Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

1 Now ^jPashhur the priest, the son of ^kImmer, who was ^lchief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then ^jPashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him ^min the stocks that were in the upper ⁿBenjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. 3 The next day, when ^jPashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name ^jPashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you ^oa terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, ^pI will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its ^qprized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, ^rPashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, ^sto whom you have prophesied falsely.”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now when ⁿthe Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to ^othe land of Benjamin ^pto receive his portion there ^qamong the people. 13 When he was at ^rthe Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of ^sShelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ^t“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to ^uthe officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him ^vand imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.

16 ^wWhen Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him ^xsecretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, ^y“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, ^vthat you have put me in prison? 19 ^zWhere are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: ^alet my humble plea come before you and ^bdo not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to ^cthe court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, ^duntil all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in ^cthe court of the guard.

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

1 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^eJucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^fPashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^gHe who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^gbut 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: ^hThis 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, ⁱ“Let this man be put to death, ^jfor 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 ^kthe welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^lfor the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah ^mand cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in ⁿthe court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^oby ropes. ^pAnd there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^qJeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

7 When ^rEbed-melech ^sthe Ethiopian, ^ta eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^uin the Benjamin Gate— 8 ^rEbed-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 ^vhunger, ^wfor there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded ^rEbed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So ^rEbed-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 ^xby ropes. 12 Then ^rEbed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and ^xthe ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with ^xropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the ⁿcourt of the guard.

Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

1 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, 2 Azariah the son of ^lHoshaiah and ^mJohanan the son of Kareah and ⁿall the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ^o‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ 3 but ^pBaruch the son of Neriah ^qhas set you against us, ^rto deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” 4 So ^mJohanan the son of Kareah and all ^sthe commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took ^tall the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— 6 ^uthe men, the women, the children, ^vthe princesses, and every person whom ^wNebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with ^xGedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at ^yTahpanhes.