1 And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,

2 Thus says Jehovah, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. But he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life as a prize, and shall live.

3 Thus says Jehovah: This city shall be given and bestowed into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall seize it.

4 Therefore the rulers said to the king, Please let this man be put to death. For in this way he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.

5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand. For the king cannot do a thing against you.

6 And they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit of Malchijah the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And there was no water in the pit, only mud. So Jeremiah sank into the mud.

7 And when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the officials in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the pit (the king was then sitting in the gate of Benjamin),

8 Ebed-melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying,

9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have thrown into the pit. And he is likely to die of hunger in the place where he is, for there is no more bread in the city.

10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take by your hand thirty men from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet up out of the pit before he dies.

11 So Ebed-melech took the men by his hand and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took worn out clothes and worn out rags from there, and let them down by ropes into the pit to Jeremiah.

12 And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Now put the worn out clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes. And Jeremiah did so.

13 So they drew up Jeremiah with ropes and took him up out of the pit. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

14 And Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third gate of the house of Jehovah. And the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask you something. Do not hide anything from me.

15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I declare it to you, will you not execute me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not give heed to me.

16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, Thus says Jehovah the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: If you will come out and go forth to the rulers of the king of Babylon, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire. And you and your house shall live.

18 But if you will not go forth to the rulers of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand.

19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.

20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. I beg of you, obey the voice of Jehovah which I am speaking to you; so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.

21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the Word that Jehovah has shown me:

22 Behold, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah shall be brought out to the rulers of the king of Babylon, and they shall say, Your friends have enticed you, and have prevailed against you. Your feet have sunk in the mire, and they have turned away.

23 So they shall bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. And you shall not escape out of their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And this city shall be burned with fire.

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and you shall not die.

25 But if the rulers hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death;

26 then you shall say to them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.

27 Then all the rulers came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they quit speaking with him; for the conversation had not been heard.

28 So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured. And he was there when Jerusalem was captured.

1 OUVIU pois Sefatias, filho de Matã, e Gedalias, filho de Pasur, e Jucal, filho de Selemias, e Pasur, filho de Malquias, as palavras que anunciava Jeremias a todo o povo, dizendo: 2 Assim diz o Senhor: O que ficar nesta cidade morrerá à espada, à fome e de pestilência: mas o que for para os caldeus viverá; porque a sua alma lhe será por despojo, e viverá. 3 Assim diz o Senhor: Esta cidade infalivelmente será entregue na mão do exército do rei de Babilônia, e ele a tomará. 4 E disseram os príncipes ao rei: Morra este homem, visto que ele assim enfraquece as mãos dos homens de guerra que restam nesta cidade, e as mãos de todo o povo, dizendo-lhes tais palavras; porque este homem não busca a paz para este povo, senão o mal. 5 E disse o rei Zedequias: Eis que ele está na vossa mão: porque não é o rei que possa cousa alguma contra vós. 6 Então tomaram a Jeremias, e o lançaram no calabouço de Malquias, filho do rei, que estava no átrio da guarda; e desceram a Jeremias com cordas; mas no calabouço não havia água, senão lama; e atolou-se Jeremias na lama. 7 E, ouvindo Ebede-Meleque, o etíope, um eunuco que então estava na casa do rei, que tinham metido a Jeremias no calabouço (estava porém o rei assentado à porta de Benjamim), 8 Logo Ebede-Meleque saiu da casa do rei: e falou ao rei, dizendo: 9 Ó rei, senhor meu, mal fizeram estes homens em tudo quanto fizeram a Jeremias, o profeta, lançando-o no calabouço: de certo morreria à fome no lugar onde se acha, pois não há mais pão na cidade. 10 Então deu ordem o rei a Ebede-Meleque, o etíope, dizendo: Toma contigo daqui trinta homens, e tira Jeremias, o profeta, do calabouço, antes que morra. 11 E tomou Ebede-Meleque os homens consigo, e foi à casa do rei, por debaixo da tesouraria, e tomou dali uns trapos velhos e rotos, e roupas velhas em bocados, e desceu-os a Jeremias no calabouço por meio de cordas. 12 E disse Ebede-Meleque, o etíope, a Jeremias: Põe agora estes trapos velhos e rotos, já apodrecidos, nas covas dos teus braços, por debaixo das cordas. E Jeremias o fez assim. 13 E puxaram a Jeremias com as cordas, e o tiraram do calabouço; e ficou Jeremias no átrio da guarda. 14 Então enviou o rei Zedequias, e fez vir à sua presença Jeremias, o profeta, à terceira entrada, que estava na casa do Senhor; e disse o rei a Jeremias: Pergunto-te uma cousa, não me encubras nada. 15 E disse Jeremias a Zedequias: Declarando-ta eu, com certeza não me matarás? e, aconselhando-te eu, ouvir-me-ás? 16 Então jurou o rei Zedequias a Jeremias, em segredo, dizendo: Vive o Senhor, que nos fez esta alma, que não te matarei nem te entregarei na mão destes homens que procuram a tua morte. 17 Então Jeremias disse a Zedequias: Assim diz o Senhor, Deus dos Exércitos, Deus de Israel: Se voluntariamente saíres, aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, então viverá a tua alma, e esta cidade não se queimará a fogo, e viverás tu e a tua casa. 18 Mas, se não saíres aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, então será entregue esta cidade na mão dos caldeus, e eles a queimarão a fogo, e tu não escaparás da mão deles. 19 E disse o rei Zedequias a Jeremias: Receio-me dos judeus, que se passaram para os caldeus; que me entreguem na sua mão, e escarneçam de mim. 20 E disse Jeremias: Não te entregarão: ouve, te peço, a voz do Senhor, conforme a qual eu te falo; e bem te irá, e viverá a tua alma. 21 Mas, se tu não quiseres sair, esta é a palavra que me mostrou o Senhor: 22 Eis que todas as mulheres que ficaram na casa do rei de Judá serão levadas aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, e elas mesmas dirão: Os teus pacificadores te incitaram e prevaleceram contra ti; e agora que se atolaram os teus pés na lama, voltaram atrás. 23 Assim que a todas as tuas mulheres e a teus filhos levarão aos caldeus, e tu não escaparás da sua mão, antes pela mão do rei de Babilônia, serás preso, e esta cidade ele queimará a fogo. 24 Então disse Zedequias a Jeremias: Ninguém saiba estas palavras, e não morrerás. 25 E quando os príncipes, ouvindo que falei contigo, vierem a ti, e te disserem: Declara-nos agora o que disseste ao rei, não no-lo encubras, e não te mataremos; e: que te disse o rei? 26 Então lhes dirás: Eu lancei a minha súplica diante do rei, para que não me fizesse tornar à casa de Jônatas, para morrer ali. 27 Vindo pois todos os príncipes a Jeremias, e interrogando-o, declarou-lhes conforme todas as palavras que o rei lhe havia ordenado: e o deixaram, porque não se revelou o negócio. 28 E ficou Jeremias no átrio da guarda, até o dia em que foi tomada Jerusalém, e ainda ali estava quando foi tomada Jerusalém.