Jeremiah 38:28 - Prayer Tents



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Jeremiah 38
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From the Dungeon to the Palace

38Shaphatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling the people, namely:H8203H1121H4977H1436H1121H6583H3116H1121H8018H6583H1121H4441H8085H1697H3414H1696H5971H559 2"This is GOD's Message: 'Whoever stays in this town will die—will be killed or starve to death or get sick and die. But those who go over to the Babylonians will save their necks and live.'H559H3068H3427H5892H4191H2719H7458H1698H3318H3778H2421H5315H7998H2421H2425 3"And, GOD's sure Word: 'This city is destined to fall to the army of the king of Babylon. He's going to take it over.'"H559H3068H5892H5414H5414H3027H4428H894H2428H3920 4These officials told the king, "Please, kill this man. He's got to go! He's ruining the resolve of the soldiers who are still left in the city, as well as the people themselves, by spreading these words. This man isn't looking after the good of this people. He's trying to ruin us!"H8269H559H4428H376H4191H3651H7503H3027H582H4421H7604H5892H3027H5971H1696H1697H376H1875H7965H5971H7451 5King Zedekiah caved in: "If you say so. Go ahead, handle it your way. You're too much for me."H6667H4428H559H3027H4428H3201H1697 6So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah the king's son that was in the courtyard of the palace guard. They lowered him down with ropes. There wasn't any water in the cistern, only mud. Jeremiah sank into the mud.H3947H3414H7993H953H4441H1121H4428H2691H4307H7971H3414H2256H953H4325H2916H3414H2883H2916 7Ebed-melek the Ethiopian, a court official assigned to the royal palace, heard that they had thrown Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was holding court in the Benjamin Gate,H5663H3569H376H5631H4428H1004H8085H5414H3414H953H4428H3427H8179H1144 8Ebed-melek went immediately from the palace to the king and said,H5663H3318H4428H1004H1696H4428H559 9"My master, O king—these men are committing a great crime in what they're doing, throwing Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern and leaving him there to starve. He's as good as dead. There isn't a scrap of bread left in the city."H113H4428H582H7489H6213H3414H5030H7993H953H4191H6440H7458H8478H3899H5892 10So the king ordered Ebed-melek the Ethiopian, "Get three men and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."H4428H6680H5663H3569H559H3947H7970H582H3027H5927H3414H5030H953H4191 11Ebed-melek got three men and went to the palace wardrobe and got some scraps of old clothing, which they tied together and lowered down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.H5663H3947H582H3027H935H1004H4428H214H3947H1094H5499H1094H4418H7971H2256H953H3414 12Ebed-melek the Ethiopian called down to Jeremiah, "Put these scraps of old clothing under your armpits and around the ropes." Jeremiah did what he said.H5663H3569H559H3414H7760H1094H5499H4418H679H3027H2256H3414H6213 13And so they pulled Jeremiah up out of the cistern by the ropes. But he was still confined in the courtyard of the palace guard.H4900H3414H2256H5927H953H3414H3427H2691H4307 14Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance of the Temple of GOD. The king said to Jeremiah, "I'm going to ask you something. Don't hold anything back from me."H6667H4428H7971H3947H3414H5030H7992H3996H1004H3068H4428H559H3414H7592H1697H3582 15Jeremiah said, "If I told you the whole truth, you'd kill me. And no matter what I said, you wouldn't pay any attention anyway."H3414H559H6667H5046H4191H4191H3289H8085 16Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah right there, but in secret, "As sure as GOD lives, who gives us life, I won't kill you, nor will I turn you over to the men who are trying to kill you."H6667H4428H7650H5643H3414H559H3068H2416H6213H5315H4191H5414H3027H582H1245H5315 17So Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "This is the Message from GOD, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: 'If you will turn yourself over to the generals of the king of Babylon, you will live, this city won't be burned down, and your family will live.H559H3414H6667H559H3068H430H6635H430H3478H3318H3318H4428H894H8269H5315H2421H5892H8313H784H2421H1004 18But if you don't turn yourself over to the generals of the king of Babylon, this city will go into the hands of the Chaldeans and they'll burn it down. And don't for a minute think there's any escape for you.'"H3318H4428H894H8269H5892H5414H3027H3778H8313H784H4422H3027 19King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "But I'm afraid of the Judeans who have already deserted to the Chaldeans. If they get hold of me, they'll rough me up good."H6667H4428H559H3414H1672H3064H5307H3778H5414H3027H5953 20Jeremiah assured him, "They won't get hold of you. Listen, please. Listen to GOD's voice. I'm telling you this for your own good so that you'll live.H3414H559H5414H8085H6963H3068H1696H3190H5315H2421 21But if you refuse to turn yourself over, this is what GOD has shown me will happen:H3986H3318H1697H3068H7200 22Picture this in your mind—all the women still left in the palace of the king of Judah, led out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and as they're led out they are saying: "'They lied to you and did you in, those so-called friends of yours; And now you're stuck, about knee-deep in mud, and your "friends," where are they now?'H802H7604H4428H3063H1004H3318H4428H894H8269H559H582H7965H5496H3201H7272H2883H1206H5472H268 23"They'll take all your wives and children and give them to the Chaldeans. And you, don't think you'll get out of this—the king of Babylon will seize you and then burn this city to the ground."H3318H802H1121H3778H4422H3027H8610H3027H4428H894H5892H8313H784 24Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know of this conversation, if you know what's good for you.H559H6667H3414H376H3045H1697H4191 25If the government officials get wind that I've been talking with you, they may come and say, 'Tell us what went on between you and the king, what you said and what he said. Hold nothing back and we won't kill you.'H8269H8085H1696H935H559H5046H1696H4428H3582H4191H4428H1696 26If this happens, tell them, 'I presented my case to the king so that he wouldn't send me back to the dungeon of Jonathan to die there.'"H559H5307H8467H6440H4428H7725H3083H1004H4191 27And sure enough, all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him. He responded as the king had instructed. So they quit asking. No one had overheard the conversationH935H8269H3414H7592H5046H1697H4428H6680H2790H1697H8085 28Jeremiah lived in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day that Jerusalem was captured.H3414H3427H2691H4307H3117H3389H3920H3389H3920


The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. More details.
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