Study Desk

And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should let his male slave go free and each man his female slave, so that no one should enslave them any longer; they obeyed and let them go free.

So we have listened to the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,

But it happened that when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, let us come to Jerusalem before the military force of the Chaldeans and before the military force of the Arameans.' So we have inhabited Jerusalem."

"The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are established. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have listened to their father's command. But I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; yet you have not listened to Me.

So you shall go and read from the scroll, which you have written at my dictation, the words of Yahweh in the hearing of the people in the house of Yahweh on a fast day. And also you shall read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who come from their cities.

So Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of Yahweh in the house of Yahweh.

Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people and come." So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to them.

And they said to him, "Sit down, please, and read it in our hearing." So Baruch read it in their hearing.

So they went to the king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they declared all the words in the hearing of the king.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh's military force had come out from Egypt; and the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them. So they withdrew from Jerusalem.

But Jeremiah said, "A lie! I am not going over to the Chaldeans"; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard and gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city had come to an end. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

So King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you."

So Ebed-melech took the men in his hand 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.

Then 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.

So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and brought him up from the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard.

Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he told them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him since the conversation had not been overheard.

So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.

So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the Rab-saris and Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon;

they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard and gave him over to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.