Jeremiah 38

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
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 Then Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, and Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying:
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: Whoever will remain in this city will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever will flee away from the Chaldeans, will live, and his soul will dwell in safety.
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 will certainly be delivered into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will 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 And the leaders said to the king: “We petition you to put this man to death. For he is deliberately weakening the hands of the men of war, who have remained in this city, and the hands of the people, by speaking to them with these words. For this man is certainly not seeking peace for this people, but evil.”
5 King Zedekiah answered, 'He is in your hands as you know, for the king is powerless to oppose you.'	5 And king Zedekiah said: “Behold, he is in your hands. For it is not fitting for the king to deny you anything.”
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 Therefore, they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah, the son of Amelech, which was at the entrance to the prison. And they lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the pit, in which there was no water, but only mud. And so Jeremiah descended into the mire.
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 Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had sent Jeremiah into the pit, and also that the king was sitting at the gate of Benjamin.
8 Ebed-Melech came out from the palace and spoke to the king.	8 And so Ebedmelech departed from the king’s house, and he spoke to the king, saying:
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 the king, these men have done evil in all that they have perpetrated against Jeremiah the prophet, casting him into the pit so that he would die there from famine. For there is no more bread 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 And so the king instructed Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, saying: “Take with you thirty men from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dies.”
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 Therefore, Ebedmelech, taking the men with him, entered into the king’s house to a place below the storehouse. And he took from there old garments, no longer in use, and he sent them down by rope to Jeremiah in the pit.
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 And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah: “Place these old garments, and these cut and decaying cloths, under your arms and over the ropes.” And 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 pulled up Jeremiah with the ropes, and they led him away from the pit. And Jeremiah remained in the vestibule of the prison.
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 And king Zedekiah sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to him at the third gate, which was at the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah: “I will question you about a matter. You shall conceal nothing from me.”
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 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “If I announce to you, will you not put me to death? And if I give you counsel, 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 Then king Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah, secretly, saying: “As the Lord lives, who made this soul for us, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of those men who are seeking 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 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If, having set out, you go to the rulers of the king of Babylon, your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. And you and your house will be safe.
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 will not go to the rulers of the king of Babylon, this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire. And you will not escape from their hand.”
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 And king Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: “I am anxious, because of the Jews who have crossed over to the Chaldeans, lest perhaps I may be delivered into their hands, and they may abuse 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 But Jeremiah responded: “They will not deliver you. Listen, I ask you, to the voice of the Lord, which I am speaking to you, and it will be well with you, and your soul will live.
21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what Yahweh has shown me:	21 But if you refuse to depart, this is the word that the Lord has revealed to 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 Behold, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah will be led away to the rulers of the king of Babylon. And the women will say: ‘Your men of peacefulness have led you astray, and they have prevailed against you. They have immersed your feet in mud and have set them in a slippery place. And they have withdrawn from you.’
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 And all your wives and your sons will be led away to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hands. Instead, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will burn this city 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 of these words, and you will not 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 But if the leaders hear that I have spoken with you, and if they come to you, and say to you: ‘Tell us what you said to the king. Do not conceal it from us, and we will not put you to death. And tell us what the king said 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 then you shall say to them: ‘I presented my supplication before the king, so that he would not order me to be led back to the house of Jonathan, 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 Then all the leaders came to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. And he spoke to them in accord with all the words that the king had commanded him. And they withdrew from him, for they had learned nothing.
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 Yet truly, Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison, until the day when Jerusalem was seized. And it happened that Jerusalem was captured.