Jeremiah:38-39
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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 ,
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 .
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Thus saith the LORD ,
This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon '
s 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 the Ethiopian ,
one of the eunuchs which was in the king '
s house ,
heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon ;
the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin ;
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Ebedmelech went forth out of the king '
s 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 the 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 took 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 the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah ,
Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under 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 ;
If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon '
s 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 Babylon '
s 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 Judah '
s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon '
s princes ,
and those women shall say ,
Thy friends have 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 Jonathan '
s 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 year 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 ,
even Nergalsharezer ,
Samgarnebo ,
Sarsechim ,
Rabsaris ,
Nergalsharezer ,
Rabmag ,
with all the residue of 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 king '
s 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 Zedekiah '
s eyes ,
and bound him with chains ,
to carry him to Babylon .
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And the Chaldeans burned the king '
s 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 to him ,
and do him no harm ;
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 ,
and Nergalsharezer ,
Rabmag ,
and all the king of Babylon '
s 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 the Ethiopian ,
saying ,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts ,
the God of Israel ;
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 .