1
And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah◦ the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah◦, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah◦ had spoken unto▵ all the people, saying,
2
Thus says Jehovah, He that dwells in this city shall··die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goes··forth to▵ the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his soul for spoil, and shall live.
3
Thus says Jehovah, Being given this city shall be given into the hand of the host of the king of Babylon, who shall capture it.
4
And the princes said to the king, We pray◦ thee, let this man◦ be put··to··death; for thus◦ he◦ makes the hands of the men◦ of war to be··slack who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking these words to▵ them; for this man◦ inquires not◦ for the peace of◦ this people, but◦ for evil.
5
And Zedekiah◦ the king said, Behold, he◦ is in your hand; for there is no thing that the king is··able to do against you.
6
And they took Jeremiah◦, and cast him into▵ the pit of Malchiah◦ the son of Hammelech*, that was in the court of the prison◦; and they sent Jeremiah◦ down with cords. And in the pit there was no water, but mud: so Jeremiah◦ sunk in the mud.
7
And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a man◦ of the eunuchs who was in the house of the king, heard that they had put◦ Jeremiah◦ in▵ the pit; and the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin.
8
And Ebedmelech went··out from the house of the king, 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 pit; and he will die instead from the faces of hunger; for there is no more◦ bread in the city.
10
And the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take in thy hand from this place thirty men◦, and bring··up Jeremiah◦ the prophet from the pit, before◦ he die.
11
And Ebedmelech took the men◦ in his hand, and came··into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence worn··out clothes and worn··out rags, and sent them down by cords into▵ the pit to▵ Jeremiah◦.
12
And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto▵ Jeremiah◦, Set now◦ these worn··out clothes and rags under the joints of thy hands beneath the cords. And Jeremiah◦ did so.
13
So they drew up Jeremiah◦ with cords, and took him up out of the pit; and Jeremiah◦ remained in the court of the prison.
14
And Zedekiah◦ the king sent, and took Jeremiah◦ the prophet to him into the third entryway◦ that is in the house of Jehovah; and the king said to Jeremiah◦, I◦ will ask thee a word; conceal◦ not a word from me.
15
And Jeremiah◦ said to▵ Zedekiah◦, If I tell thee, wilt thou not cause me dying to··die? And if I counsel thee, thou wilt not hearken to▵ me.
16
And Zedekiah◦ the king promised in a hidden way unto Jeremiah◦, saying, As Jehovah lives, who made us this soul, I will not put· thee ·to··death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men◦ that seek thy soul.
17
And Jeremiah◦ said to▵ Zedekiah◦, Thus says Jehovah, the God of Armies, the God of Israel: If going··out thou wilt go··out unto the princes of the king of Babylon, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned··up with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house;
18
but if thou wilt not go··out to▵ the princes of the king of Babylon, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn· her ·up with fire, and thou shalt not escape from their hand.
19
And Zedekiah◦ the king said to▵ Jeremiah◦, I am··anxious because of the Jews who are fallen away to▵ the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand, and they abuse me.
20
But Jeremiah◦ said, They shall not give thee. Obey, I pray◦ thee, the voice of Jehovah, which I◦ speak to▵ thee, and it shall be··well for thee, and thy soul shall live.
21
But if thou◦ refuse to go··forth, this is the word that Jehovah has caused me to see:
22
and, behold, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah shall be brought··out to the princes of the king of Babylon, and those women shall say, The men◦ of thy peace have incited thee, and have prevailed against thee; thy feet are sunk in the quagmire; they are turned··away backward.
23
So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy sons to the Chaldeans; and thou shalt· not ·escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
24
And Zedekiah◦ said to▵ Jeremiah◦, Let not a man◦ know of these words, and thou shalt· not ·die.
25
But if the princes hear that I have spoken with thee, and they come to thee, and say to thee, Tell us now what thou hast spoken to the king, conceal◦ it not from us, and we will not put· thee ·to··death; also what the king spoke to thee,
26
and thou shalt say unto▵ them, I caused my supplication◦ to fall before the king, not▵ to cause me to return to the house of Jonathan◦, to die there.
27
And all the princes came to▵ Jeremiah◦, and asked him; and he told them according··to all these words that the king had commanded. And they were··silent with him; for the word was not heard.
28
And Jeremiah◦ dwelt in the court of the prison◦ until the day that Jerusalem was captured; and he was there when▵ Jerusalem was captured.
