1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the AJer 37:3son of Shelemiah, and BJer 21:1Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Loʀᴅ, ‘He who AJer 21:9stays in this city will die by the BJer 34:17; 42:17sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own CJer 21:9; 39:18; 45:5life as booty and stay alive.’ 3  “Thus says the Loʀᴅ, ‘This city will certainly be AJer 21:10; 32:3-5given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’ ” 4 Then the AJer 18:23; 26:11, 21; 36:12officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is 1Lit weakening the hands ofBEx 5:4; 1 Kin 18:17, 18; 21:20; Neh 6:9; Amos 7:10; Acts 16:20discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and 2Lit the hands of allall the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man CJer 29:7is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm.” 5 So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your 1Lit handhands; for the king A2 Sam 3:39can do nothing against you.” 6 Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the AJer 37:16, 21; Acts 16:24cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only BPs 40:2; 69:2, 14, 15; Jer 38:22; Zech 9:11mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. 7 But AJer 39:16Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, 1Or an officiala BJer 29:2; Acts 8:27eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the CDeut 21:19; Job 29:7; Jer 37:13; Amos 5:10Gate of Benjamin; 8 and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he 1M.T. reads has diedwill die right where he is because of the famine, for there is AJer 37:21; 52:6no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here 1Lit in your handunder your authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his 1Lit handauthority and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the ANeh 3:25; Jer 32:2; 37:21; 38:6; 39:14, 15; Acts 23:35; 24:27; 28:16, 30court of the guardhouse.

14 Then King Zedekiah AJer 21:1, 2; 37:17sent and 1Lit took Jeremiah the prophet to himhad Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Loʀᴅ; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to B1 Sam 3:17, 18; 1 Kin 22:16; Jer 15:11; 42:2-5, 20ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “ALuke 22:67, 68If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in AJer 37:17; John 3:2secret saying, “As the Loʀᴅ lives, who made this 1Lit soulBNum 16:22; 27:16; Is 42:5; 57:16; Zech 12:1; Acts 17:25, 28life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of CJer 34:20; 38:4-6these men who are seeking your 1Lit soullife.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Loʀᴅ APs 80:7, 14; Amos 5:27God of hosts, the B1 Chr 17:24; Ezek 8:4God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed C2 Kin 24:12; 25:27-30; Jer 21:8-10; 27:12, 17; 38:2; 39:3go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then 1Lit your soulyou will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will 2Lit livesurvive. 18  ‘But if you will AJer 27:8not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city B2 Kin 25:4-10; Jer 24:8-10; 32:3-5; 37:8; 38:3will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and CJer 32:4; 34:3you yourself will not escape from their hand.’ ” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I AIs 51:12, 13; 57:11; John 12:42; 19:12, 13dread the Jews who have 1Lit fallenBJer 39:9gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will C2 Chr 30:10; Neh 4:1; Jer 38:22abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please 1Lit listen to the voice ofA2 Chr 20:20; Jer 11:4, 8; 26:13; Dan 4:27; Acts 26:29obey the Loʀᴅ in what I am saying to you, that it may go BJer 7:23well with you and 2Lit your soulCGen 19:20; Is 55:3you may live. 21  “But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the Loʀᴅ has shown me: 22 ‘Then behold, all of the AJer 6:12; 8:10; 43:6women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the 1Or princesofficers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about these words and you will not die. 25  “But if the AJer 38:4-6, 27officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you are to say to them, ‘I was AJer 37:20presenting my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him, since the 1Lit wordconversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah APs 23:4; Jer 15:20, 21; 37:20, 21; 38:13; 39:13, 14stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured.