38:1 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,
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.
38:3 Thus
says
the
LORD:
This
city
shall
surely
be
given
into
the
hand
of
the
army
of
the
king
of
Babylon
and
be
taken."
38:4 Then
the
officials
said
to
the
king,
"Let
this
man
be
put
to
death,
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
the
welfare
of
this
people,
but
their
harm."
38:5 King
Zedekiah
said,
"Behold,
he
is
in
your
hands,
for
the
king
can
do
nothing
against
you."
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.
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--
38:8 Ebed-melech
went
from
the
king's
house
and
said
to
the
king,
38:9 "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
hunger,
for
there
is
no
bread
left
in
the
city."
38:10 Then
the
king
commanded
Ebed-melech
the
Ethiopian,
"Take
thirty
men
with
you
from
here,
and
lift
Jeremiah
the
prophet
out
of
the
cistern
before
he
dies."
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.
38:12 Then
Ebed-melech
the
Ethiopian
said
to
Jeremiah,
"Put
the
rags
and
clothes
between
your
armpits
and
the
ropes."
Jeremiah
did
so.
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.
38:14 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."
38:15 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."
38:16 Then
King
Zedekiah
swore
secretly
to
Jeremiah,
"As
the
LORD
lives,
who
made
our
souls,
I
will
not
put
you
to
death
or
deliver
you
into
the
hand
of
these
men
who
seek
your
life."
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.
38:18 But
if
you
do
not
surrender
to
the
officials
of
the
king
of
Babylon,
then
this
city
shall
be
given
into
the
hand
of
the
Chaldeans,
and
they
shall
burn
it
with
fire,
and
you
shall
not
escape
from
their
hand."
38:19 King
Zedekiah
said
to
Jeremiah,
"I
am
afraid
of
the
Judeans
who
have
deserted
to
the
Chaldeans,
lest
I
be
handed
over
to
them
and
they
deal
cruelly
with
me."
38:20 Jeremiah
said,
"You
shall
not
be
given
to
them.
Obey
now
the
voice
of
the
LORD
in
what
I
say
to
you,
and
it
shall
be
well
with
you,
and
your
life
shall
be
spared.
38:21 But
if
you
refuse
to
surrender,
this
is
the
vision
which
the
LORD
has
shown
to
me:
38:22 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,
"'Your
trusted
friends
have
deceived
you
and
prevailed
against
you;
now
that
your
feet
are
sunk
in
the
mud,
they
turn
away
from
you.'
38:23 All
your
wives
and
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."
38:24 Then
Zedekiah
said
to
Jeremiah,
"Let
no
one
know
of
these
words,
and
you
shall
not
die.
38:25 If
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,'
38:26 then
you
shall
say
to
them,
'I
made
a
humble
plea
to
the
king
that
he
would
not
send
me
back
to
the
house
of
Jonathan
to
die
there.'"
38:27 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.
38:28 And
Jeremiah
remained
in
the
court
of
the
guard
until
the
day
that
Jerusalem
was
taken.