Jeremias 38

¹ Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son ofFor Zedekiah had sent these to Jeremiah to enquire at the Lord for the state of the country how when Nebuchadnezzar came, as in (Jer_21:1).Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,

² Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life forRead (Jer_21:9, Jer_45:5).a prize, and shall live.

³ Thus sayth the Lord, This citie shall surely be giuen into the hand of the King of Babels armie, which shall take it.

⁴ Therefore the princes said to the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of warThus we see how the wicked when they cannot abide to hear the truth of God's word, seek to put the ministers to death, as transgressors of policies.that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the harm.

⁵ Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he [is] in your hand: for the king [is] not [he that] can do [any]In which he grievously offended in that not only would he not hear the truth spoken by the prophet, but also gave him to the lusts of the wicked to be cruelly treated.thing against you.

⁶ Then tooke they Ieremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the sonne of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let downe Ieremiah with coards: and in the dungeon there was no water but myre: so Ieremiah stacke fast in the myre.

⁷ Now when Ebedmelech the Cushite, one of the eunuchs who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in theTo hear matters and give sentence.gate of Benjamin;

⁸ And Ebed-melech went out of the Kings house, and spake to the King, saying,

⁹ My lord the king,By this is declared that the prophet found more favour at this strangers hands, than he did by all them of his country, which was to their great condemnation.these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is certain to die from hunger in the place where he is: for [there is] no more bread in the city.

¹⁰ Then the King commaunded Ebed-melech the blacke More, saying, Take from hence thirtie men with thee, and take Ieremiah the Prophet out of the dungeon before he dye.

¹¹ So Ebed-melech tooke the men with him and went to the house of the King vnder the treasurie, and tooke there olde rotten ragges, and olde worne cloutes, and let them downe by coards into the dungeon to Ieremiah.

¹² And Ebed-melech the blacke More sayde vnto Ieremiah, Put now these olde rotten ragges and worne, vnder thine arme holes, betweene the coards; Ieremiah did so.

¹³ So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in theWhere the king had set him before to be at more liberty, as in (Jer_37:21).court of the prison.

¹⁴ Then Zedekiah the King sent, and tooke Ieremiah the Prophet vnto him, into the thirde entrie that is in the House of the Lorde, and the King sayd vnto Ieremiah, I wil aske thee a thing: hide nothing from me.

¹⁵ Then Ieremiah sayd to Zedekiah, If I declare it vnto thee, wilt not thou slay me? and if I giue thee counsell, thou wilt not heare me.

¹⁶ So the King sware secretly vnto Ieremiah, saying, As the Lorde liueth that made vs these soules, I will not slay thee, nor giue thee into the hands of those men that seeke thy life.

¹⁷ Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth to the king of Babylon'sAnd yield yourself to them.princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house:

¹⁸ But if thou wilt not go forth to the King of Babels princes, then shall this citie be giuen into the hand of ye Caldeans, & they shal burne it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hands.

¹⁹ And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that have fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and theyWhich declares that he more feared the reproach of men than the threatenings of God.mock me.

²⁰ But Ieremiah sayd, They shall not deliuer thee: hearken vnto the voyce of the Lorde, I beseech thee, which I speake vnto thee: so shal it be well vnto thee, and thy soule shall liue.

²¹ But if thou wilt refuse to go forth, this is the worde that the Lorde hath shewed me.

²² And, behold, all the women that areWhen Jeconiah and his mother with others were carried away, these women of the king's house were left: who will be taken, says the prophet and tell the king of Babel how Zedekiah has been seduced by his familiar friends and false prophets who have left him in the mire.left in the king of Judah's house [shall be] brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those [women] shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, [and] they are turned away back.

²³ So they shall bring out all thy wiues, & thy children to the Caldeans, and thou shalt not escape out of their hands, but shalt be taken by the hand of the King of Babel: and this citie shalt thou cause to be burnt with fire.

²⁴ Then said Zedekiah vnto Ieremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.

²⁵ But if ye princes vnderstand that I haue talked with thee, & they come vnto thee, & say vnto thee, Declare vnto vs nowe, what thou hast sayde vnto the King, hide it not from vs, & we will not slay thee: also what the King sayd vnto thee,

²⁶ Then thou shalt say to them, IIn this appears the infirmity of the prophet, who dissembled to save his life even though it was not to the denial of his doctrine or to the hurt of any.presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.

²⁷ Then came all the princes vnto Ieremiah and asked him; he tolde them according to all these wordes that the King had commaunded: so they left off speaking with him, for the matter was not perceiued.

²⁸ So Ieremiah abode still in the court of the prison, vntill the day that Ierusalem was taken: and he was there, when Ierusalem was taken.