Jeremiah Is Held Prisoner in a Dry Well
1 One day, Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jehucal, and Pashhur heard me tell the people of Judah 2-3 that the Lord had said, “If you stay here in Jerusalem, you will die in battle or from disease or hunger, and the Babylonian army will capture the city anyway. But if you surrender to the Babylonians, they will let you live.”
4 So the four of them went to the king and said, “You should put Jeremiah to death, because he is making the soldiers and everyone else lose hope. He isn't trying to help our people; he's trying to harm them.”
5 Zedekiah replied, “Do what you want with him. I can't stop you.”
6 Then they took me back to the courtyard of the palace guards and let me down with ropes into the well that belonged to Malchiah, the king's son. There was no water in the well, but I sank down in the mud.
7-8 Ebedmelech from Ethiopia was an official at the palace, and he heard what they had done to me. So he went to speak with King Zedekiah, who was holding court at Benjamin Gate. 9 Ebedmelech said, “Your Majesty, Jeremiah is a prophet, and those men were wrong to throw him into a well. And when Jerusalem runs out of food, Jeremiah will starve to death down there.”
10 Zedekiah answered, “Take 30 of my soldiers and pull Jeremiah out before he dies.”
11 Ebedmelech and the soldiers went to the palace and got some rags from the room under the treasury. He used ropes to lower them into the well. 12 Then he said, “Put these rags under your arms so the ropes won't hurt you.” After I did, 13 the men pulled me out. And from then on, I was kept in the courtyard of the palace guards.
King Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah
14 King Zedekiah had me brought to his private entrance to the temple, and he said, “I'm going to ask you something, and I want to know the truth.”
15 “Why?” I replied. “You won't listen, and you might even have me killed!”
16 He said, “I swear in the name of the living Lord our Creator that I won't have you killed. No one else can hear what we say, and I won't let anyone kill you.”
17 Then I told him that the Lord had said: “Zedekiah, I am the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel. I promise that if you surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar's officers, you and your family won't be killed, and Jerusalem won't be burned down. 18 But if you don't surrender, I will let the Babylonian army capture Jerusalem and burn it down, and you will be taken prisoner.”
19 Zedekiah answered, “I can't surrender to the Babylonians. I'm too afraid of the people of Judah who have already joined them. The Babylonians might hand me over to them, and they would torture me.”
20 I said, “If you will just obey the Lord, the Babylonians won't hand you over to those Jews. You will be allowed to live, and all will go well for you. 21 But the Lord has shown me that if you refuse to obey, 22 then the women of your palace will be taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar's officials. And those women will say to you:
Friends you trusted led you astray.
Now you're trapped in mud,
and those friends you trusted
have all turned away.
23 The Babylonian army will take your wives and children captive, you will be taken as a prisoner to the King of Babylonia, and Jerusalem will be burned down.”
24 Zedekiah said, “Jeremiah, if you tell anyone what we have talked about, you might lose your life. 25 And I'm sure that if my officials hear about our meeting, they will ask you what we said to each other. They might even threaten to kill you if you don't tell them. 26 So if they question you, tell them you were begging me not to send you back to the prison at Jonathan's house, because going back there would kill you.”
27 The officials did come and question me about my meeting with the king, and I told them exactly what he had ordered me to say. They never spoke to me about the meeting again, since no one had heard us talking.
28 I was held in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day Jerusalem was captured.
Jeremija tiek ieslodzīts ūdenstvertnē
1 Un Šefatja, Matāna dēls, un Gedaljāhu, Pašhūra dēls, un Jehūhals, Šelemjas dēls, un Pašhūrs, Malkijas dēls, dzirdēja vārdus, ko Jeremija teica visai tautai:
2 “Tā saka Kungs: kas paliks šai pilsētā, tas mirs no zobena, bada un mēra, bet, kas ies pie kaldiešiem, tas dzīvos, un viņa dzīvība būs viņa laupījums!
3 Tā saka Kungs: šī pilsēta tiks atdot atdota Bābeles ķēniņa karaspēka rokās, un viņš to ieņems!” 4 Un augstmaņi teica ķēniņam: “Lai jel šo vīru nonāvē, jo viņš padara mīkstas to karavīru rokas, kuri ir palikuši šai pilsētā, un visas tautas rokas, runādams uz tiem šādus vārdus, šis vīrs nemeklē tautai labu, bet ļaunu!” 5 Un ķēniņš Cedekija teica: “Redzi, viņš ir jūsu rokās, jo ķēniņš neko nevar darīt pret jums!” 6 Un tie paņēma Jeremiju un iemeta viņu akā, kas piederēja ķēniņa dēlam Malkijam, tā atradās cietuma pagalmā. Viņi nolaida Jeremiju lejā ar virvēm, bet akā nebija ūdens, tikai mēsli, un Jeremija mirka mēslos.
