Yirmeyahu 38 ירמיהו ל״ח

Then Shefatya the son of Mattan, and Gedalyahu the son of Pashĥur and Yukhal the son of Shelemyahu, and Pashĥur the son of Malkiyya, heard the words that Yirmeyahu had spoken to all the people, saying,

Thus says the Lord, He that remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goes over to the Kasdim shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

Thus says the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Bavel, who shall take it.

Therefore the princes said to the king, We pray thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man seeks not the welfare of this people, but their hurt.

Then Żidqiyyahu, the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king can do nothing against you.

Then they took Yirmeyahu and cast him into the pit of Malkiyyahu the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard: and they let Yirmeyahu down with ropes. And in the pit there was no water, but only mire; and Yirmeyahu sank in the mire.

Now when ῾Eved-melekh the Kushi, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Yirmeyahu in the pit; (the king was sitting in the gate of Binyamin)

then ῾Eved-melekh went out of the king’s house, and spoke to the king, saying,

My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Yirmeyahu the prophet, whom they have cast into the pit; and he may well die there of hunger: seeing that there is no more bread in the city.

Then the king commanded ῾Eved-melekh the Kushi, saying, Take from here thirty men with thee, and take up Yirmeyahu the prophet out of the pit, before he dies.

So ῾Eved-melekh took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old rags and worn out clothes, and let them down by ropes into the pit to Yirmeyahu.

And ῾Eved-melekh the Kushi said to Yirmeyahu, Put now these old rags and clothes into thy armpits under the ropes. And Yirmeyahu did so.

So they drew up Yirmeyahu with the ropes, and took him up out of the pit: and Yirmeyahu remained in the court of the guard.

Then Żidqiyyahu the king sent, and took Yirmeyahu the prophet to him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said to Yirmeyahu, I will ask thee something; hide nothing from me.

Then Yirmeyahu said to Żidqiyyahu, If I declare it to thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken to me.

So Żidqiyyahu the king swore secretly to Yirmeyahu, saying, As the Lord lives, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

Then Yirmeyahu said to Żidqiyyahu, Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Yisra᾽el; If thou wilt indeed go out to the princes of the king of Bavel, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou and thy house shall live:

but if thou wilt not go out to the princes of the king of Bavel, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Kasdim, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

And Żidqiyyahu the king said to Yirmeyahu, I am afraid of the men of Yehuda who have deserted to the Kasdim, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they torture me.

But Yirmeyahu said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey now the voice of the Lord, which I speak to thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.

But if thou refuse to go out, this is the word that the Lord has shown me.

And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Yehuda’s house shall be brought out to the princes of the king of Bavel, and those women shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back.

So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Kasdim: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Bavel: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

Then Żidqiyyahu said to Yirmeyahu, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.

But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come to thee, and say to thee, Tell us now what thou hast said to the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; and also what the king said to thee:

then thou shalt say to them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Yonatan’s house, to die there.

Then all the princes came to Yirmeyahu and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not overheard.

So Yirmeyahu remained in the court of the guard until the day that Yerushalayim was taken: And he was there when Yerushalayim was taken.