1 O uviram, pois, Sefatias, filho de Matã, e Gedalias, filho de Pasur, e Jeucal, filho de Selemias, e Pasur, filho de Malquias, as palavras que anunciava Jeremias a todo o povo, dizendo:

Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,

2 A ssim diz o Senhor: O que ficar nesta cidade morrerá ã espada, de fome e de peste; mas o que sair para os caldeus viverá; pois a sa vida lhe será por despojo, e vivera.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’

3 A ssim diz o Senhor: Esta cidade infalivelmente será entregue na mão do exército do rei de Babilônia, e ele a tomará.

Thus says the Lord: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’”

4 E disseram os príncipes ao rei: Morra este homem, visto que ele assim enfraquece as mãos dos homens de guerra que restam nesta cidade, e as mãos de todo o povo, dizendo-lhes tais palavras; porque este homem não busca a paz para este povo, porem o seu mal.

Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

5 E disse o rei Zedequias: Eis que ele está na vossa mão; porque não é o rei que possa coisa alguma contra vós.

Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.”

6 E ntão tomaram a Jeremias, e o lançaram na cisterna de Malquias, filho do rei, que estava no átrio da guarda; e desceram Jeremias com cordas; mas na cisterna não havia água, senão lama, e atolou-se Jeremias na lama.

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.

7 Q uando Ebede-Meleque, o etíope, um eunuco que então estava na casa do rei, ouviu que tinham metido Jeremias na cisterna, o rei estava assentado ã porta de Benjamim.

Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,

8 S aiu, pois, Ebede-Meleque da casa do rei, e falou ao rei, dizendo:

Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying:

9 o rei, senhor meu, estes homens fizeram mal em tudo quanto fizeram a Jeremias, o profeta, lançando-o na cisterna; de certo morrerá no lugar onde se acha, por causa da fome, pois não há mais pão na cidade.

“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, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.”

10 D eu ordem, então, o rei a Ebede-Meleque, o etíope, dizendo: Toma contigo daqui três homens, e tira Jeremias, o profeta, da cisterna, antes que morra.

Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”

11 A ssim Ebede-Meleque tomou consigo os homens, e entrou na casa do rei, debaixo da tesouraria, e tomou dali uns trapos velhos e rotos, e roupas velhas, e desceu-os a Jeremias na cisterna por meio de cordas.

So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

12 E disse Ebede-Meleque, o etíope, a Jeremias: Poe agora estes trapos velhos e rotos, debaixo dos teus sovacos, entre os braços e as cordas. E Jeremias assim o fez.

Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.

13 E tiraram Jeremias com as cordas, e o alçaram da cisterna; e ficou Jeremias no átrio da guarda.

So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice

14 E ntão mandou o rei Zedequias e fez vir ã sua presença Jeremias, o profeta, ã terceira entrada do templo do Senhor; e disse o rei a Jeremias: Vou perguntar-te uma coisa; não me encubras nada.

Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”

15 E disse Jeremias a Zedequias: Se eu ta declarar, acaso não me matarás? E se eu te aconselhar, não me ouvirás.

Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

16 E ntão jurou o rei Zedequias a Jeremias, em segredo, dizendo: Vive o Senhor, que nos fez esta alma, que não te matarei nem te entregarei na mão destes homens que procuram a tua morte.

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “ As the Lord lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

17 E ntão Jeremias disse a Zedequias: Assim diz o Senhor, Deus dos exércitos, Deus de Israel: Se te renderes aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, será poupada a tua vida, e esta cidade não se queimará a fogo, e viverás tu e a tua casa.

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.

18 M as, se não saíres aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, então será entregue esta cidade na mão dos caldeus, e eles a queimarão a fogo, e tu não escaparás da sua mão.

But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’”

19 E disse o rei Zedequias a Jeremias: Receio-me dos judeus que se passaram para os caldeus, que seja entregue na mão deles, e escarneçam de mim.

And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.”

20 J eremias, porém, disse: Não te entregarão. Ouve, peço-te, a voz do Senhor, conforme a qual eu te falo; e bem te irá, e poupar-se-á a tua vida.

But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.

21 M as, se tu recusares sair, esta é a palavra que me mostrou o Senhor:

But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me:

22 E is que todas as mulheres que ficaram na casa do rei de Judá serão levadas aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, e elas mesmas dirão: Os teus pacificadores te incitaram e prevaleceram contra ti; e agora que se atolaram os teus pés na lama, voltaram atrás.

‘Now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say: “Your close friends have set upon you And prevailed against you; Your feet have sunk in the mire, And they have turned away again.”

23 T odas as tuas mulheres e os teus filhos serão levados para fora aos caldeus; e tu não escaparás da sua mão, mas pela mão do rei de Babilônia serás preso, e esta cidade será queimada a fogo.

‘So they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans. You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’”

24 E ntão disse Zedequias a Jeremias: Ninguém saiba estas palavras, e não morrerás.

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.

25 S e os príncipes ouvirem que falei contigo, e vierem ter contigo e te disserem: Declara-nos agora o que disseste ao rei e o que o rei te disse; não no-lo encubras, e não te mataremos;

But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’

26 e ntão lhes dirás: Eu lancei a minha súplica diante do rei, que não me fizesse tornar ã casa de Jônatas, para morrer ali.

then you shall say to them, ‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan’s house to die there.’”

27 E ntão vieram todos os principes a Jeremias, e o interrogaram; e ele lhes respondeu conforme todas as palavras que o rei lhe havia ordenado; assim cessaram de falar com ele, pois a coisa não foi percebida.

Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard.

28 E ficou Jeremias no átrio da guarda, até o dia em que Jerusalém foi tomada.

Now Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.