¹ Now it came to the ears of Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, and Jucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, that Jeremiah had said to all the people,

² These are the words of the Lord: Whoever goes on living in this town will come to his death by the sword or through need of food or by disease: but whoever goes out to the Chaldaeans will keep his life out of the power of the attackers and be safe.

³ The Lord has said, This town will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.

⁴ Then the rulers said to the king, Let this man be put to death, because he is putting fear into the hearts of the men of war who are still in the town, and into the hearts of the people, by saying such things to them: this man is not working for the well-being of the people, but for their damage.

⁵ Then Zedekiah the king said, See, he is in your hands: for the king was not able to do anything against them.

⁶ So they took Jeremiah and put him into the water-hole of Malchiah, the king's son, in the place of the armed watchmen: and they let Jeremiah down with cords. And in the hole there was no water, but wet earth: and Jeremiah went down into the wet earth.

⁷ Now it came to the ears of Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an unsexed servant in the king's house, that they had put Jeremiah into the water-hole; the king at that time being seated in the doorway of Benjamin:

⁸ And Ebed-melech went out from the king's house and said to the king,

⁹ My lord the king, these men have done evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have put into the water-hole; and he will come to his death in the place where he is through need of food: for there is no more bread in the town.

¹⁰ Then the king gave orders to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take with you three men from here and get Jeremiah out of the water-hole before death overtakes him.

¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king, to the place where the clothing was kept, and got from there old clothing and bits of old cloth, and let them down by cords into the water-hole where Jeremiah was.

¹² And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put these bits of old cloth under your arms under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

¹³ So pulling Jeremiah up with the cords they got him out of the water-hole: and Jeremiah was kept in the place of the armed watchmen.

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and took him into the rulers' doorway in the house of the Lord: and the king said to Jeremiah, I have a question to put to you; keep nothing back from me.

¹⁵ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I give you the answer to your question, will you not certainly put me to death? and if I make a suggestion to you, you will not give it a hearing.

¹⁶ So King Zedekiah gave his oath to Jeremiah secretly, saying, By the living Lord, who gave us our life, I will not put you to death, or give you up to these men who are desiring to take your life.

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, These are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the God of Israel: If you go out to the king of Babylon's captains, then you will have life, and the town will not be burned with fire, and you and your family will be kept from death:

¹⁸ But if you do not go out to the king of Babylon's captains, then this town will be given into the hands of the Chaldaeans and they will put it on fire, and you will not get away from them.

¹⁹ And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I am troubled on account of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldaeans, for fear that they may give me up to them and they will put me to shame.

²⁰ But Jeremiah said, They will not give you up: be guided now by the word of the Lord as I have given it to you, and it will be well for you, and you will keep your life.

²¹ But if you do not go out, this is what the Lord has made clear to me:

²² See, all the rest of the women in the house of the king of Judah will be taken out to the king of Babylon's captains, and these women will say, Your nearest friends have been false to you and have got the better of you: they have made your feet go deep into the wet earth, and they are turned away back from you.

²³ And they will take all your wives and your children out to the Chaldaeans: and you will not get away out of their hands, but will be taken by the hands of the king of Babylon: and this town will be burned with fire.

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man have knowledge of these words, and you will not be put to death.

²⁵ But if it comes to the ears of the rulers that I have been talking with you, and they come and say to you, Give us word now of what you have said to the king and what the king said to you, keeping nothing back and we will not put you to death;

²⁶ Then you are to say to them, I made my request to the king, that he would not send me back to my death in Jonathan's house.

²⁷ Then all the rulers came to Jeremiah, questioning him: and he gave them an answer in the words the king had given him orders to say. So they said nothing more to him; for the thing was not made public.

²⁸ So Jeremiah was kept in the place of the armed watchmen till the day when Jerusalem was taken.

¹ I love you, Yahweh, my strength.

² Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

³ I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies.

⁴ The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

⁵ The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death came on me.

⁶ In my distress I called on Yahweh, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears.

⁷ Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.

⁸ Smoke went out of his nostrils. Consuming fire came out of his mouth. Coals were kindled by it.

⁹ He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰ He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹ He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

¹² At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³ Yahweh also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴ He sent out his arrows, and scattered them; Yes, great lightning bolts, and routed them.

¹⁵ Then the channels of waters appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶ He sent from on high. He took me. He drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷ He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸ They came on me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support.

¹⁹ He brought me forth also into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰ Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands has he recompensed me.

²¹ For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²² For all his ordinances were before me. I didn't put away his statutes from me.

²³ I was also blameless with him. I kept myself from my iniquity.

²⁴ Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

²⁵ With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.

²⁶ With the pure, you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

²⁷ For you will save the afflicted people, but the haughty eyes you will bring down.

²⁸ For you will light my lamp, Yahweh. My God will light up my darkness.

²⁹ For by you, I advance through a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall.

³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect. The word of Yahweh is tried. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.

³¹ For who is God, except Yahweh? Who is a rock, besides our God,

³² the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?

³³ He makes my feet like deer's feet, and sets me on my high places.

³⁴ He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵ You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great.

³⁶ You have enlarged my steps under me, My feet have not slipped.

³⁷ I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them. Neither will I turn again until they are consumed.

³⁸ I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise. They shall fall under my feet.

³⁹ For you have armed me with strength to the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

⁴⁰ You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.

⁴¹ They cried, but there was none to save; even to Yahweh, but he didn't answer them.

⁴² Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind. I cast them out as the mire of the streets.

⁴³ You have delivered me from the strivings of the people. You have made me the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴ As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.

⁴⁵ The foreigners shall fade away, and shall come trembling out of their close places.

⁴⁶ Yahweh lives; and blessed be my rock. Exalted be the God of my salvation,

⁴⁷ even the God who executes vengeance for me, and subdues peoples under me.

⁴⁸ He rescues me from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man.

⁴⁹ Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations, and will sing praises to your name.

⁵⁰ He gives great deliverance to his king, and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his seed, forevermore. For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.