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Giovedi, 28 marzo 2024 - San Castore di Tarso ( Letture di oggi)

Jeremiah 38


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1But Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah and Pashhur son ofMalchiah heard the words which Jeremiah was saying to al the people,2'Yahweh says this, "Anyone who stays in this city wil die by sword, famine or plague; but anyone wholeaves it and surrenders to the Chaldaeans wil live; he wil escape with his life.3Yahweh says this: This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he willcapture it." '4The chief men then said to the king, 'You must have this man put to death: he is unquestionablydisheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and al the people too, by talking like this. This man is seekingnot the welfare of the people but their ruin.'5King Zedekiah answered, 'He is in your hands as you know, for the king is powerless to oppose you.'6So they took Jeremiah and put him into the storage-wel of the king's son Malchiah in the Court of theGuard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the storage-well, only mud, and into the mudJeremiah sank.7But Ebed-Melech the Cushite, a eunuch attached to the palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put intothe storage-wel . As the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,8Ebed-Melech came out from the palace and spoke to the king.9'My lord king,' he said, 'these men have done a wicked thing by treating the prophet Jeremiah like this:they have thrown him into the storage-well. He will starve to death there, since there is no more food in the city.'10At this the king gave Ebed-Melech the Cushite the fol owing order: 'Take thirty men with you from hereand pul the prophet Jeremiah out of the storage-wel before he dies.'11Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the palace to the Treasury wardrobe; out of it hetook some torn, worn-out rags which he lowered on ropes to Jeremiah in the storage-wel .12Ebed-Melech the Cushite then said to Jeremiah, 'These torn, worn-out rags are for you to put underyour armpits to pad the ropes.' Jeremiah did this.13Then they hauled Jeremiah up with the ropes and pulled him out of the storage-wel . And Jeremiahstayed in the Court of the Guard.14King Zedekiah had the prophet Jeremiah summoned to him at the third entrance to the Temple ofYahweh. 'I want to ask you for a word,' the king said to Jeremiah, 'keep nothing back from me.'15Jeremiah answered Zedekiah, 'If I do proclaim it to you, are you not sure to have me put to death?And if I give you advice, you wil not listen to me.'16King Zedekiah then secretly swore this oath to Jeremiah, 'As Yahweh lives, giver of this life of ours, Iwil have you neither put to death nor handed over to these men who are determined to kill you.'17Jeremiah then said to Zedekiah, 'Yahweh, God Sabaoth, God of Israel, says this, "If you go out andsurrender to the king of Babylon's generals, your life will be safe and this city will not be burnt down; you andyour family wil survive.18But if you do not go out and surrender to the king of Babylon's generals, this city wil be handed overto the Chaldaeans and they wil burn it down; nor wil you yourself escape their clutches." '19King Zedekiah then said to Jeremiah, 'I am afraid of the Judaeans who have already gone over to theChaldaeans: I might be handed over to them and they would il -treat me.'20'You wil not be handed over to them,' Jeremiah replied. 'Please listen to Yahweh's voice as I haverelayed it to you, and then al wil go wel with you and your life wil be safe.21But if you refuse to surrender, this is what Yahweh has shown me:22the sight of al the women left in the king of Judah's palace being led off to the king of Babylon'sgenerals and saying: "They have misled you, they have triumphed over you, those friends of yours! Your feethave sunk in the mud! They are up and away!"23'Yes, al your wives and children wil be led off to the Chaldaeans, and you yourself wil not escapetheir clutches but wil be a prisoner in the clutches of the king of Babylon. And as for this city, it wil be burntdown.'24Zedekiah then said to Jeremiah, 'Do not let anyone else hear these words or you wil die.25If the chief men hear that I have been talking to you, and come and say, "Tel us what you said to theking and what the king said to you; keep nothing back from us, or we shal put you to death,"26you must reply, "I presented this request to the king: that he would not have me sent back toJonathan's house to die." '27And in fact al the chief men came to Jeremiah and questioned him. He told them exactly what theking had ordered him to say. They then left him in peace, since the conversation had not been overheard.28And Jeremiah stayed in the Court of the Guard until the day Jerusalem was captured. And he wasthere when Jerusalem actual y was captured.