jeremiah was telling the people:
2 “Yahveh says, ‘If you stay in the city, you’ll die by sword, famine, and disease. If you surrender, you’ll have your life as a reward of war. 3 The king of Babylon’s army is going to capture the city.’”
4 The officials told the king,
“Execute him. He’s discouraging the fighting men in the city and the people by telling them things like that. He’s not looking out for their welfare, but their harm.”
5 King Zedekiah said, “Do with him whatever you want.”
6 They put Jeremiah in a cistern that belonged to Malchijah the king’s son in the court of the guardhouse. They let him down with ropes. There wasn’t any water in it, but he sank in the mud.
Jer 38:1-6
7 But Ebed-melech the Nubian, a eunuch in the king’s palace, heard they’d put him in the cistern. The king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate. 8 Ebed-melech left the palace to speak to him,
9 “My lord the king, these fellows have done something awful to Jeremiah; they’ve put him in a cistern. He’ll starve to death; there’s no more bread in the city.”
10 The king said, “Take 30 men from here under your authority and get him out before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-melech took them to a place under the storeroom in the king’s palace. They took worn-out clothes and rags, and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12 “Put these under your arms over the ropes.” 13 They pulled him up out of the cistern, and he remained in the court of the guardhouse.
Jer 38:7-13
Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again
14 Then King Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to the third entrance of Yahveh’s Temple, “I’m going to ask you something. Don’t keep back anything from me.”
15 Jeremiah said, “If I tell you, won’t you put me to death? If I give you advice, you won’t take it.”
16 But King Zedekiah swore to him privately, “As sure as Yahveh lives who made this life for us, I won’t put you to death or turn you over to the ones who want to kill you.”
17 So Jeremiah said,
“Yahveh God of hosts says, ‘You’ll live if you go out to the officials of Babylon. The city won’t be burned, and you and your household will survive. 18 If you don’t surrender, the city will fall, they’ll burn it, and you won’t escape.’”
Jer 38:14-18
19 King Zedekiah said, “I’m afraid the Jews that have deserted to the Babylonians may turn me over to them, and they’ll torture me.”
20 “They won’t do that. Obey Yahveh so you’ll live. 21 If you keep refusing to go out, this is what Yahveh has shown me. 22 The women that are left in the palace are going to be brought out to the officers of Babylon, and they’ll say,
‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed over you.
Now that your feet are sunk in the mire,
they desert you.’
23 They’ll bring out your wives and sons to the Babylonians, and you won’t escape. The king of Babylon will capture you and burn the city.”
24 Zedekiah told Jeremiah,
“Don’t tell anybody what you’ve said, and you won’t die. 25 If the officials hear that I’ve talked to you, ‘Tell us what you and the king talked about; don’t keep back any of it from us, and we won’t put you to death’; 26 then tell them, ‘I pleaded with the king not to put me back in Jonathan’s house to die.’”
27 Then the officials came to question Jeremiah. So he told them what the king commanded him, and they dropped the issue since nobody had heard the conversation. 28 So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse till Jerusalem fell.
Jer 38:19-28