1 N ow 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,

Now Shaphatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard Jeremiah telling all the people,

2 “ 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.’

“The Lord says, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by hunger and by disease. But he who goes over to the Babylonians will live. He will get away with his life and live.’

3 T hus says the Lord: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’”

The Lord says, ‘For sure this city will be given to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’”

4 T herefore 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.”

Then the leaders said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death. For he is making the hearts of the men of war weak who are left in this city, and of all the people, by saying such words to them. This man does not care about the well-being of these people, but instead wants them hurt.”

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

So King Zedekiah said, “He is in your hands. The king can do nothing against you.”

6 S o 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.

So they took Jeremiah and put him into the well of Malchijah the king’s son, in the open space of the prison, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the well, but only mud. And Jeremiah went down into the mud.

7 N ow 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,

But Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian servant of the king who had been made so he could not have children, heard in the king’s house that they had put Jeremiah into the well. Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin.

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

And Ebedmelech went from the king’s house and said to him,

9 “ 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.”

“My lord the king, these men have been very sinful in all they have done to Jeremiah the man of God. They have put him in the well. And he will die there of hunger, for there is no more bread in the city.”

10 T hen 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.”

Then the king told Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “I am giving you the power to take thirty men with you, and bring Jeremiah the man of God up from the well before he dies.”

11 S o 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.

So Ebed-melech as the leader took the men with him and went into the king’s house to a place under the store-room. He took from there old pieces of cloth and worn-out clothes and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the well.

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

Then Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the clothes and pieces of cloth between your arms and the ropes,” and Jeremiah did so.

13 S o 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

Then they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the well. And Jeremiah stayed in the open space of the prison. Zedekiah Asks Jeremiah about Future Happenings

14 T hen 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.”

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the man of God and had him brought to him at the third door of the house of the Lord. And the king said to him, “I am going to ask you something. Do not hide anything from me.”

15 J eremiah 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.”

Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not kill me? Even if I speak wise words to you, you will not listen to me.”

16 S o 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.”

But King Zedekiah promised Jeremiah in secret, “As the Lord lives, Who gave us life, for sure I will not kill you or give you over to these men who want to kill you.”

17 T hen 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.

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the captains of the king of Babylon, then you will live. This city will not be burned with fire, and you and those of your house will live.

18 B ut 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.’”

But if you will not go out to the captains of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Babylonians. They will burn it with fire, and you will not get away from them.’”

19 A nd 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.”

King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians. I am afraid I will be given over to them, and that they will make it hard for me.”

20 B ut 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.

But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you to them. Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you and you will live.

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

But if you will not go out, this is the word which the Lord has shown me:

22 ‘ 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.”

‘All of the women left in the house of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the captains of the king of Babylon. And these women will say, “Your trusted friends have lied to you and have become stronger than you. Now when your feet have gone down into the mud, they turn away from you.”

23 ‘ 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.’”

All your wives and your sons will be led out to the Babylonians. And you yourself will not get away from them. The king of Babylon will take hold of you, and this city will be burned with fire.’”

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

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

25 B ut 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,’

The leaders might hear that I have talked with you, and come and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king, and what the king said to you. Do not hide it from us, and we will not kill you.’

26 t hen 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.’”

Then you must tell them, ‘I was asking the king not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”

27 T hen 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.

All the leaders did come to Jeremiah to ask him questions. So he said to them everything the king had told him to say. And they stopped speaking with him, because the words he and the king had spoken together had not been heard by anyone else.

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

So Jeremiah stayed in the open space of the prison until the day Jerusalem was taken.