2bBut neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the LORD which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.
3And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and cZephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, d“Pray now to the LORD our God for us.”
4Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.
5Then ePharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
7“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, fwho sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land.
8g“And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’
9“Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart.
10h‘For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
12that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people.
13And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”
14Then Jeremiah said, 1“False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes.
15Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him iand put him in prison in the jhouse of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
16When Jeremiah entered kthe dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days,
17then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be ldelivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”
18Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?
19“Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?
20“Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my petition be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”
21Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah mto the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers’ street, nuntil all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Jeremiah 38
Jeremiah in the Dungeon
1Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, aJucal1 the son of Shelemiah, and bPashhur the son of Malchiah cheard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,
2“Thus says the LORD: d‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’
3“Thus says the LORD: e‘This city shall surely be fgiven into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ”
4Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, glet this man be put to death, for thus he 2weakens 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 3welfare of this people, but their harm.”
5Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.”
6hSo they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah 4the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.
7iNow Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the 5eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
8Ebed-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 cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is jno more bread in the city.”
10Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”
11So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.
13So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained kin the court of the prison.
Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice
14Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will lask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
15Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
16So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the LORD lives, mwho made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely nsurrender6 oto the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
18‘But if you do not 7surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and pyou shall not escape from their hand.’ ”
19And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have qdefected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they rabuse me.”
20But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be swell with you, and your soul shall live.
21“But if you refuse to 8surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me:
22‘Now behold, all the twomen who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say:
“Your close friends have 9set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have 10turned away again.”
23‘So they shall surrender all your wives and uchildren to the Chaldeans. vYou shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ”
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
25“But if the princes 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 also 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, w‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return xto Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”
27Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard.
28Now yJeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
Jeremiah 39
The Fall of Jerusalem
(2 Kin. 25:1–12; Jer. 52:4–16)
1In the aninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it.
2In the beleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the 1city was penetrated.
3cThen all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, 2Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, 3Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
4dSo it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the 4plain.
5But the Chaldean army pursued them and eovertook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to fRiblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
6Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his geyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the hnobles of Judah.
7Moreover ihe put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze 5fetters to carry him off to Babylon.
8jAnd the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with kfire, and broke down the lwalls of Jerusalem.
9mThen Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who ndefected to him, with the rest of the people who remained.
10But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the opoor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields 6at the same time.
Jeremiah Goes Free
11Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
12“Take him and look after him, and do him no pharm; but do to him just as he says to you.”
13So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers;
14then they sent someone qto take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him rto Gedaliah the son of sAhikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.
15Meanwhile the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
16“Go and speak to tEbed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, uI will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.
17“But I will deliver you in that day,” says the LORD, “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.
18“For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but vyour life shall be as a prize to you, wbecause you have put your trust in Me,” says the LORD.’ ”
Jeremiah 40
Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor
(2 Kin. 25:22–26)
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD aafter Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.
2And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and bsaid to him: “The LORD your God has pronounced this doom on this place.
3“Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. cBecause you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.
4“And now look, I free you this day from the chains that 1were on your hand. dIf it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, eall the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”
5Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to fGedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, gwhom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go.
6hThen Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to iMizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.
7jAnd when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, children, and kthe poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon,
8then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—lIshmael the son of Nethaniah, mJohanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and nJezaniah2 the son of a oMaachathite, they and their men.
9And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be pwell with you.
10“As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.”
11Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,
12then all the Jews qreturned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.
13Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,
14and said to him, 3“Do you certainly know that rBaalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.
15Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the sremnant in Judah perish?”
16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.”
Jeremiah 41
Insurrection Against Gedaliah
1Now it came to pass in the seventh month athat Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal 1family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at bMizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah.
2Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and cstruck Gedaliah the son of dAhikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made egovernor over the land.
3Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
4And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it,
5that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men fwith their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and
incense in their hand, to bring them to gthe house of the LORD.
6Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!”
7So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah hkilled them and cast them into the midst of a 2pit, he and the men who were with him.
8But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren.
9Now the 3pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was ithe same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
10Then Ishmael carried away captive all the jrest of the people who were in Mizpah, kthe king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, lwhom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to mthe Ammonites.
11But when nJohanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
12they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by othe great pool that is in Gibeon.
13So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad.
14Then all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.
16Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the prest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 361