Jeremiah 38:7-28

7But 1Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, 2a 3eunuch, while he was in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Now the king was sitting in the 4Gate of Benjamin; 8and Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and spoke to the king, saying, 9“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he 5will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is 6no more bread in the city.” 10Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take thirty men from here 7under your authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.” 11So Ebed-melech took the men under his 8authority and went into the king’s palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes”; and Jeremiah did so. 13So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the 9court of the guardhouse.

14Then King Zedekiah 10sent and 11had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to 12ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “13If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in 14secret saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this 1516life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of 17these men who are seeking your 18life.”

17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord 19God of hosts, the 20God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed 21go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then 22you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will 23survive. 18But if you will 24not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city 25will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and 26you yourself will not escape from their hand.’” 19Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I 27dread the Jews who have 2829gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will 30abuse me.” 20But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please 3132obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go 33well with you and 3435you may live. 21But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22‘Then behold, all of the 36women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the 37officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say, “38Your close friends Have misled and overpowered you; While your feet were sunk in the mire, They turned back.” 23They will also bring out all your wives and your 39sons to the Chaldeans, and 40you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and 41this city will be burned with fire.’”

24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about these words and you will not die. 25But if the 42officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26then you are to say to them, ‘I was 43presenting my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him, since the 44conversation had not been overheard. 28So Jeremiah 45stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured.