1Then Shephatiah, son of Mattan, Gedaliah, son of Pashhur, Jucal, son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, son of Malchiah, heard what Jeremiah had said to all the people when he said:
2“Thus says the LORD, ‘He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, famine, or pestilence; but whoever goes out (surrenders) to the Chaldeans shall live; they will escape with their lives.
3Thus says the LORD, “This city shall surely fall to the king of Babylon's army, who shall capture it’”.
4Therefore, the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death; for he weakens the resolve of the men of war that remain in this city, and of all the people, by uttering such words; for this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5Then King Zedekiah said, “Look, he is in your hand; for I, the king, cannot oppose you.”
6Then took they Jeremiah, and threw him into the dungeon of Malchiah, a son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison; and they lowered Jeremiah down into the well with ropes. In that dungeon well there was no water, but mire; so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
7But when Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian (Cushite), one of the king's officials, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, and the king was then sitting in the gate of Benjamin,
8Ebed-melech went out of the king's palace, and said to the king,
9“My lord the king, these men have done evil in what they have done to Jeremiah, the prophet, by casting him into the dungeon, and he is likely to die of hunger in that place where he is; for there is no more bread in the city.”
10Then the king ordered Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah, the prophet, up out of the dungeon before he dies.”
11So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went to the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon well to Jeremiah.
12And Ebed-melech told Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out garments under your armpits over the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.
13So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes, up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the prison.
14Then King Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to him through the third entrance to the Temple of the LORD; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; do not hide anything from me.”
15Then Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, “If I give you the answer, will you not kill me? And if I did give you advice, you would not listen to me.”
16So Zedekiah, the king, swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the LORD lives, Who made us and gave us breath, I will not put you to death, nor will I turn you over to these men who seek your life.”
17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If you will go out and surrender to the king of Babylon's officials, then you shall live, and this city shall not be burned; and you and your family shall live.
18But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon's officials, then this city shall fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it, and you shall not escape from them.”
19And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews that have surrendered to the Chaldeans, that the Chaldeans might turn me over into their hands, and they mistreat me.”
20But Jeremiah said, “They shall not turn you over. Obey the voice of the LORD, which I confided to you; and it shall be well with you, and you shall live.
21But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that the LORD has showed me:
22‘All the women who are left in the king of Judah's palace shall be brought out to the king of Babylon's officials, and those women shall taunt you, saying, “What fine friends you have – your trusted friends - have betrayed and prevailed against you; your feet are sunk in the mud, and they have turned their back on you.
23All your wives and children shall be brought out to the Chaldeans; and you shall not escape from their hands, but shall be captured by the king of Babylon; and you shall cause this city to be burned.”
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of this conversation, or you shall die.
25If the officials hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and say, ‘Tell us now what you have said to the king, and what the king said to you; if you do not hide it from us, and we will not kill you’;
26Then you shall tell them, ‘I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not return me to Jonathan's house, to die there’.”
27Then all the officials came to Jeremiah, and interrogated him; and he told them all the words that the king had commanded. So they stopped interrogating him; for none of them had overheard his conversation with the king.
28So Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was captured. Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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