Jeremiah:38-40
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Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan ,
and Gedaliah the son of Pashur ,
and Jucal the son of Shelemiah ,
and Pashur the son of Malchiah ,
heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people ,
saying ,
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Thus saith the LORD ,
He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword ,
by the famine ra #
ab #,
and by the pestilence :
but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live ;
for he shall have his life for a prey ,
and shall live (
8675 ).
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Thus saith the LORD ,
This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylons army ,
which shall take it .
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Therefore the princes said unto the king ,
We beseech thee ,
let this man be put to death :
for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city ,
and the hands of all the people ,
in speaking such words unto them :
for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people ,
but the hurt .
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Then Zedekiah the king said ,
Behold ,
he is in your hand :
for the king is not he that can do any thing against you .
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Then took they Jeremiah ,
and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech ,
that was in the court of the prison :
and they let down Jeremiah with cords .
And in the dungeon there was no water ,
but mire :
so Jeremiah sunk in the mire .
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Now when Ebedmelech #
Ebedthe Ethiopian ,
one of the eunuchs which was in the kings house ,
heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon ;
the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin ;
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Ebedmelech #
Ebedwent forth out of the kings house ,
and spake to the king ,
saying ,
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My lord the king ,
these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet ,
whom they have cast into the dungeon ;
and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is :
for there is no more bread in the city .
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Then the king commanded Ebedmelech #
Ebedthe Ethiopian ,
saying ,
Take from hence thirty men with thee ,
and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon ,
before he die .
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So Ebedmelech #
Ebedtook the men with him ,
and went into the house of the king under the treasury ,
and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags ,
and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah .
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And Ebedmelech #
Ebedthe Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah ,
Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes #
H3027under the cords .
And Jeremiah did so .
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So they drew up Jeremiah with cords ,
and took him up out of the dungeon :
and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison .
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Then Zedekiah the king sent ,
and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD :
and the king said unto Jeremiah ,
I will ask thee a thing ;
hide nothing from me .
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Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah ,
If I declare it unto thee ,
wilt thou not surely put me to death ?
and if I give thee counsel ,
wilt thou not hearken unto me ?
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So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah ,
saying ,
As the LORD liveth ,
that made us this soul ,
I will not put thee to death ,
neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life .
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Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah ,
Thus saith the LORD ,
the God of hosts ,
the God of Israel Yisra #
el #;
If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylons princes ,
then thy soul shall live ,
and this city shall not be burned with fire ;
and thou shalt live ,
and thine house :
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But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylons princes ,
then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans ,
and they shall burn it with fire ,
and thou shalt not escape out of their hand .
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And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah ,
I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans ,
lest they deliver me into their hand ,
and they mock me .
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But Jeremiah said ,
They shall not deliver thee .
Obey ,
I beseech thee ,
the voice of the LORD ,
which I speak unto thee :
so it shall be well unto thee ,
and thy soul shall live .
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But if thou refuse to go forth ,
this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me :
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And ,
behold ,
all the women that are left in the king of Judahs house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylons princes ,
and those women shall say ,
Thy friends #
H7965have set thee on ,
and have prevailed against thee :
thy feet are sunk in the mire ,
and they are turned away back .
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So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans :
and thou shalt not escape out of their hand ,
but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon :
and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire .
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Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah ,
Let no man know of these words ,
and thou shalt not die .
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But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee ,
and they come unto thee ,
and say unto thee ,
Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king ,
hide it not from us ,
and we will not put thee to death ;
also what the king said unto thee :
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Then thou shalt say unto them ,
I presented my supplication before the king ,
that he would not cause me to return to Jonathans house ,
to die there .
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Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah ,
and asked him :
and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded .
So they left off speaking with him ;
for the matter was not perceived .
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So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken :
and he was there when Jerusalem was taken .
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In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah ,
in the tenth month ,
came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem ,
and they besieged it .
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And in the eleventh #
H6240year of Zedekiah ,
in the fourth month ,
the ninth day of the month ,
the city was broken up .
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And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in ,
and sat in the middle gate sha #
ar #,
even Nergalsharezer Nergal Shar #
etser #,
Samgarnebo Camgar ,
Sarsechim ,
Rabsaris Rab-Cariyc #,
Nergalsharezer Nergal Shar #
etser #,
Rabmag Rab-Mag #,
with all the residu #
H7611of the princes of the king of Babylon .
