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Jeremiah 38:1-9

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^aJucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^bPashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^cHe who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence ^dbut he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the Lord: ^eThis city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4 Then the officials said to the king, ^f“Let this man be put to death, ^gfor he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^hthe welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands ⁱfor the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah ^jand cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in ^kthe court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^lby ropes. ^mAnd there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ⁿJeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

7 When ^oEbed-melech ^pthe Ethiopian, ^qa eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^rin the Benjamin Gate— 8 ^sEbed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of ^thunger ^ufor there is no bread left in the city.”