¹⁶ Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time.

⁶ So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.^(A) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes^(B) into the cistern; it had no water in it,^(C) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.^(D)

⁹ “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern,^(A) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread^(B) in the city.”

¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”