The Hebrew Prophets

Then this word of ADONAI came to the prophet Yirmeyahu:

"ADONAI the God of Isra'el says to tell the king of Y'hudah, who sent you to me to consult me: 'Pharaoh's army has marched out to assist you; but they will return to Egypt, to their own country.

The Kasdim will return, attack this city, capture it and burn it to the ground.'

Here is what ADONAI says: 'Don't deceive yourselves by thinking that the Kasdim must withdraw from you, because they will not withdraw.

Even if you were to strike the entire army of the Kasdim fighting against you, to the degree that only their wounded were left, they would still rise up every man from his tent and burn this city to the ground.'"

Then, at the time when the army of the Kasdim had lifted the siege of Yerushalayim out of fear of Pharaoh's army,

Yirmeyahu left Yerushalayim to go to the territory of Binyamin to receive his share of an inheritance there. He was passing through the crowds

and had reached the gate leading toward Binyamin when a guard commander there named Yir'iyah the son of Shelemyah, the son of Hananyah, seized Yirmeyahu the prophet, shouting, "You're deserting to the Kasdim!"

Yirmeyahu answered, "That is a lie! I am not deserting to the Kasdim"; but Yir'iyah wouldn't listen to him. So he arrested Yirmeyahu and brought him to the officials.

The officials, furious with Yirmeyahu, had him beaten and jailed in the house of Y'honatan the secretary, which had been made over into a prison.

The cistern had been made into a dungeon, and Yirmeyahu was put in one of its cells; there he remained for a long time.

Then Tzidkiyahu the king sent and had him brought; and the king asked him secretly, in his palace, "Is there any word from ADONAI?" "There is," Yirmeyahu said. "You will be handed over to the king of Bavel."

Yirmeyahu asked King Tzidkiyahu, "In what way have I sinned against you or against your officials or against this people, that has caused you to put me in prison?

Where are your prophets now, the ones who prophesied to you that the king of Bavel wouldn't attack you or this land?

So now, please listen, my lord king! I beg you, approve my request - don't make me return to the house of Y'honatan the secretary, or I will die there."

At that, Tzidkiyahu the king gave the order, at which they committed Yirmeyahu to the guards' quarters and gave him daily a loaf of bread from the Bakers' Street, until all the bread in the city had been used up. Thus Yirmeyahu remained in the guards' quarters.

But Sh'fatyah the son of Mattan, G'dalyahu the son of Pash'chur, Yukhal the son of Shelemyahu and Pash'chur the son of Malkiyah heard these words which Yirmeyahu had said to all the people,

"Here is what ADONAI says: whoever remains in this city will die by sword, famine and plague; but whoever leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim will stay alive; his own life will be his only 'spoils of war,' but he will stay alive.

ADONAI says that this city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Bavel, and he will capture it."

The leaders said to the king, "Please let this man be put to death; because by speaking such words to the soldiers left in this city and to all the people, he is demoralizing them. This man is seeking not to benefit this people, but to harm them."

Tzidkiyahu the king said, "All right, he is in your hands; for the king can't prevent you from doing as you please."

Then they took Yirmeyahu and threw him into the cistern of Malkiyahu the king's son, which was in the guards' quarters; they let down Yirmeyahu into it with ropes. In the pit there was no water, but there was mud; and Yirmeyahu sank into the mud.

'Eved-Melekh the Ethiopian, an officer in the king's house, heard that they had put Yirmeyahu in the cistern. When the king was sitting at the gate leading toward Binyamin,

'Eved-Melekh left the palace and said to the king,

"My lord, king! What these men have done to Yirmeyahu the prophet is evil. They have thrown him into the cistern; and he is likely to die there where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more food in the city."