2 ARST He had been telling them that Yahweh was saying,“Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die. They will be killed by their enemies’ swords or from famines or from diseases. But those who surrender to the Babylonian army will remain alive. They will escape; they will not be killed. BSB BSB: “This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.
3 ARST Yahweh also says that the army of the king of Babylon will certainly capture this city.” BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: This city will surely be delivered into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”
4 ARST So those officials went to the king and said,“This man Jeremiah should be executed! Because of what he is saying, he is discouraging our soldiers who remain in the city. He is also discouraging the people. He is not saying things that will help us; he is saying things that will defeat us.” BSB BSB: Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”
5 ARST King Zedekiah said,“All right, do to him what you want to; I do not have the power to stop you.” BSB BSB: “Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.”
6 ARST So those officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into a cistern in the courtyard. The cistern belonged to Malkijah, who was a son of the king. There was no water in the ciestern, but there was a lot of mud, so he sank down deep into the mud. BSB BSB: So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
7 ARST But Ebed- Melek, a palace official from Ethiopia, heard someone say that Jeremiah was in the well. At that time the king was deciding people’ s cases at the Benjamin Gate. BSB BSB: Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
8 ARST Ebed- Melek went out of the palace and said to the king, BSB BSB: Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king,
9 ARST “Your majesty, those men have done a very evil thing. They have put the prophet Jeremiah in a well. Almost all the food in the city is gone, so no one will be able to bring him any food, and as a result he will die from hunger!” BSB BSB: “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there is no more bread in the city.”
10 ARST So the king told Ebed- Melek,“Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the well, in order that he does not die!” BSB BSB: So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 ARST So Ebed- Melek took charge of those thirty men; they went into a room in the palace below the room where people had stored things. There they found some old rags and discarded clothing. They took those things and went to the well. They fastened them to a rope and lowered the rope to me. BSB BSB: Then Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the king’s palace, to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
12 ARST Then Ebed- Melek called down to me,“Put these rags underneath your armpits, to protect you from being injured by the ropes!” So Jeremiah did that. BSB BSB: Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Put these worn-out rags and clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,
13 ARST Then they pulled him out of the well. So he stayed in the courtyard where the palace guards were. BSB BSB: and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
14 ARST One day King Zedekiah summoned Jeremiah, and he was brought to the king, who was waiting for him at the entrance of the temple. He said to Jeremiah,“I want to ask you something. I want you to answer me truthfully, and to not conceal anything.” BSB BSB: Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”
15 ARST Jeremiah replied,“If I tell you the truth, you will command that I be executed. And if I give you good advice, you will not pay attention to what I say.” BSB BSB: “If I tell you,” Jeremiah replied, “you will surely put me to death. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
16 ARST But King Zedekiah secretly promised him,“Tell me the truth! And as surely as Yahweh lives, I will not cause you to be executed, and I will not put you into the hands of those who are wanting to kill you.” BSB BSB: But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.”
17 ARST So then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,“This is what Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, says:‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, you and your family will be spared, and this city will not be burned. BSB BSB: Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.
18 ARST But if you refuse to surrender to them, you will not escape. And the army from Babylonia will capture this city and completely burn it.’” BSB BSB: But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.’”
19 ARST The king replied,“But I am afraid to surrender to the soldiers from Babylon, because their officers may put me into the hands of the people of Judah who have already joined the soldiers from Babylonia, and those people from Judah will mistreat me.” BSB BSB: But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may deliver me into their hands to abuse me.”
20 ARST Jeremiah replied,“If you obey Yahweh by doing what I tell you to do, they will not put you into the hands of our people. Things will go well for you, and you will remain alive. BSB BSB: “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the voice of the LORD in what I am telling you, that it may go well with you and you may live.
21 ARST But if you refuse to surrender, I will tell you what Yahweh has revealed to me. BSB BSB: But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:
22 ARST All the women who remain in your palace will be brought out and given to the officers of the king of Babylon. Then those women will say to you:‘You had friends whom you thought you could trust, but they have deceived you and caused you to make a wrong decision. Now it is as though you are stuck in mud, and your friends have abandoned you.’ BSB BSB: All the women who remain in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon, and those women will say: ‘They misled you and overcame you—those trusted friends of yours. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.’
23 ARST All of your wives and children in the city will be led out to the soldiers from Babylonia, and you also will not escape. The soldiers of the king of Babylon will seize you, and they will burn down this city.” BSB BSB: All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.”
24 ARST Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah,“Do not tell anyone what you told me; if you tell anyone, the king’ s officials may kill you. BSB BSB: Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die.
25 ARST If my officials find out that I talked to you, perhaps they will come to you and say,‘Tell us what you and the king were talking about. If you do not tell us, we will kill you.’ BSB BSB: If the officials hear that I have spoken with you, and they come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what he said to you; do not hide it from us, or we will kill you,’
26 ARST If that happens, just tell them that you pleaded with me not to send you back to the dungeon in Jonathan’ s house, because you were afraid that you would die if you were put there again.” BSB BSB: then tell them, ‘I was presenting to the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”
27 ARST And that is what happened. The king’ s officials came to Jeremiah and asked why the king had summoned him. But he told them what the king told him to tell them. So they did not ask Jeremiah any more questions, because no one had heard what the king and Jeremiah had said to each other. BSB BSB: When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he relayed to them the exact words the king had commanded him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had overheard the conversation.
28 ARST So Jeremiah remained being guarded in the courtyard of the palace, until the day that the army of Babylonia captured Jerusalem. BSB BSB: And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.