Jeremiah 38

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 But 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,	1 Shephatiah, son of Mattan, Gedaliah, son of Pashhur, Jucal, son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, son of Malchiah, heard Jeremiah speaking these words to all 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.	2 Thus says the LORD: He who remains in this city shall die by sword, or famine, or pestilence; but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be spared him as booty, and he shall live.
3 Yahweh says this: This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he willcapture it." '	3 Thus says the LORD: This city shall certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon; he shall capture it.
4 The 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.'	4 "This man ought to be put to death," the princes said to the king; "he demoralizes the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such things to them; he is not interested in the welfare of our people, but in their ruin."
5 King Zedekiah answered, 'He is in your hands as you know, for the king is powerless to oppose you.'	5 King Zedekiah answered: "He is in your power"; for the king could do nothing with them.
6 So 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.	6 And so they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah, which was in the quarters of the guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.
7 But 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,	7 Now Ebed-melech, a Cushite, a courtier in the king's palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened just then to be at the Gate of Benjamin,
8 Ebed-Melech came out from the palace and spoke to the king.	8 and Ebed-melech went there from the palace and said to him,
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.'	9 "My lord king, these men have been at fault in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah, casting him into the cistern. He will die of famine on the spot, for there is no more food in the city."
10 At 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.'	10 Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite to take three men along with him, and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he should die.
11 Ebed-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 .	11 Ebed-melech took the men along with him, and went first to the linen closet in the palace, from which he took some old, tattered rags; these he sent down to Jeremiah in the cistern, with ropes.
12 Ebed-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.	12 Then he said to Jeremiah, "Put the old, tattered rags between your armpits and the ropes." Jeremiah did so,
13 Then they hauled Jeremiah up with the ropes and pulled him out of the storage-wel . And Jeremiahstayed in the Court of the Guard.	13 and they drew him up with the ropes out of the cistern. But Jeremiah remained in the quarters of the guard.
14 King 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.'	14 Once King Zedekiah summoned the prophet Jeremiah to come to him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. "I have a question to ask you," the king said to Jeremiah; "hide nothing from me." Jeremiah answered Zedekiah:
15 Jeremiah 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.'	15 If I tell you anything, you will have me killed, will you not? If I counsel you, you will not listen to me!
16 King 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.'	16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah secretly: "As the LORD lives who gave us the breath of life, I will not kill you; nor will I hand you over to these men who seek your life."
17 Jeremiah 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.	17 Thereupon Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: Thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you surrender to the princes of Babylon's king, you shall save your life; this city shall not be destroyed with fire, and you and your family shall live.
18 But 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." '	18 But if you do not surrender to the princes of Babylon's king, this city shall fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, who shall destroy it with fire, and you shall not escape their hands.
19 King 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.'	19 King Zedekiah, however, said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the men of Judah who have deserted to the Chaldeans; I may be handed over to them, and they will mistreat 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.	20 You will not be handed over, Jeremiah answered. Please obey the voice of the LORD and do as I tell you; then it shall go well with you, and your life will be spared.
21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what Yahweh has shown me:	21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD shows me:
22 the 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!"	22 All the women left in the house of Judah's king shall be brought out to the princes of Babylon's king, and they shall taunt you thus: "They betrayed you, outdid you, your good friends! Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they slink 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.'	23 All your wives and sons shall be led forth to the Chaldeans, and you shall not escape their hands; you shall be handed over to the king of Babylon, and this city shall be destroyed with fire.
24 Zedekiah then said to Jeremiah, 'Do not let anyone else hear these words or you wil die.	24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know about this conversation, or you shall die.
25 If 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,"	25 If the princes hear I spoke to you, if they come and ask you, 'Tell us what you said to the king; do not hide it from us, or we will kill you,' or, 'What did the king say to you?'
26 you must reply, "I presented this request to the king: that he would not have me sent back toJonathan's house to die." '	26 give them this answer: 'I petitioned the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'"
27 And 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.	27 When all the princes came to Jeremiah, they questioned him, and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. They said no more to him, for nothing had been heard of the earlier conversation.
28 And Jeremiah stayed in the Court of the Guard until the day Jerusalem was captured. And he wasthere when Jerusalem actual y was captured.	28 Thus Jeremiah stayed in the quarters of the guard till the day Jerusalem was taken.When Jerusalem was taken. . . .