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 to all the
people, saying,
38:2 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.
38:3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into
the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
38:4 Therefore the princes said to 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 to them: for this man
seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
38:5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he [is] in your hand:
for the king [is] not [he that] can do [any] thing against you.
38:6 Then they took 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.
38:7 Now when Ebed-melech the Cushite, one of the eunuchs who
was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in
the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
38:8 Ebed-melech went out of the king's house, and spoke to the
king, saying,
38:9 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 by hunger in the place where he
is: for [there is] no more bread in the city.
38:10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying,
Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the
prophet out of the dungeon, before he dieth.
38:11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the
house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast
clouts and old decayed rags, and let them down by cords into
the dungeon to Jeremiah.
38:12 And Ebed-melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, Put now
[these] old cast clouts and decayed rags under thy arm-holes
under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
38:13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him out of
the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
38:14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet
to him into the third entry that [is] in the house of the LORD:
and the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide
nothing from me.
38:15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I declare [it] to thee,
wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee
counsel, wilt thou not hearken to me?
38:16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to 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.
38:17 Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the
God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go
forth to 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 thy house:
38:18 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 from their hand.
38:19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the
Jews that have fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me
into their hand, and they mock me.
38:20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver [thee]. Obey, I
beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak to thee: so
it shall be well to thee, and thy soul shall live.
38:21 But if thou shalt refuse to go forth, this [is] the word
that the LORD hath shown me:
38:22 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.
38:23 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.
38:24 Then said Zedekiah to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these
words, and thou shalt not die.
38:25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and
they come to thee, and say to thee, Declare to us now what thou
hast said to the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put
thee to death; also what the king said to thee:
38:26 Then thou shalt say to them, I presented my supplication
before the king, that he would not cause me to return to
Jonathan's house, to die there.
38:27 Then came all the princes to 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.
38:28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day
that Jerusalem was taken: and he was [there] when Jerusalem was
taken.
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