Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern 2 Brenton Thus saith the Lord; He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine: but he that goes out to the Chaldeans shall live; and his soul shall be given him for a found treasure, and he shall live. 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 Brenton For thus saith the Lord; This city shall certainly be delivered into the hands of the host of the king of Babylon, and they shall take it. 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 Brenton And they said to the king, Let that man, we pray thee, be slain, for he weakens the hands of the fighting men that are left in the city, and the hands of all the people, speaking to them according to these words: for this man does not prophesy peace to this people, but evil. 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 Brenton Then the king said, Behold, he is in your hands. For the king could not resist them. BSB BSB: “Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.”
6 Brenton And they cast him into the dungeon of Melchias the king's son, which was in the court of the prison; and they let him down into the pit: and there was no water in the pit, but mire: and he was in the mire. 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 Brenton And Abdemelech the Ethiopian heard, (now he was in the king's household,) that they had put Jeremias into the dungeon; and the king was in the gate of Benjamin: 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 Brenton and he went forth to him, and spoke to the king and said, BSB BSB: Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king,
9 Brenton Thou hast done evil in what thou hast done to slay this man with hunger: for there is no more bread in the city. 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 Brenton And the king commanded Abdemelech, saying, Take with thee hence thirty men, and bring him up out of the dungeon, that he die not. 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 Brenton So Abdemelech took the men, and went into the underground part of the king's house, and took thence old rags and old ropes, and threw them to Jeremias into the dungeon. 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 Brenton And he said, Put these under the ropes. And Jeremias did so. 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 Brenton And they drew him with the ropes, and lifted him out of the dungeon: and Jeremias remained in the court of the prison. 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 Brenton Then the king sent, and called him to himself into the house of Aselisel, which was in the house of the Lord: and the king said to him, I will ask thee a question, and I pray thee hide nothing from me. 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 Brenton And Jeremias said to the king, If I tell thee, wilt thou not certainly put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not at all hearken to me. 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 Brenton And the king swore to him, saying, As the Lord lives who gave us this soul, I will not slay thee, neither will I give thee into the hands of these men. 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 Brenton And Jeremias said to him, Thus saith the Lord; If thou wilt indeed go forth to the captains of the king of Babylon, thy soul shall live, and this city shall certainly not be burnt with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house. 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 Brenton But if thou wilt not go forth, this city shall be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt by no means escape. 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 Brenton And the king said to Jeremias, I consider the Jews that have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands, and they mock 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 Brenton And Jeremias said, They shall in no wise deliver thee up. Hear the word of the Lord which I speak to thee; and it shall be better for thee, and thy soul shall live. 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 Brenton But if thou wilt not go forth, this is the word which the Lord has shewn me. BSB BSB: But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:
22 Brenton And, behold, all the women that are left in the house of the king of Juda were brought forth to the princes of the king of Babylon; and they said, The men who were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and will prevail against thee; and they shall cause thy foot to slide and fail, they have turned back from thee. 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 Brenton And they shall bring forth thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt by no means escape, for thou shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burnt. 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 Brenton Then the king said to him, Let no man know any of these words, and certainly thou shalt not die. BSB BSB: Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die.
25 Brenton And if the princes shall hear that I have spoken to thee, and they come to thee, and say to thee, Tell us, what said the king to thee? hide it not from us, and we will in no wise slay thee, and what said the king to thee? 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 Brenton Then thou shalt say to them, I brought my supplication before the presence of the king, that he would not send me back into the house of Jonathan, that I should die there. 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 Brenton And all the princes came to Jeremias, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words, which the king had commanded him. And they were silent, because the word of the Lord was not heard. 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 Brenton And Jeremias remained in the court of the prison, until the time when Jerusalem was taken. 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.