Jeremiah 38

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, a Jucal 1 the son of Shelemiah, and b Pashhur the son of Malchiah c heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 "Thus says the LORD: d 'He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.' 2 3 "Thus says the LORD: e 'This city shall surely be f given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.' " 4 Therefore the princes said to the king, "Please, g let this man be put to death, for thus he 3 weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the 4 welfare of this people, but their harm." 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, "Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you." 6 h So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah 5 the king's son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

7 i Now EbedMe'lech the Ethiopian, one of the 6 eunuchs, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, 8 EbedMe'lech went out of the king's house 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 dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is j no more bread in the city." 10 Then the king commanded EbedMe'lech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies." 11 So EbedMe'lech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 Then EbedMe'lech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes." And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained k in the court of the prison.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, "I will l ask you something. Hide nothing from me." 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me." 16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, "As the LORD lives, m who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life."

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'If you surely n surrender 7 o to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 'But if you do not 8 surrender to the king of Babylon's princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and p you shall not escape from their hand.' " 19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have q defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they r abuse me." 20 But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be s well with you, and your soul shall live. 21 "But if you refuse to 9 surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:

22 'Now behold, all the t women who are left in the king of Judah's house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say:
"Your close friends have 10 set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have 11 turned away again."

23 'So they shall surrender all your wives and u children to the Chaldeans. v You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.' "

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 "But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, 'Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,' 26 "then you shall say to them, w 'I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return x to Jonathan's house to die there.' " 27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard. 28 Now y Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:3
    And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Pray now to the LORD our God for us.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:1
    The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:8
    Now you shall say to this people, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
  4. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:9
    He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him.
  5. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:10
    "For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good," says the LORD. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire."'
    Jeremiah 32:3
    For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 34:2
    Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 26:11
    And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, "This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:21
    Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
    Lamentations 3:55
    I called on Your name, O LORD, From the lowest pit.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:16
    Go and speak to EbedMe'lech the Ethiopian, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:21
    Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
  11. Cross References
    Nehemiah 3:25
    Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the...
    Jeremiah 37:21
    Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they shou...
    Acts 23:35
    He said, "I will hear you when your accusers al...
    Acts 24:27
    But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Fe...
    Acts 28:16
    Now when we came to Rome, the centurion deliver...
    Acts 28:30
    Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rent...
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:1
    The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying.
    Jeremiah 21:2
    "Please inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us."
    Jeremiah 37:17
    Then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from the LORD?" And Jeremiah said, "There is." Then he said, "You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!
  13. Cross References
    Numbers 16:22
    Then they fell on their faces, and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?
    Isaiah 57:16
    For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made.
    Zechariah 12:1
    The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:
    Acts 17:25
    Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
    Acts 17:28
    "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'
  14. Cross References
    2 Kings 24:12
    Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:3
    Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: NergalShare'zer, SamgarNe'bo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, NergalSare'zer, Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 32:4
    And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye.
    Jeremiah 34:3
    'And you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon.' "'
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:9
    Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained.
  18. Cross References
    1 Samuel 31:4
    Then Saul said to his armorbearer, "Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me." But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 40:9
    And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before 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.
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:10
    Therefore I will give their wives to others, And their fields to those who will inherit them; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is given to covetousness; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:6
    Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah.
    Jeremiah 41:10
    Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 39:5
    But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:20
    "Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my petition be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:15
    Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
  25. Cross References
    Psalms 23:4
    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
    Jeremiah 37:21
    Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
    Jeremiah 39:14
    Then they sent someone to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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