rsv Jeremiah:38-39 SEEK
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Now Shephati '
ah the son of Mattan ,
Gedali '
ah the son of Pashhur ,
Jucal the son of Shelemi '
ah ,
and Pashhur the son of Malchi '
ah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people ,
* "
Thus says the LORD ,
He who stays in this city shall die by the sword ,
by famine ,
and by pestilence ;
but he who goes out to the Chalde '
ans shall live ;
he shall have his life as a prize of war ,
and live .
*
Thus says the LORD ,
This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken ."
*
Then the princes said to the king , "
Let this man be put to death ,
for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city ,
and the hands of all the people ,
by speaking such words to them .
For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people ,
but their harm ."
*
King Zedeki '
ah said , "
Behold ,
he is in your hands ;
for the king can do nothing against you ."
*
So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchi '
ah ,
the king '
s son ,
which was in the court of the guard ,
letting Jeremiah down by ropes .
And there was no water in the cistern ,
but only mire ,
and Jeremiah sank in the mire .
*
When E '
bed-mel '
ech the Ethiopian ,
a eunuch ,
who was in the king '
s house ,
heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern--the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate --
*
E '
bed-mel '
ech went from the king '
s house and said to the king ,
* "
My lord the king ,
these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern ;
and he will die there of hunger ,
for there is no bread left in the city ."
*
Then the king commanded E '
bed-mel '
ech ,
the Ethiopian , "
Take three men with you from here ,
and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies ."
*
So E '
bed-mel '
ech took the men with him and went to the house of the king ,
to a wardrobe of the storehouse ,
and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes ,
which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes .
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Then E '
bed-mel '
ech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah , "
Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes ."
Jeremiah did so .
*
Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern .
And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard .
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King Zedeki '
ah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD .
The king said to Jeremiah , "
I will ask you a question ;
hide nothing from me ."
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Jeremiah said to Zedeki '
ah , "
If I tell you ,
will you not be sure to put me to death ?
And if I give you counsel ,
you will not listen to me ."
*
Then King Zedeki '
ah swore secretly to Jeremiah , "
As the LORD lives ,
who made our souls ,
I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life ."
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Then Jeremiah said to Zedeki '
ah , "
Thus says the LORD ,
the God of hosts ,
the God of Israel ,
If you will surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon ,
then your life shall be spared ,
and this city shall not be burned with fire ,
and you and your house shall live .
*
But if you do not surrender to the princes of the king of Babylon ,
then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chalde '
ans ,
and they shall burn it with fire ,
and you shall not escape from their hand ."
*
King Zedeki '
ah said to Jeremiah , "
I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chalde '
ans ,
lest I be handed over to them and they abuse me ."
*
Jeremiah said , "
You shall not be given to them .
Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you ,
and it shall be well with you ,
and your life shall be spared .
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But if you refuse to surrender ,
this is the vision which the LORD has shown to me :
*
Behold ,
all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the princes of the king of Babylon and were saying , `
Your trusted friends have deceived you and prevailed against you ;
now that your feet are sunk in the mire ,
they turn away from you .'
*
All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chalde '
ans ,
and you yourself shall not escape from their hand ,
but shall be seized by the king of Babylon ;
and this city shall be burned with fire ."
*
Then Zedeki '
ah said to Jeremiah , "
Let no one know of these words and you shall not die .
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If the princes hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you , `
Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you ;
hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death ,'
*
then you shall say to them , `
I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there .'"
*
Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him ,
and he answered them as the king had instructed him .
So they left off speaking with him ,
for the conversation had not been overheard .
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And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken .
*
In the ninth year of Zedeki '
ah king of Judah ,
in the tenth month ,
Nebuchadrez '
zar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it ;
*
in the eleventh year of Zedeki '
ah ,
in the fourth month ,
on the ninth day of the month ,
a breach was made in the city .
*
When Jerusalem was taken ,
all the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate :
Ner '
gal-share '
zer ,
Sam '
gar-ne '
bo ,
Sar '
sechim the Rab '
saris ,
Ner '
gal-share '
zer the Rabmag ,
with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon .
*
When Zedeki '
ah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them ,
they fled ,
going out of the city at night by way of the king '
s garden through the gate between the two walls ;
and they went toward the Arabah .
*
But the army of the Chalde '
ans pursued them ,
and overtook Zedeki '
ah in the plains of Jericho ;
and when they had taken him ,
they brought him up to Nebuchadrez '
zar king of Babylon ,
at Riblah ,
in the land of Hamath ;
and he passed sentence upon him .
*
The king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedeki '
ah at Riblah before his eyes ;
and the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah .
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He put out the eyes of Zedeki '
ah ,
and bound him in fetters to take him to Babylon .
*
The Chalde '
ans burned the king '
s house and the house of the people ,
and broke down the walls of Jerusalem .
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Then Nebu '
zarad '
an ,
the captain of the guard ,
carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city ,
those who had deserted to him ,
and the people who remained .
*
Nebu '
zarad '
an ,
the captain of the guard ,
left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing ,
and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time .
*
Nebuchadrez '
zar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebu '
zarad '
an ,
the captain of the guard ,
saying ,
* "
Take him ,
look after him well and do him no harm ,
but deal with him as he tells you ."
*
So Nebu '
zarad '
an the captain of the guard ,
Nebushaz '
ban the Rab '
saris ,
Ner '
gal-share '
zer the Rabmag ,
and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon
*
sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard .
They entrusted him to Gedali '
ah the son of Ahi '
kam ,
son of Shaphan ,
that he should take him home .
So he dwelt among the people .
*
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard :
* "
Go ,
and say to E '
bed-mel '
ech the Ethiopian , `
Thus says the LORD of hosts ,
the God of Israel :
Behold ,
I will fulfil my words against this city for evil and not for good ,
and they shall be accomplished before you on that day .
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But I will deliver you on that day ,
says the LORD ,
and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid .
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For I will surely save you ,
and you shall not fall by the sword ;
but you shall have your life as a prize of war ,
because you have put your trust in me ,
says the LORD .'"
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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebu '
zarad '
an the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah ,
when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon .