Study Desk

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,^(a) all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control,^(b) and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities:

"This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon,^(c) and he will burn it down.

As for you, you will not escape from his hand but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face;^[a](d) you will go to Babylon.

"Yet hear the Lord 's word, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;

you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you.^(e) ‘Our king is dead!'^[b] will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word." This is the Lord 's declaration.

So Jeremiah the prophet related all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem

while the king of Babylon's army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah's remaining cities—against Lachish and Azekah,^(f) for they were the only ones left of Judah's fortified cities.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom^(g) to them,

so each man would free his male and female Hebrew slaves and no one would enslave his Judean brother.^(h)

All the officials and people who entered into covenant to free their male and female slaves—in order not to enslave them any longer—obeyed and freed them.

Afterward, however, they changed their minds and took back their male and female slaves they had freed and forced them to become slaves again.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord :

"This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant⁽ⁱ⁾ with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying:

At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself^[c] to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you.^(j) But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention.

Today you repented and did what pleased Me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me^(k) at the temple called by My name.^(l)

But you have changed your minds^(m) and profaned My name.⁽ⁿ⁾ Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been freed to go wherever they wanted, and you have again subjugated them to be your slaves.

"Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you"^(o)—this is the Lord 's declaration—"to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth's kingdoms.

As for those who disobeyed My covenant,^(p) not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.^(q)

The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf

will be handed over to their enemies, to those who want to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.^(r)

I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who want to take their lives, to the king of Babylon's army that is withdrawing.

I am about to give the command"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down.^(s) I will make Judah's cities a desolation,^(t) without inhabitant."

Zedekiah son of Josiah^(a) reigned as king in the land of Judah^(b) in place of Jehoiachin^[a](c) son of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made him king.

He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord ^(d) that He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal^(e) son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah^(f) son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, requesting, "Please pray to the Lord our God for us!"

Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks^[b] among the people, for they had not yet put him into the prison.^(g)

Pharaoh's army had left Egypt,^(h) and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:

"This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah's king,⁽ⁱ⁾ who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh's army, which has come out to help you,^(j) is going to return to its own land of Egypt.

The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.^(k)

This is what the Lord says: Don't deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,' for they will not leave.

Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you,^(l) and there remained among them only the badly wounded^[c] men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city down."

When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,

Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there^(m) among the people.

But when he was at the Benjamin Gate,⁽ⁿ⁾ an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans."

"That's a lie," Jeremiah replied. "I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!" Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials.

The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan^(o) the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.

So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon^(p) and stayed there many days.

King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, "Is there a word from the Lord ?"^(q) "There is," Jeremiah responded, and he continued, "You will be handed over to the king of Babylon."^(r)

Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison?

Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land'?^(s)

So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you.^(t) Don't send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there."

So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard's courtyard.^(u) He was given a loaf of bread each day from the baker's street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard.

Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal^[a] son of Shelemiah,^(a) and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was speaking to all the people:

"This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will keep his life like the spoils of war and will live.'^(b)

This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will most certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon's army,^(c) and he will capture it.'"

The officials then said to the king, "This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not seeking the well-being of this people, but disaster."^(d)

King Zedekiah said, "Here he is; he's in your hands since the king can't do anything against you."

So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the guard's courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.^(e)

But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official employed in the king's palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,^(f)

Ebed-melech went from the king's palace and spoke to the king:

"My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city."^(g)

So the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Cushite, "Take from here 30 men under your authority and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies."

So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went to the king's palace to a place below the storehouse.^[b] From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, "Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes." Jeremiah did so,

and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he continued to stay in the guard's courtyard.

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the Lord 's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something; don't hide anything from me."

Jeremiah replied to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, you will kill me, won't you? Besides, if I give you advice, you won't listen to me anyway."

King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private,^(h) "As the Lord lives, who has given us this life,⁽ⁱ⁾ I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who want to take your life."

Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, "This is what the Lord , the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon,^(j) then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.

But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape from them.'"

But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am worried about the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me."^(k)

"They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the voice of the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live.

But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict^[c] that the Lord has shown me:

‘All the women^[d] who remain in the palace of Judah's king will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon and will say: Your trusted friends^[e] misled^[f] you and overcame you. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.

All your wives and sons will be brought out to the Chaldeans.^(l) You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn down.'"

Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about these things or you will die.

If the officials hear that I have spoken with you^(m) and come and demand of you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king; don't hide anything from us and we won't kill you. Also, what did the king say to you?'

then you will tell them, ‘I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"⁽ⁿ⁾

When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he reported the exact words to them the king had commanded, and they quit speaking with him because nothing had been heard.

Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.^[g]