If my covenant be not daily and nightly,

The ordinances of heaven and earth [if] I have not appointed:

26 Then will I cast off the seed of Jacob, and David my servant,

1

So as not to take of his seed to be rulers

Unto the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: But I will reverse their captivity, and I will have them.

mercy upon

CHAP. XXXVIII.

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 which Jeremiah used to speak 2 unto all the people, saying, Thus saith JEHOVAH, He that remaineth in this city shall die by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and his life shall be unto him as spoil, and he shall live. 3 Thus saith JEHOVAH, This city shall surely be delivered into the hand of the army of the king 4 of Babylon, who shall take it. Then said the princes unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death, forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking unto them according to these words: surely this man is not one that seeketh the welfare of this 5 people, but the hurt. And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your power; for the king can carry no point in competition with you. 6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah, the king's son, which was

7.

in the court of the prison; and they let Jeremiah down with cords: and in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

And Ebed-melech the Cushite, an eunuch, who was then in the king's house, heard that they had cast Jeremiah into the dungeon; and the king 8 was sitting in the gate of Benjamin. Then Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, 9 and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done amiss all that they have done unto Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have caused to be thrown into the dungeon; for he will die upon the spot for hunger, when there is no longer any bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebed meleeh the Cushite, saying, bo Take along with thee thirty men from hence, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon 11 before he die. And Ebed-melech took the men

10

along 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 down by 12 cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebedmelech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, Put now these torn and worn out rags under thine armholes 13 under 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 unto him into the third entrance, which is in the house of JEHOVAH. And the king said unto Jeremiah, I am about to ask thee a question; 15 hide not any thing from me. And Jeremiah said

unto Zedekiah, When I have told thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and when I shall have given thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken 16 unto me. Then king Zedekiah sware unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, As JEHOVAH liveth, who made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, nor will I deliver thee into the hand of these 17 men that seek thy life. And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, Thus saith JEHOVAH the God of hosts the God of Israel, If thou wilt indeed go forth unto the chieftains of the king of Babylon, then shall thy soul live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; but thou shalt live, thou and thy 18 family. But if thou wilt not go forth unto the chieftains of the king of Babylon, then shall this city be delivered into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire; and thou thyself 19 shalt not escape out of their hand. And king Zedekiah said unto Jeremiah, I am apprehensive of the Jews, who are gone over to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they 20 insult me. And Jeremiah said, They will not deliver [thee]. Hearken, I beseech thee, unto the voice of JEHOVAH, in what I speak unto thee, that it may go well with thee, and that thy soul 21 may live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the thing that JEHOVAH hath revealed unto 22 me: Even, behold, all the women that are left

in the house of the king of Judah, shall be brought forth unto the chieftains of the king of Babylon, and these shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and prevailed over thee; they have set thy foot fast in the mire, and are turned 23 away back. And all thy wives and thy children shall they bring out to the Chaldeans; and thon

thyself shalt not escape out of their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be taken, and thou shalt be the means of burn24 ing this city with fire. Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, 25 and thou shalt not die. But if the princes

shall hear that I have conversed with thee, and shall come unto thee, and shall say unto thee, Tell us, we pray thee, what thou hast spoken unto the king, conceal not from us, and we will not put thee to death; and what the king hath said 26 unto thee: then shalt thou say unto them, I offered humbly my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to the house of 27 Jonathan to die there. Accordingly all the princes came to Jeremiah, and questioned him; and he told them according to all those words, which the king had commanded. And they said no more, for the conversation was not heard. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken, and he was [there] when Jerusalem was taken.

28

15

CHAP. XXXIX.

AND the word of JEHOVAH came unto Jeremiah, whilst he was confined in the court of the 16 prison, saying, Go, and speak unto Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying, Thus saith JEHOVAH of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I am about to bring my words upon this city for harm, and not for good; and they shall be before thy face in that 17 day. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith JEHOVAH; and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. But

18

I will surely rescue thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword; but thy life shall be unto thee as spoil; because thou hast trusted in me, saith JE

HOVAH.

1 IN

CHAP. XXXIX.

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army unto Jerusalem, and 2 they laid siege to it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth [day] of the month, the city was broken into. 3 And all the chieftains of the king of Babylon entered, and posted themselves in the gate of the centre; Nergal-sharetzar Samgar, Nebo-sarsechim Rab-saris, Nergal-sharetzar Rab-mag, and all the rest of the chieftains of the king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass, when Zedekiah 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 to5 ward the plain. And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him, and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath: and he 6 proceeded judicially against him. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and all the nobles of Judah 7 did the king of Babylon slay. And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters 8 of brass, to carry him to Babylon. And the house of the king, and the houses of the people, did

U