14 Chaldeans." And Jeremiah said, "It is false; I am not going over to the Chaldeans." But he hearkened not to him; so Irijah took Jeremiah and brought him to 15 the princes. And the princes were enraged against Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan, the scribe; for they had made that a prison.

16

And when Jeremiah had gone into the dungeon, and into the cells, and had remained there a long time, 17 then Zedekiah, the king, sent and took him out; and the king asked him in his house privately, and said, "Hast thou any word from Jehovah?" And Jeremiah said, "I have." And he said, "Into the hand of the 18 king of Babylon shalt thou be delivered." And Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, What offence have I committed against thee, or against thy servants, or against 19 this people, that ye have put me in prison? And where are your prophets, who prophesied to you, saying, "The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor 20 against this land?" But now hear, I pray thee, my lord the king! let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee, and cause me not to return to the 21 house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there! Then Zedekiah, the king, commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the ba-, kers' street, until all the bread in the city should be consumed. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

14*

XXXVI.

Jeremiah is cast into prison for counselling submission to the Chaldeans. CH. XXXVIII.

1 AND 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 which 2 Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying; "Thus saith Jehovah; He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and he shall 3 retain his life as a prey, and shall live. Thus saith Jehovah; This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take 4 it." Then said the princes to 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 to them; for this man seeketh not the welfare of 5 this people, but their hurt." Then Zedekiah, the king, said, “Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not 6 one that can do any thing in opposition to you." Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the prison; and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but only mire; and Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

7

And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was then in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the dungeon; and the king was sitting 8 in the gate of Benjamin. Then Ebedmelech went

forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, 9 saying; "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; for he was already almost dead in his place for hunger; for there is no 10 more bread in the city." Then the king commanded Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, saying; "Take along with thee thirty men from hence, and take up Jeremiah, the prophet, out of the dungeon, before he die." 11 And Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the king's house under the store-room, and took from thence torn rags and worn out rags, and let them 12 down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah, Put now these torn and worn out rags under thy knuckles under 13 the cords. And Jeremiah did so. And they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

14 And king Zedekiah sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entrance, which is in the house of Jehovah; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I 15 will ask thee a question; hide nothing from me!” And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, " When I have told thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give 16 thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken to me." Then king Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, "As Jehovah liveth, who made for us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand 17 of these men, that seek thy life." Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah; Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt go forth to the chieftains of the king of Babylon, then shalt thou live; and this city

shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, 18 thou and thine house. But if thou wilt not go forth to the chieftains of the king of Babylon, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not 19 escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah, the king, said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews, who have gone over to the Chaldeans, lest I should be delivered 20 into their hand, and they should mock me. And Jeremiah said, Thou shalt not be delivered up to them. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of Jehovah in what I speak to thee; so shall it be well with thee, and thou 21 shalt live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is what 22 Jehovah hath revealed to me. Behold, all the women,

that are left in the house of the king of Judah, shall be brought forth to the chieftains of the king of Babylon, and shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee; thy feet are sunk in the mire; 23 they go backward." And all thy wives and thy children shall they bring out to the Chaldeans, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be taken; and thou shalt 24 cause this city to be burned with fire. Then said Zedekiah to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, 25 and thou shalt not die. But if the princes shall hear that I have talked with thee, and shall come to thee, and say to thee," Tell us, we pray thee, what thou hast said to the king; hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; and what the king hath said to thee; 26 then shalt thou say to them, "I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to 27 return to the house of Jonathan to die there." Then

came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all those words, which the

king had commanded. And they said no more to him, 28 for the matter was not known. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison to the day when Jerusalem was taken.

XXXVII.

The destruction of Jerusalem, and what happened to the king, and to Jeremiah.. CH. XXXIX.

1

AND it came to pass, when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Baby2 lon, and all his army against Jerusalem, and besieged it; and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, was the city 3 broken into ;) that all the chieftains of the king of Babylon came, and stationed themselves in the middle gate, Nergalsharezar, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, prefect of the eunuchs, Nergalsharezer, prefect of the magians, and all 4 the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. And when Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and all the men of war saw them, they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls; and they went forth 5 toward the plain. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him, and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment concerning him. 6 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah at