Jeremiah 37:1-41:10

English Standard Version

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

37 ^(A)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, ^(B)whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of ^(C)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. ^2 (D)But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ King Zedekiah sent ^(E)Jehucal the son of ^(F)Shelemiah, and ^(G)Zephaniah the priest, the son of ^(H)Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please ^(I)pray for us to the Lord our God.” ^4 (J)Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, ^(K)for he had not yet been put in prison. ^5 (L)The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when ^(M)the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, ^(N)they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who ^(O)sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, ^(P)Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to ^(Q)return to Egypt, to its own land. ⁸ And ^(R)the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. ^(S)They shall capture it and burn it with fire. ⁹ Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. ^10 (T)For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(U)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now when ^(V)the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, ¹² Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^(W)the land of Benjamin ^(X)to receive his portion there ^(Y)among the people. ¹³ When he was at ^(Z)the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^(AA)Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^(AB)“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” ¹⁴ And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^(AC)the officials. ¹⁵ And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^(AD)and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

^16 (AE)When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, ¹⁷ King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^(AF)secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^(AG)“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” ¹⁸ Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^(AH)that you have put me in prison? ^19 (AI)Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? ²⁰ Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^(AJ)let my humble plea come before you and ^(AK)do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” ²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^(AL)the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, ^(AM)until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^(AN)the court of the guard.

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^(AO)Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(AP)Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: ² “Thus says the Lord: ^(AQ)He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(AR)but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(AS)This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” ⁴ Then the officials said to the king, ^(AT)“Let this man be put to death, ^(AU)for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^(AV)the welfare of this people, but their harm.” ⁵ King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^(AW)for the king can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah ^(AX)and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in ^(AY)the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^(AZ)by ropes. ^(BA)And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^(BB)Jeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

⁷ When ^(BC)Ebed-melech ^(BD)the Ethiopian, ^(BE)a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^(BF)in the Benjamin Gate— ^8 (BG)Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of ^(BH)hunger, ^(BI)for there is no bread left in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king commanded ^(BJ)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹ So ^(BK)Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern ^(BL)by ropes. ¹² Then ^(BM)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and ^(BN)the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. ¹³ Then they drew Jeremiah up with ^(BO)ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the ^(BP)court of the guard.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

¹⁴ King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” ¹⁵ Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” ¹⁶ Then King Zedekiah swore ^(BQ)secretly to Jeremiah, ^(BR)“As the Lord lives, ^(BS)who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of ^(BT)these men who seek your life.”

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(BU)If you will surrender to ^(BV)the officials of the king of Babylon, ^(BW)then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. ¹⁸ But if you do not surrender to ^(BX)the officials of the king of Babylon, ^(BY)then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^(BZ)and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” ¹⁹ King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ^(CA)who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” ²⁰ Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^(CB)and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. ²¹ But if you refuse to ^(CC)surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: ²² Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

²³ All your wives and ^(CE)your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. ²⁵ If ^(CF)the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ ²⁶ then you shall say to them, ^(CG)‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” ²⁷ Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. ²⁸ And Jeremiah remained ^(CH)in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

The Fall of Jerusalem

39 ^(CI)In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. ² In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. ³ Then all ^(CJ)the officials of the king of Babylon came ^(CK)and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim ^(CL)the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. ⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward ^(CM)the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in ^(CN)the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at ^(CO)Riblah, in the land of Hamath; ^(CP)and he passed sentence on him. ⁶ The king of Babylon ^(CQ)slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at ^(CR)Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon ^(CS)slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. ^7 (CT)He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. ^8 (CU)The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, ^(CV)and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Then ^(CW)Nebuzaradan, the ^(CX)captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, ^(CY)those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. ¹⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, ^(CZ)left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

The Lord Delivers Jeremiah

¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, ^12 (DA)“Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” ¹³ So ^(DB)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, ^(DC)and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon ¹⁴ sent and took Jeremiah from ^(DD)the court of the guard. They entrusted him to ^(DE)Gedaliah the son of ^(DF)Ahikam, son of ^(DG)Shaphan, that he should take him home. So ^(DH)he lived among the people.

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah ^(DI)while he was shut up in the court of the guard: ¹⁶ “Go, and say to ^(DJ)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(DK)Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and ^(DL)not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. ¹⁷ But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men ^(DM)of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your ^(DN)life as a prize of war, ^(DO)because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’”

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(DP)after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from ^(DQ)Ramah, when he took him ^(DR)bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ² The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ^(DS)“The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. ³ The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. ^(DT)Because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. ⁴ Now, behold, I release you today from ^(DU)the chains on your hands. ^(DV)If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, ^(DW)but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. ^(DX)See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. ⁵ If you remain,^[a] then return to ^(DY)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, ^(DZ)whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. ⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(EA)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(EB)Mizpah, and lived with him ^(EC)among the people ^(ED)who were left in the land.

^7 (EE)When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that ^(EF)the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of ^(EG)the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, ⁸ they went to Gedaliah at ^(EH)Mizpah—^(EI)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(EJ)Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, ^(EK)Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ⁹ Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, ^(EL)and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will dwell at ^(EM)Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, ^(EN)gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹ Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in ^(EO)Moab and among ^(EP)the Ammonites and in ^(EQ)Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ^12 (ER)then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they ^(ES)gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

¹³ Now ^(ET)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(EU)all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of ^(EV)the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, ^(EW)and the remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.”

Gedaliah Murdered

41 ^(EX)In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(EY)Mizpah. As they ^(EZ)ate bread together there at Mizpah, ^2 (FA)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, ^(FB)whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. ³ Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at ^(FC)Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.

⁴ On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, ⁵ eighty men arrived from ^(FD)Shechem and ^(FE)Shiloh and ^(FF)Samaria, with ^(FG)their beards shaved and ^(FH)their clothes torn, and ^(FI)their bodies gashed, ^(FJ)bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. ⁶ And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from ^(FK)Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” ⁷ When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. ⁸ But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ^(FL)stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

⁹ Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with^[b] Gedaliah was the large cistern that ^(FM)King Asa had made for defense against ^(FN)Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰ Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, ^(FO)the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom ^(FP)Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to ^(FQ)the Ammonites.