1Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,
2“Yahweh says, ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by sword, famine, and disease; but whoever goes out to the Babylonians will live, and their life will be like a prize to them, and they will live.’
3Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’”
4Then the officials said to the king, “Please, this man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who remain in this city and all the people by speaking such words to them. This man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their harm.”
5King Zedekiah replied, “Look, he is in your hands; the king cannot do anything to oppose you.”
6Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchijah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes. Inside the cistern there was no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.
7Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a palace official who worked in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern (the king was at that time sitting at the Benjamin Gate),
8Ebedmelech left the king's house and spoke to the king, saying,
9"My lord the king, these men have done evil in everything they have done to Jeremiah the prophet by throwing him into the cistern. He will likely die of hunger where he is, because there is no more bread left in the city."
10Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, "Take thirty men with you from here and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."
11So Ebedmelech took the men with him and went into the king's house, to a room below the treasury. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
12Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Please put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms, under the ropes." Jeremiah did so.
13So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and brought him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
14Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance of Yahweh's house. The king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something. Do not hide anything from me."
15Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, won't you surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."
16So King Zedekiah secretly swore to Jeremiah, saying, "As Yahweh lives, who gave us this life, I will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who want to kill you."
17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'If you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned with fire. You will live, along with your house.
18But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire. You will not escape from their grasp.'"
19King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, because they might hand me over to them, and they will make fun of me."
20But Jeremiah said, "They will not hand you over. Please obey Yahweh's voice in what I am telling you. Then it will go well for you, and your life will be spared.
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is what Yahweh has shown me:
22'Look, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And those women will say, "Your close friends have misled you and overpowered you. Your feet are stuck in the mud; they have abandoned you."
23They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You will not escape from their grasp, but you will be captured by the king of Babylon. And you will cause this city to be burned with fire.'"
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about these words, and you will not die.
25But if the officials hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and tell you, 'Tell us now what you said to the king; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also, tell us what the king said to you,'"
26then you must tell them, ‘I asked the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house, so I wouldn't die there.’
27Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him. He told them everything just as the king had commanded. They stopped talking with him because they did not understand the situation.
28So Jeremiah stayed in the guard's courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.