¹Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words which Jeremiah spoke to all the people, when he said, ²“This is what the Lord says: ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. But he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live, and his life will be his spoil, and he will live.’ ³This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be delivered into the hand of the forces of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’ ” ⁴At this the officials said to the king, “Do have this man put to death, for in this way he is weakening the resolve of the warriors who remain in this city, and the resolve of all the people by speaking such words to them, for this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their detriment.” ⁵Then King Zedekiah said, “Look, he is in your hands, for the king will not impose anything on you.” ⁶And they took Jeremiah, and they threw him into the pit of Malchijah the king's son, which is in the prison courtyard, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now there wasn't water in the pit, but mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. ⁷Then when Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the pit, while the king was sitting at Benjamin's Gate, ⁸Ebed-Melech went out of the king's house and spoke to the king and said, ⁹“My lord the king, these men have done wrong with everything they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, in that they have thrown him into the pit, and he will die where he is because of the famine, for there is no bread in the city any more.” ¹⁰Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian and said, “Take under your authority from here thirty men, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the pit before he dies.” ¹¹So Ebed-Melech took the men under his authority and went to the king's house, to a cellar under the treasury, and he took from there worn-out threadbare clothes and worn-out decayed garments, and he let them down by ropes into the pit to Jeremiah. ¹²And Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these worn-out threadbare and decayed clothes under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. ¹³And they pulled Jeremiah up by the cords and lifted him out of the pit. And Jeremiah remained in the prison courtyard. ¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent men and had Jeremiah the prophet come to him, at the third entrance to the house of the Lord, and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am about to ask you something. Do not conceal anything from me.” ¹⁵And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not make a point of putting me to death? And if I advise you, you won't heed me.” ¹⁶At this, King Zedekiah swore in secret to Jeremiah and said, “As the Lord lives, who gave this life, I certainly will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” ¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you single-mindedly go out to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you yourself will live, and this city will not be burned by fire, and you and your household will live. ¹⁸But if you do not go out to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hands.’ ” ¹⁹Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am uneasy about the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans – that they will deliver me into their hands, and that they will maltreat me.” ²⁰And Jeremiah said, “They will not deliver you. Please listen to the voice of the Lord which I am speaking to you, for things to go well with you, and so that you yourself will live. ²¹But if you refuse to go out, this is the scenario which the Lord has shown me, ²²as follows: all the women who remained in the king of Judah's house were brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon, and there the women were, saying,

‘The men who were well-disposed to you

Misled you and won you over,

And your feet have sunk in the mire.

They have slidden back.’

²³And the men were bringing out all your wives and your sons to the Chaldeans. So you will not escape from their hands, for you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and you will, in effect, burn this city with fire.” ²⁴Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about these words, and you will not die. ²⁵But if the officials hear that I have spoken with you, or they come to you and say to you, ‘Please tell us what you have said to the king. Do not withhold anything from us, and we will not put you to death, and tell us what the king has said to you’, ²⁶then you will say to them, ‘I made supplication before the king that he should not send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.’ ” ²⁷And all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he told them all these words which the king had commanded him, and they desisted from him, for the matter was not adverted to. ²⁸And Jeremiah remained in the enclosure of the prison until the day when Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when Jerusalem was captured.