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And it came to pass ,
that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them ,
and all the men of war ,
then they fled ,
and went forth out of the city by night ,
by the way of the kings garden ,
by the gate betwixt the two walls :
and he went out the way of the plain .
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But the Chaldeans army pursued after them ,
and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho :
and when they had taken him ,
they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath ,
where he gave judgment upon him .
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Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes :
also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah .
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Moreover he put out Zedekiahs eyes ,
and bound him with chains ,
to carry him to Babylon .
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And the Chaldeans burned the kings house ,
and the houses of the people ,
with fire ,
and brake down the walls of Jerusalem .
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Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city ,
and those that fell away ,
that fell to him ,
with the rest of the people that remained .
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But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people ,
which had nothing ,
in the land of Judah ,
and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time .
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Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard ,
saying ,
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Take him ,
and look well #
H7760 to him ,
and do him no harm m @
uwmah #;
but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee .
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So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent ,
and Nebushasban ,
Rabsaris Rab-Cariyc #,
and Nergalsharezer Nergal Shar #
etser #,
Rabmag Rab-Mag #,
and all the king of Babylons princes ;
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Even they sent ,
and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison ,
and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan ,
that he should carry him home :
so he dwelt among the people .
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Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah ,
while he was shut up in the court of the prison ,
saying ,
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Go and speak to Ebedmelech #
Ebedthe Ethiopian ,
saying ,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ,
the God of Israel Yisra #
el #;
Behold ,
I will bring my words upon this city for evil ,
and not for good ;
and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee .
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But I will deliver thee in that day ,
saith the LORD :
and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid .
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For I will surely deliver thee ,
and thou shalt not fall by the sword ,
but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee :
because thou hast put thy trust in me ,
saith the LORD .
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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD ,
after that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah ,
when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah ,
which were carried away captive unto Babylon .
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And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah ,
and said unto him ,
The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place .
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Now the LORD hath brought it ,
and done according as he hath said :
because ye have sinned against the LORD ,
and have not obeyed his voice ,
therefore this thing is come upon you .
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And now ,
behold ,
I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand .
If it seem good towb #
unto thee to come with me into Babylon ,
come ;
and I will look well unto thee :
but if it seem ill ra #
unto thee to come with me into Babylon ,
forbear :
behold ,
all the land is before thee :
whither it seemeth good and convenient yashar #
for thee to go ,
thither go .
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Now while he was not yet gone back ,
he said ,
Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan ,
whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah ,
and dwell with him among the people :
or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient yashar #
unto thee to go .
So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward mas #
eth #,
and let him go .
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Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah ;
and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land .
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Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields ,
even they and their men ,
heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land ,
and had committed unto him men ,
and women ,
and children ,
and of the poor of the land ,
of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon ;
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Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah ,
even Ishmael Yishma #
e #
l #
the son of Nethaniah ,
and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah ,
and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth ,
and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite ,
and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite Ma #
akathiy #,
they and their men .
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And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men ,
saying ,
Fear not to serve the Chaldeans :
dwell in the land ,
and serve the king of Babylon ,
and it shall be well with you .
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As for me ,
behold ,
I will dwell at Mizpah to serve #
the Chaldeans ,
which will come unto us :
but ye ,
gather ye wine ,
and summer fruits ,
and oil ,
and put them in your vessels ,
and dwell in your cities that ye have taken .
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Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab Mow #
ab #,
and among the Ammonites ,
and in Edom ,
and that were in all the countries ,
heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah ,
and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan ;
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Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven ,
and came to the land of Judah ,
to Gedaliah ,
unto Mizpah ,
and gathered wine and summer fruits very much .
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Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah ,
and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields ,
came to Gedaliah to Mizpah ,
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And said unto him ,
Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites ben #
hath sent Ishmael Yishma #
e #
l #
the son of Nethaniah to slay thee ?
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not .
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Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly ,
saying ,
Let me go ,
I pray thee ,
and I will slay Ishmael Yishma #
e #
l #
the son of Nethaniah ,
and no man shall know it :
wherefore should he slay thee ,
that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered ,
and the remnant in Judah perish ?
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But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah ,
Thou shalt not do this thing :
for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael Yishma #
e #
l #.
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Now it came to pass in the seventh month ,
that Ishmael Yishma #
e #
l #
the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama ,
of the seed royal ,
and the princes of the king ,
even ten men with him ,
came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah ;
and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah .