^{1 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} Then Zedekiah the king said, See, he is in your hands: for the king was not able to do anything against them.

^{6 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} But if you do not go out, this is what the Lord has made clear to me:

^{22 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} So Jeremiah was kept in the place of the armed watchmen till the day when Jerusalem was taken.

^{1 Ref} And Shephatiah son of Mattan, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah, hear the words that Jeremiah is speaking unto all the people, saying,

^{2 Ref} `Thus said Jehovah: He who is remaining in this city dieth, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and he who is going forth unto the Chaldeans liveth, and his soul hath been to him for a prey, and he liveth.

^{3 Ref} Thus said Jehovah: This city is certainly given into the hand of the force of the king of Babylon, and he hath captured it.'

^{4 Ref} And the heads say unto the king, `Let, we pray thee, this man be put to death, because that he is making feeble the hands of the men of war, who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking unto them according to these words, for this man is not seeking for the peace of this people, but for its evil.'

^{5 Ref} And the king Zedekiah saith, `Lo, he `is' in your hand: for the king is not able for you `in' anything.'

^{6 Ref} And they take Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king, that `is' in the court of the prison, and they send down Jeremiah with cords; and in the pit there is no water, but mire, and Jeremiah sinketh in the mire.

^{7 Ref} And Ebed-Melech the Cushite, a eunuch who `is' in the king's house, heareth that they have put Jeremiah into the pit; and the king is sitting at the gate of Benjamin,

⁸ and Ebed-Melech goeth forth from the king's house, and speaketh unto the king, saying,

^{9 Ref} `My lord, O 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 dieth in his place because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city.'

^{10 Ref} And the king commandeth Ebed-Melech the Cushite, saying, `Take with thee from this thirty men, and thou hast brought up Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dieth.'

¹¹ And Ebed-Melech taketh the men with him, and entereth the house of the king, unto the place of the treasury, and taketh thence worn-out clouts, and worn-out rags, and sendeth them unto Jeremiah unto the pit by cords.

^{12 Ref} And Ebed-Melech the Cushite saith unto Jeremiah, `Put, I pray thee, the worn-out clouts and rags under thine arm-holes, at the place of the cords,' and Jeremiah doth so,

^{13 Ref} and they draw out Jeremiah with cords, and bring him up out of the pit, and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison.

^{14 Ref} And the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh Jeremiah the prophet unto him, unto the third entrance that `is' in the house of Jehovah, and the king saith unto Jeremiah, `I am asking thee a thing, do not hide from me anything.'

^{15 Ref} And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, `When I declare to thee, dost thou not surely put me to death? and when I counsel thee, thou dost not hearken unto me.'

^{16 Ref} And the king Zedekiah sweareth unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, `Jehovah liveth, He who made for us this soul, I do not put thee to death, nor give thee unto the hand of these men who are seeking thy soul.'

^{17 Ref} And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: If thou dost certainly go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath thy soul lived, and this city is not burned with fire, yea, thou hast lived, thou and thy house.

^{18 Ref} And if thou dost not go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath this city been given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they have burnt it with fire, and thou dost not escape from their hand.'

^{19 Ref} And the king Zedekiah saith unto Jeremiah, `I am fearing the Jews who have fallen unto the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand, and they have insulted me.'

^{20 Ref} And Jeremiah saith, `They do not give thee up; hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of Jehovah, to that which I am speaking unto thee, and it is well for thee, and thy soul doth live.

^{21 Ref} `And if thou art refusing to go forth, this `is' the thing that Jehovah hath shewn me:

^{22 Ref} That, lo, all the women who have been left in the house of the king of Judah are brought forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, and lo, they are saying: Persuaded thee, and prevailed against thee, Have thine allies, Sunk into mire have thy feet, They have been turned backward.

^{23 Ref} `And all thy wives, and thy sons, are brought forth unto the Chaldeans, and thou dost not escape from their hand, for by the hand of the king of Babylon thou art caught, and this city is burnt with fire.'

²⁴ And Zedekiah saith unto Jeremiah, `Let no man know of these words, and thou dost not die;

^{25 Ref} and when the heads hear that I have spoken with thee, and they have come in unto thee, and have said unto thee, Declare to us, we pray thee, what thou didst speak unto the king, do not hide `it' from us, and we do not put thee to death, and what the king spake unto thee,

^{26 Ref} then thou hast said unto them, I am causing my supplication to fall before the king, not to cause me to return to the house of Jonathan, to die there.'

^{27 Ref} And all the heads come in unto Jeremiah, and ask him, and he declareth to them according to all these words that the king commanded, and they keep silent from him, for the matter was not heard;

^{28 Ref} and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison till the day that Jerusalem hath been captured, and he was `there' when Jerusalem was captured.

^{1 Ref} Then 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 Ref} Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

^{3 Ref} Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.

^{4 Ref} Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

^{5 Ref} Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

^{6 Ref} Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

^{7 Ref} Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;

⁸ Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king saying,

^{9 Ref} 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 is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.

^{10 Ref} Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.

¹¹ So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

^{12 Ref} And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

^{13 Ref} So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

^{14 Ref} Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

^{15 Ref} Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?

^{16 Ref} So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that 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 life.

^{17 Ref} Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:

^{18 Ref} But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

^{19 Ref} And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.

^{20 Ref} But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

^{21 Ref} But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:

^{22 Ref} And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

^{23 Ref} So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children 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 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.

^{25 Ref} But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:

^{26 Ref} Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.

^{27 Ref} Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.

^{28 Ref} So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.