Jeremiah 38:1-6 ▼

1 And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying,

2 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as spoil and stay alive.’

3 Thus says Yahweh, ‘This city will certainly be given into the hand of the military force of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’”

4 Then the officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is making the hands of the men of war who remain in this city as well as the hands of all the people limp, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking peace for this people but rather calamity.”

5 So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you.”

6 Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mire, and Jeremiah sank into the mire.