Jeremiah in the Dungeon
38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of
Pashhur, Jucal[a] the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard
the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the
Lord: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by
pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be
as a prize to him, and he shall live.’[b] 3 Thus says the Lord: ‘This city
shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall
take it.’”
4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this
man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain
in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them.
For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand.
For the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him
into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s[c] son, which was in the court of the
prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no
water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.
7 Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was
in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the
king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, 8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s
house and spoke to the king, saying: 9 “My lord the king, 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 likely to die from hunger in the place where he is.
For there is no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech
the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah
the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-Melech took the men
with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from
there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to
Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these
old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And
Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet
brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king
said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will
you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen
to me.”
16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying,
“As the Lord lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor
will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the
God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of
Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned
with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to
the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of
the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from
their hand.’”
19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of
the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their
hand, and they abuse me.”
20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please,
obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you,
and your soul shall live. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word
that the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Now behold, all the women who are left in the
king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes,
and those women shall say:
“Your close friends have set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have turned away again.”
23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and children to
the Chaldeans. You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the
hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with
fire.’”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these
words, and you shall not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked
with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have
said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us,
and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I presented
my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan’s
house to die there.’”
27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And
he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they
stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard. 28 Now
Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was
taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
The Fall of Jerusalem
39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth
month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem,
and besieged it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on
the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated.
3 Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and
sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris,[d]
Nergal-Sarezer, Rabmag,[e] with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
4 So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men
of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of
the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of
the plain.[f] 5 But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the
plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he
pronounced judgment on him. 6 Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of
Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the
nobles of Judah. 7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with
bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the
king’s house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls
of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive
to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who
defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained. 10 But Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had
nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Jeremiah Goes Free
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning
Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him and look
after him, and do him no harm; but do to him just as he says to you.” 13 So
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris,
Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers; 14 then
they sent someone to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed
him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him
home. So he dwelt among the people.
15 Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while
he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 16 “Go and speak to
Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for
good, and they shall be performed in that day before you. 17 But I will deliver
you in that day,” says the Lord, “and you shall not be given into the hand of
the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely deliver you, and you shall
not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you
have put your trust in Me,” says the Lord.’”
Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor
40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had
taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from
Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.
2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to
him: “The Lord your God has pronounced this doom on this place. 3 Now the Lord
has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned
against the Lord, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon
you. 4 And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your
hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look
after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain
here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient
for you to go, go there.”
5 Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan
said, “Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king
of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among
the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain
of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went
to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people
who were left in the land.
7 And when all the captains of the armies who were in the
fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah
the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women,
children, and the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to
Babylon, 8 then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah,
Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons
of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah[g] the son of a Maachathite, they and
their men. 9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath
before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell
in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10 As
for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us.
But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and
dwell in your cities that you have taken.” 11 Likewise, when all the Jews who
were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries,
heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set
over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, 12 then all the Jews
returned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of
Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.
13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains
of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, 14 and said
to him, “Do you certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did
not believe them.
15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah
in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the
Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the remnant in Judah
perish?”
16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of
Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning
Ishmael.”
A Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A Contemplation[a] of Asaph.
74 O God, why have You cast us off forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of
old,
The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed—
This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.
3 Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.
The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place;
They set up their banners for signs.
5 They seem like men who lift up
Axes among the thick trees.
6 And now they break down its carved work, all at once,
With axes and hammers.
7 They have set fire to Your sanctuary;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the
ground.
8 They said in their hearts,
“Let us destroy them altogether.”
They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the
land.
9 We do not see our signs;
There is no longer any prophet;
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
10 O God, how long will the adversary reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?
11 Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them.
12 For God is my King from of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.
14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces,
And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the
wilderness.
15 You broke open the fountain and the flood;
You dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You have set all the borders of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O Lord,
And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.
19 Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the
wild beast!
Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
20 Have respect to the covenant;
For the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of
cruelty.
21 Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed!
Let the poor and needy praise Your name.
22 Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man reproaches You daily.
23 Do not forget the voice of Your enemies;
The tumult of those who rise up against You increases
continually.
A Dirge and a Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance;
Your holy temple they have defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
2 The dead bodies of Your servants
They have given as food for the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3 Their blood they have shed like water all around
Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and derision to those who are around us.
5 How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.
8 Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
For the glory of Your name;
And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
For Your name’s sake!
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight
The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been
shed.
11 Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power
Preserve those who are appointed to die;
12 And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom
Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
13 So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will show forth Your praise to all generations.
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