Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king's house, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. The king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,

so Ebed-melech went out of the palace and spoke to the king:

Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: "Thirty men are at your disposal. Take them with you and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies."

So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the palace, underneath the storeroom. He took worn out rags and worn out clothes from there, and using ropes he lowered them down to Jeremiah in the cistern.

Ebed-melech the Ethiopian told Jeremiah, "Put the worn out rags and clothes under your armpits under the ropes," and Jeremiah did as he said.

"Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Look, I'm going to fulfill my promise against this city for disaster rather than for good, and on that day it will happen before your eyes.