Jeremiah 38

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, e Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and f Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, 2 "Thus says the Lord: g He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, g but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the Lord: h This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken." 4 Then the officials said to the king, i "Let this man be put to death, j for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking k the welfare of this people, but their harm." 5 King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands, l for the king can do nothing against you." 6 So they took Jeremiah m and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in n the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down o by ropes. p And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and q Jeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

7 When r Ebed-melech s the Ethiopian, t a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern - the king was sitting u in the Benjamin Gate - 8 r Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9 "My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of v hunger, w for there is no bread left in the city." 10 Then the king commanded r Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, "Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies." 11 So r Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern x by ropes. 12 Then r Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and x the ropes." Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with x ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the n court of the guard.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, "I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me." 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me." 16 Then King Zedekiah swore y secretly to Jeremiah, z "As the Lord lives, a who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of b these men who seek your life."

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: c If you will surrender to d the officials of the king of Babylon, e then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to d the officials of the king of Babylon, f then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, f and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand." 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Judeans g who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me." 20 Jeremiah said, "You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, h and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to c surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me:

22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,
i "'Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.'

23 All your wives and j your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire."

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If k the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,' 26 then you shall say to them, l 'I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'" 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained m in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:3
    King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "Please pray for us to the Lord our God.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 20:1
    Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:9
    He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war.
    Jeremiah 38:17 - 18
    Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
  4. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:9
    He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war.
    Jeremiah 38:17 - 18
    Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
  5. Cross References
    Jeremiah 32:3
    For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord : Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 26:11
    Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, "This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:24
    We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 33:9
    And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:24 - 28
    Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:16
    When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 32:2
    At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:11
    So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes.
    Jeremiah 38:13
    Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
  13. Cross References
    Genesis 37:24
    And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
    Zechariah 9:11
    As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
  14. Cross References
    Psalms 69:14
    Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:16
    Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day.
  16. Cross References
    Acts 8:27
    And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:2
    This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem.
    Isaiah 56:3 - 4
    Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, "The Lord will surely separate me from his people"; and let not the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:13
    When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:7
    When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern - the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate -
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 11:22
    Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: "Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine.
    Jeremiah 14:16
    And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them - them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.
    Jeremiah 14:18
    If I go out into the field, behold, those pierced by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land and have no knowledge.'
    Jeremiah 19:9
    And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:21
    So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:7
    When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern - the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate -
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:7
    When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern - the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate -
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:6
    So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:7
    When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern - the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate -
  26. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:11
    So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes.
  27. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:11
    So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes.
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:6
    So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
  29. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:17
    King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, "Is there any word from the Lord ?" Jeremiah said, "There is." Then he said, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
  30. Cross References
    Ruth 3:13
    Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.
  31. Cross References
    Isaiah 57:16
    For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.
  32. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:1 - 9
    Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people.
  33. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:2
    Thus says the Lord : He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live.
    Jeremiah 38:21
    But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me:
    Jeremiah 27:12 - 13
    To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live.
    2 Kings 24:12
    And Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign
  34. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:3
    Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.
  35. Cross References
    Jeremiah 34:4 - 5
    Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: 'You shall not die by the sword.
  36. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:17
    Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
  37. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:10
    For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord : it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
  38. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:10
    For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord : it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
  39. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:13
    When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans.
  40. Cross References
    Jeremiah 40:9
    Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, "Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
  41. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:17
    Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
  42. Cross References
    Jeremiah 20:10
    For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my close friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.
  43. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:6
    The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.
    Jeremiah 41:10
    Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.
    Jeremiah 43:6
    The men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah.
  44. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:5
    King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.
  45. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:20
    Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.
  46. Cross References
    Jeremiah 32:2
    At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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