Jer 6, Jer 38 | ESV | STEP | Flee for safety , O people of Benjamin , from the midst of Jerusalem ! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa , and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem , for disaster looms out of the north , and great destruction .

1 Flee for safety, ^aO people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in ^bTekoa,
and raise a signal on ^cBeth-haccherem,
for disaster looms ^dout of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
^ethe daughter of Zion. ^{▼▼Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture}
3 ^gShepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
^hthey shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 ⁱ“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack ^jat noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces!”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
^k“Cut down her trees;
^lcast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be ^mpunished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 ⁿAs a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
^oviolence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
^plest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you ^qa desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
^r“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 ^sTo whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
^tBehold, their ears are uncircumcised,
^uthey cannot listen;
behold, ^vthe word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
^wI am weary of holding it in.
^x“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
^yboth husband and wife ^zshall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 ^aaTheir houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”

declares the Lord.
13 ^ab“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone ^acis greedy for unjust gain;
and from ^adprophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ^ae‘Peace, peace,’
^afwhen there is no peace.
15 ^agWere they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
^ahat the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”

says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for ^aithe ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
^ajand find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 ^akI set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to ^althe sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ^am‘We will not pay attention.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
^anthe fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 ^aoWhat use to me is ^apfrankincense that comes from ^aqSheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
^arYour burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
^as‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22 Thus says the Lord:
^at“Behold, a people is coming ^aufrom the north country,
a great nation is stirring from ^avthe farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are ^awcruel and have no mercy;
^axthe sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
^ayour hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
^azpain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
^baterror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, ^bbput on sackcloth,
and ^bcroll in ashes;
^bdmake mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you ^bea tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and ^bftest their ways.
28 ^bgThey are all stubbornly rebellious,
^bhgoing about with slanders;
they are ^bibronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The ^bjbellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
^bkin vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 ^blRejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”

Jeremiah 38

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^bmJucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^bnPashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^boHe who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^bpbut he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the Lord: ^bqThis city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4 Then the officials said to the king, ^br“Let this man be put to death, ^bsfor 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 ^btthe welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^bufor the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah ^bvand cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in ^bwthe court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^bxby ropes. ^byAnd there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^bzJeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

7 When ^caEbed-melech ^cbthe Ethiopian, ^cca eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^cdin the Benjamin Gate— 8 ^ceEbed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, 9 “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 ^cfhunger, ^cgfor there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded ^chEbed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So ^ciEbed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern ^cjby ropes. 12 Then ^ckEbed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and ^clthe ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with ^cmropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the ^cncourt of the guard.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

14 King Zedekiah 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.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore ^cosecretly to Jeremiah, ^cp“As the Lord lives, ^cqwho made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of ^crthese men who seek your life.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^csIf you will surrender to ^ctthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^cuthen your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to ^cvthe officials of the king of Babylon, ^cwthen this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^cxand they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ^cywho have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^czand it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to ^dasurrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

^db“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.’
23 All your wives and ^dcyour sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, 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.”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If ^ddthe officials 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,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ^de‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained ^dfin the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.