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Chapter 38 |
| 1 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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
| 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 | 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 |
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 | 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 |
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.
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| 12 | 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 |
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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | But
if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed
me: |
| 22 |
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 |
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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | So Jeremiah abode in the court of the
prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem
was taken. |