7 Un kūšietis Ebed-Melehs, einuhs, kas bija ķēniņa pilī, padzirdēja, ka Jeremiju iemetuši akā. Bet ķēniņš sēdēja Benjāmina vārtos. 8 Un Ebed-Melehs izgāja no ķēniņa nama un runāja ar ķēniņu: 9 “Mans kungs, ķēniņ, šie vīri izturējušies pret Jeremiju ļauni – iemetuši viņu akā, un tur apakšā viņš nomirs badā, jo pilsētā vairs nav maizes!” 10 Un ķēniņš pavēlēja kūšietim Ebed-Meleham: “Ņem trīsdesmit vīru un izvelc pravieti Jeremiju no akas, pirms viņš mirst!” 11 Ebed-Melehs paņēma sev līdzi vīrus, aizgāja uz ķēniņa namu, uz mantnīcu, paņēma no turienes skrandas un lupatas un ar virvēm tās nolaida Jeremijam. 12 Un kūšietis Ebed-Melehs teica Jeremijam: “Liec sev padusēs skrandas un lupatas zem virvēm!” – un Jeremija tā darīja. 13 Un viņi izvilka Jeremiju ar virvēm un izcēla viņu no cietuma akas, tā Jeremija tika cietuma pagalmā.
Cedekija atkal slepus iztaujā Jeremiju
14 Un ķēniņš Cedekija sūtīja pēc Jeremijas un pieņēma viņu pie trešās ieejas Kunga namā, un ķēniņš Jeremijam teica: “Es tev ko jautāšu, neslēp no manis neko!” 15 Jeremija teica Cedekijam: “Ja es tev ko sacīšu, vai tu mani nenonāvēsi? Ja es tev došu padomu, tu manī neklausīsies!” 16 Bet ķēniņš Cedekija slepeni zvērēja Jeremijam, sacīdams: “Dzīvs Kungs, kas mums radīja dvēseli! Es tevi nenonāvēšu un neatdošu to vīru rokā, kuri lūko pēc tavas dzīvības!”
17 Un Jeremija teica Cedekijam: “Tā saka Kungs, Pulku Dievs un Israēla Dievs: ja ietin iesi pie Bābeles ķēniņa augstmaņiem, tad tu paliksi dzīvs un šī pilsēta netiks nodedzināta ar uguni, un dzīvs būsi tu un tavs nams! 18 Bet, ja tu neiesi pie Bābeles ķēniņa augstmaņiem, tad šī pilsēta tiks atdota kaldiešu rokās un tie to nodedzinās ar uguni, un tu neizglābsies no viņu rokas!”
19 Un ķēniņš Cedekija teica Jeremijam: “Es bīstos no tiem jūdiem, kuri ir aizbēguši pie kaldiešiem, ka viņi mani neatdod to rokās un tie man ko nenodara.”
20 Jeremija teica: “Viņi neatdos! Klausi jel Kunga balsi, ko es runāju uz tevi, un tev būs labi un tu būsi dzīvs! 21 Bet, ja tu liegsies iet, redzi, ko man Kungs parādīja: 22 redzi, visas sievietes, kas bija palikušas Jūdas ķēniņa namā, tika aizvestas pie Bābeles ķēniņa augstmaņiem, un viņas teiks:
pievīluši un pārspējuši tevi
tavi ļaudis,
kad tavas kājas grimst sūdos,
tie tevi pametuši! –
23 Visas tavas sievas un tavus dēlus aizvedīs pie kaldiešiem, un tu neizglābsies no viņu rokas, jo tu būsi sakampts Bābeles ķēniņa rokā un šī pilsēta tiks nodedzināta ar uguni!”
24 Un Cedekija teica Jeremijam: “Lai neviens neuzzina par šiem vārdiem, un tu nemirsi! 25 Ja augstmaņi padzirdēs, ka es esmu runājis ar tevi, tad tie nāks pie tevis un teiks tev: stāsti jel mums, ko tu sacīji ķēniņam, neslēp no mums neko, un mēs tevi nenonāvēsim! Un ko tev sacīja ķēniņš? – 26 Bet tu tiem saki: es nācu pie ķēniņa ar savu lūgumu, lai viņš man neliek iet atpakaļ uz Jonatāna namu, ka es tur nenomirstu.”
27 Un visi augstmaņi nāca pie Jeremijas un jautāja viņam, un viņš pastāstīja viņiem to, ko bija vēlējis teikt ķēniņš, un viņi vairs nerunāja ar viņu, jo nebija nekā, ko dzirdēt.
28 Un Jeremija palika cietuma pagalmā līdz tai dienai, kad ieņēma Jeruzālemi.
Un Jeruzāleme tika ieņemta.
