Thematic Bible
Jeremiah 38:1 (show verse)
Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard what I was telling the people.
Jeremiah 38:2 (show verse)
Jehovah says: 'Whoever stays on in the city will die in war or of starvation or disease. But those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will not be killed. They will at least escape with their life.'
Jeremiah 38:3 (show verse)
I also told them that Jehovah said: 'I am going to give the city to the Babylonian army, and they will capture it.'
Jeremiah 38:4 (show verse)
The officials went to the king and said: This man must be put to death. By talking like this he is making the soldiers in the city lose their courage. He is doing the same thing to everyone else left in the city. He is not trying to help the people. He only wants to hurt them.
Jeremiah 38:5 (show verse)
King Zedekiah answered: Very well, then, do what you want to with him. I cannot stop you.
Jeremiah 38:6 (show verse)
So they took me and let me down by ropes into Prince Malchiah's well, which was in the palace courtyard. There was no water in the well, only mud, and I sank down in it.
Jeremiah 38:7 (show verse)
Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch (officer) who worked in the royal palace, heard that they had put me in the well. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate.
Jeremiah 38:8 (show verse)
So Ebedmelech went there and said to the king:
Jeremiah 38:9 (show verse)
Your Majesty, what these men have done is wrong. They have put Jeremiah in the well, where he is sure to die of starvation, since there is no more food in the city.
Jeremiah 38:10 (show verse)
Then the king ordered Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, Take with you three men and to pull him out of the well before he dies.
Jeremiah 38:11 (show verse)
So Ebedmelech went with the men to the palace storeroom and got some worn-out clothing which he let down to me by ropes.
Jeremiah 38:12 (show verse)
He told me to put the rags under my arms, so that the ropes would not hurt me. I did this.
Jeremiah 38:13 (show verse)
So they pulled me up out of the well. After that I was kept in the courtyard.
Jeremiah 38:14 (show verse)
On another occasion King Zedekiah had me brought to him at the third entrance to the temple. He said: I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the whole truth.
Jeremiah 38:15 (show verse)
I answered: If I tell you the truth, you will put me to death, and if I give you advice, you will not pay any attention.
Jeremiah 38:16 (show verse)
So King Zedekiah promised me in secret: I swear by the living God, the God who gave us life, that I will not put you to death or hand you over to the men who want to kill you.
Jeremiah 38:17 (show verse)
Then I told Zedekiah that Jehovah, the God of Israel said: If you surrender to the king of Babylon's officers, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned down. Both you and your family will be spared.
Jeremiah 38:18 (show verse)
But if you do not surrender, then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians. They will burn it down, and you will not escape from them.
Jeremiah 38:19 (show verse)
The king answered: I am afraid of our own people who have deserted to the Babylonians. I may be handed over to them and tortured.
Jeremiah 38:20 (show verse)
I said: You will not be handed over to them. I beg you to obey Jehovah's message. Then all will go well with you, and your life will be spared.
Jeremiah 38:21 (show verse)
Jehovah has shown me in a vision what will happen if you refuse to surrender.
Jeremiah 38:22 (show verse)
In it I saw all the women left in Judah's royal palace being led out to the king of Babylonia's officers. Listen to what they were saying as they went. The king's best friends misled him, they overruled him. And now that his feet have sunk in the mud, his friends have left him.
Jeremiah 38:23 (show verse)
Then I added: All your women and children will be taken out to the Babylonians. You will not escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylonia. And this city will be burned to the ground.
Jeremiah 38:24 (show verse)
Zedekiah replied: Do not let anyone know about this conversation, and your life will not be in danger.
Jeremiah 38:25 (show verse)
If the officials hear that I have talked with you, they will come and ask you what we said. They will promise not to put you to death if you tell them everything.
Jeremiah 38:26 (show verse)
Just tell them you were begging me not to send you back to prison to die there.
Jeremiah 38:27 (show verse)
Then all the officials came and questioned me. I told them exactly what the king had told me to say. There was nothing else they could do, because no one had overheard the conversation.
Jeremiah 38:28 (show verse)
I was kept in the palace courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.