Jeremiah 38

Revised Geneva Translation

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

² “Thus says the LORD: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence. But he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live. For his life shall be as a prize, and he shall live.’

³ “Thus says the LORD: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babel’s army, which shall take it.’”

⁴ Therefore the princes said to the king, “We implore you, 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, in speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the wealth of this people, but the hurt.”

⁵ Then Zedekiah the king said, “Behold, he is in your hands. For the king can deny you nothing.”

⁶ Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the prison. And they let down Jeremiah with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

⁷ Now when Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the Eunuchs who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon and that the king sat in the gate of Benjamin,

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

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 dies of hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.”

¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and take Jeremiah the Prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”

¹¹ So, Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, under the treasury, and took old rotten rags there, and old worn clothes, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon, to Jeremiah.

¹² And Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn clothes under your arm pits, in the place of the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.

¹³ So they drew up Jeremiah with ropes and took him up out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

¹⁴ Then Zedekiah the king sent and brought Jeremiah the Prophet to him, into the third entry of the House of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”

¹⁵ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not kill me? And if I give you counsel, you will not hear me.”

¹⁶ So the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the LORD lives, Who made us these souls, I will not kill you or give you into the hands of those men who seek your life.”

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you will go forth to the king of Babel’s princes, then your soul shall live. And this city shall not be burnt up with fire. And you and your House shall live.

¹⁸ ‘But if you will not go forth to the king of Babel’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans. And they shall burn it with fire. And you shall not escape out of their hands.’”

¹⁹ And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have fallen before the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands, and they mock me.”

²⁰ But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please listen to the Voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So shall it go well with you, and your soul shall live.

²¹ “But if you will refuse to go forth, this is the Word that the LORD has shown me:

²² ‘And behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babel’s princes. And those women shall say, “Your friends have misled you and have overcome you. Your feet were sunken in the mire. They have turned back.”

²³ ‘So they shall bring out all your wives, and your children, to the Chaldeans. And you shall not escape from their hands, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babel. And you shall cause this city to be burnt with fire.’”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of these words, and you shall not die.

²⁵ “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 kill you,’

²⁶ “then you shall say to them, ‘I humbly petitioned the king not to make me return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.’”

²⁷ 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 matter was not heard.

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