JeremiahChapter 38

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¹Some men heard what Jeremiah had been telling all the people. They were Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah. Jeremiah had been saying, ²"This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by war, hunger, and sickness. But whoever gives up to the Chaldeans will live. He will escape with his life like a prize of war. He will live. ³This is what the LORD says: This city will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture it." ⁴Then the officials said to the king, "This man should be put to death. He is making the soldiers left in this city lose heart. He is doing the same to all the people by saying such things to them. This man does not want what is good for these people. He wants to ruin them." ⁵"Here he is," King Zedekiah answered. "He is in your hands. The king can't do anything to stop you." ⁶So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the well of Malchiah, the king's son. This well was in the courtyard of the guard. They let Jeremiah down into it with ropes. There was no water in the well, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud.a ⁷Ebed-melech the Cushite was an official in the king's palace. He heard that Jeremiah had been put into the well. At that time the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin. ⁸Ebed-melech went out of the king's palace and spoke to the king. ⁹"My lord the king, these men have done evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the well. He will starve to death there, for there is no more bread in the city." ¹⁰So the king gave an order to Ebed-melech the Cushite. "Take thirty men from here with you. Pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the well before he dies." ¹¹So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the king's palace. He went to a room under the storehouse. He took old rags and worn-out clothes from there. He let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the well. ¹²Ebed-melech the Cushite called to Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and clothes under your arms. They will pad the ropes." Jeremiah did this. ¹³Then they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the well. And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard. ¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet. He met him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, "I'm going to ask you something. Don't hide anything from me." ¹⁵Jeremiah answered, "If I tell you, you will surely put me to death. And if I give you advice, you won't listen to me." ¹⁶But King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah. "As surely as the LORD lives, who gave us this life, I won't kill you. I won't hand you over to these men who want to kill you." ¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'If you give yourself up to the officers of the king of Babylon, you will live. This city will not be burned down. You and your family will stay alive. ¹⁸But if you do not give yourself up to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down. And you will not escape from them.'" ¹⁹But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I'm afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans may hand me over to them, and they will treat me cruelly." ²⁰"They won't hand you over," Jeremiah answered. "Obey the voice of the LORD in what I'm telling you. Then it will go well with you, and you will live. ²¹But if you refuse to give yourself up, this is what the LORD has shown me. ²²All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say, 'Your trusted friends fooled you. They got the better of you. Your feet sank in the mud, and they left you.' ²³All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You will not escape from them. The king of Babylon will capture you. And this city will be burned down." ²⁴Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about this talk, or you will die. ²⁵If the officials hear that I have spoken with you, they may come to you and say, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what he said to you. Don't hide it from us, or we will kill you.' ²⁶Then tell them, 'I was begging the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'" ²⁷All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him. He told them just what the king had told him to say. So they stopped asking him, because no one had heard the talk. ²⁸And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.