381 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan , and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur , and Jucal the son of Shelemiah , and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people , saying , 2 "Thus says the Lord , 'He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence , but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as booty and stay alive .' 3 "Thus says the Lord , 'This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.' " 4 Then the officials said to the king , "Now let this man be put to death , inasmuch e e as he is discouraging e the men of war who are left in this city and all the people , by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather e their harm ." 5 So King Zedekiah said , "Behold , he is in your hands ; for the king can do nothing e against you." 6 Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king's son , which was in the court of the guardhouse ; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes . Now in the cistern there was no water but only mud , and Jeremiah sank into the mud . 7 But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian , a eunuch , while he was in the king's palace , heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern . Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin ; 8 and Ebed-melech went out from the king's palace and spoke to the king , saying , 9 "My lord the king , these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern ; and he will die right where he is because e of the famine , for there is no more bread in the city ." 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian , saying , "Take thirty men from here under your authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies ." 11 So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went into the king's palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah . 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah , "Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits e under the ropes "; and Jeremiah did so . 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern , and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse .
14 Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord ; and the king said to Jeremiah , "I am going to ask you something ; do not hide anything from me." 15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah , " If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death ? Besides, if I give you advice , you will not listen to me." 16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying , "As the Lord lives , who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who are seeking your life ." 17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah , "Thus says the Lord God of hosts , the God of Israel , 'If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon , then you will live , this city will not be burned with fire , and you and your household will survive . 18 'But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon , then this city will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans ; and they will burn it with fire , and you yourself will not escape from their hand .' " 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah , "I dread the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans , for they may give me over into their hand and they will abuse me." 20 But Jeremiah said , "They will not give you over. Please obey e the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live . 21 "But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22 'Then behold , all of the women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon ; and those women will say , "Your close friends e Have misled and overpowered you; While your feet were sunk in the mire , They turned back ." 23 'They will also bring out all your wives and your sons to the Chaldeans , and you yourself will not escape from their hand , but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon , and this city will be burned with fire .' " 24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah , "Let no man know about these words and you will not die . 25 "But if the officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death ,' 26 then you are to say to them, 'I was presenting my petition before the king , not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there .' " 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded ; and they ceased speaking with him, since the conversation had not been overheard . 28 So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured .
