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Jeremias 38

BLIVRE · Chapter 38/52

1Então Sefatias filho de Matã, Gedalias filho de Pasur, Jucal filho de Selemias, e Pasur filho de Melquias, ouviram as palavras que Jeremias falava a todo o povo, dizendo:

2Assim diz o SENHOR: Quem ficar nesta cidade morrerá pela espada, pela fome, ou pela pestilência; mas quem sair aos caldeus viverá, pois sua alma lhe será por despojo, e viverá.

3Assim diz o SENHOR: Certamente esta cidade será entregue nas mãos do exército do rei da Babilônia, que a tomará.

4E os príncipes disseram ao rei: Morra agora este homem; porque assim ele enfraquece as mãos dos homens de guerra que restaram nesta cidade, e as mãos de todo o povo, falando-lhes tais palavras; pois este homem não busca a paz deste povo, mas sim o mal.

5E disse o rei Zedequias: Eis que ele está em vossas mãos; pois o rei não poderia fazer contra vós coisa alguma.

6Então eles tomaram a Jeremias, e o lançaram na cisterna de Malquias filho de rei, que estava no pátio da guarda; e meteram a Jeremias com cordas. Porém na cisterna não havia água, mas sim lama; e Jeremias se atolou na lama.

7E Ebede-Meleque, o cuxita, um eunuco que estava na casa do rei, tendo ouvido que haviam posto Jeremias na cisterna, e estando o rei sentado à porta de Benjamim,

8Logo Ebede-Meleque saiu da casa do rei, e falou ao rei, dizendo:

9Ó rei, meu senhor o rei, estes homens fizeram o mal em tudo quanto têm feito com o profeta Jeremias, ao qual lançaram na cisterna; porque ali ele morrerá de fome, pois não há mais pão na cidade.

10Então o rei mandou a Ebede-Meleque, o cuxita, dizendo: Toma sob tuas ordens trinta homens daqui, e tira ao profeta Jeremias da cisterna, antes que morra.

11E Ebede-Meleque tomou sob suas ordens os homens, e foi à casa do rei, ao lugar debaixo da tesouraria, e tomou dali trapos velhos rasgados, e trapos velhos gastos; e os desceu a Jeremias com cordas na cisterna.

12E disse Ebede-Meleque o cuxita a Jeremias: Põe agora esses trapos velhos, rasgados, e gastos abaixo das axilas de teus braços, por debaixo das cordas. E Jeremias assim fez.

13E tiraram a Jeremias com as cordas, e o fizeram subir da cisterna; e Jeremias ficou no pátio da guarda.

14Então o rei Zedequias enviou, e mandou trazer a si ao profeta Jeremias à terceira entrada que estava na casa do SENHOR. E disse o rei a Jeremias: Pergunto-te uma coisa; não me encubras nada.

15E Jeremias disse a Zedequias: Se eu te declarar, por acaso não me matarás? E se eu te aconselhar, não me darás ouvido.

16Então o rei Zedequias jurou a Jeremias em segredo, dizendo: Vive o SENHOR que nos fez esta alma, que não te matarei, nem te entregarei nas mãos destes homens que buscam [tirar] tua vida.

17Então Jeremias disse a Zedequias: Assim diz o SENHOR Deus dos exércitos, Deus de Israel: Se voluntariamente saíres aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, então tua alma viverá, e esta cidade não será queimada a fogo; e viverás tu e tua casa;

18Mas se não saíres aos príncipes do rei de Babilônia, então esta cidade será entregue nas mãos dos caldeus, e a queimarão a fogo; e tu não escaparás de suas mãos.

19E disse o rei Zedequias a Jeremias: Eu temo por causa dos judeus que se renderam aos caldeus; que não venham a me entregar em suas mãos, e me maltratem.

20E disse Jeremias: Não te entregarão. Ouve, por favor, a voz do SENHOR que eu te falo, e terás bem, e tua alma viverá.

21Mas se tu não quiseres sair, esta é a palavra que o SENHOR me mostrou:

22Eis que todas as mulheres que restaram na casa do rei de Judá serão levadas aos príncipes do rei da Babilônia; e elas mesmas dirão: Os teus amigos te enganaram, e prevaleceram contra ti; teus pés se atolaram na lama, e eles se viraram para trás.

23Assim todas as tuas mulheres e teus filhos serão levados aos caldeus, e tu não escaparás de suas mãos; ao contrário, pela mão do rei da Babilônia serás preso, e esta cidade será queimada a fogo.

24Então Zedequias disse a Jeremias: Ninguém saiba estas palavras, e então não morrerás.

25E se os príncipes ouvirem que eu falei contigo, vierem a ti, e te disserem: Declara-nos agora o que falaste com o rei; não nos escondas, e não te mataremos; [dize] também o que o rei te falou.

26Então tu lhes dirás: Supliquei ao rei que não me fizesse voltar a casa de Jônatas para eu não morrer ali.

27E [depois] vieram todos os príncipes a Jeremias, e lhe perguntaram; e ele lhes respondeu conforme toda as palavras que o rei tinha lhe mandado. Então lhe deixaram, pois a conversa não tinha sido ouvida.

28E Jeremias ficou no pátio da guarda até o dia em que Jerusalém foi tomada; e [ali ainda] estava quando Jerusalém foi tomada.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Hostile princes throw Jeremiah into a muddy cistern to die, but the Ethiopian Ebed-melech intervenes and rescues him with King Zedekiah's permission.

Explanation

This episode reveals the extreme hostility Jeremiah faced for continuing to advise surrender to the Babylonians, something his opponents regarded as demoralizing the troops in wartime. The courageous action of Ebed-melech, a foreign Ethiopian and eunuch of the court, is remarkable: he risks his position to save the life of an unpopular prophet, standing in stark contrast to the passivity and cowardice of King Zedekiah, who held formal power but lacked the courage to act against his own princes. Even so, the king keeps seeking Jeremiah's counsel in secret, revealing an inner conflict between recognizing the truth and fearing the social consequences of following it.

Fun facts

  • Ebed-melech is remembered favorably again in chapter 39, where he receives a special promise of God's protection for his faith and courage — a rare case of detailed individual recognition in the book.
  • Dry cisterns used as prisons were a real practice of the time; structures carved into rock to store water, when empty, easily served as improvised dungeons.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 38:1Introduces four court officials -- Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jucal, and Pashur -- who heard Jeremiah repeating the message of surrender to the people and decided to act against him.
  2. Jeremias 38:2Sums up the message that troubled them so much: whoever stayed in the city would die by sword, famine, or plague, but whoever surrendered to the Chaldeans would come out alive -- advice to surrender that sounded like defeatism.
  3. Jeremias 38:3Restates without compromise that the city would certainly fall into the hands of the Babylonian army -- the same prophecy repeated since the earlier chapters.
  4. Jeremias 38:4The officials ask the king for Jeremiah’s death, accusing him of weakening the morale of the soldiers and the people with this message -- treating an uncomfortable truth as an act of sabotage in wartime.
  5. Jeremias 38:5Zedekiah gives in to the pressure without resistance, saying he has no power to stop the officials -- the portrait of a weak king controlled by his own court.
  6. Jeremias 38:6The dungeon was an empty cistern used as a prison, with no water but plenty of mud at the bottom, where Jeremiah sinks in. It is a way of executing someone slowly without staining anyone’s hands with blood: letting a person die of hunger and cold at the bottom of a pit.
  7. Jeremias 38:7Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian official, probably a foreign eunuch at court with no political power of his own, is the one who risks his own position to save Jeremiah. A foreigner with no status acts with more courage than the officials of Judah.
  8. Jeremias 38:8Ebedmelech, the foreign official who learned of Jeremiah’s situation in the cistern, rushes out of the palace to intervene directly with the king.
  9. Jeremias 38:9Ebedmelech confronts the king with courage, calling the officials’ action wicked: letting Jeremiah die of hunger in a muddy cistern, in a city that already had no more bread for anyone.
  10. Jeremias 38:10Zedekiah authorizes the rescue, sending Ebedmelech with thirty men to pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies -- a quick response to a direct appeal.
  11. Jeremias 38:11Ebedmelech gathers old rags from the palace storeroom before lowering the ropes -- a practical precaution meant to keep Jeremiah from getting hurt during the rescue.
  12. Jeremias 38:12He instructs Jeremiah to put the rags under his arms so the ropes would not cut into his skin while being pulled up -- a gesture of care that shows attention to detail, not just good will.
  13. Jeremias 38:13The rescue works: Jeremiah is pulled out of the cistern and returns to the court of the guard, a milder confinement than the muddy pit he had been in.
  14. Jeremias 38:14Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah again, this time at a specific entrance to the temple, asking for complete honesty -- a request for sincere counsel from a king still torn between his court and the truth.
  15. Jeremias 38:15Jeremiah hesitates to answer, knowing that telling the king the truth could cost his own life, since Zedekiah could not protect him from his own officials.
  16. Jeremias 38:16Zedekiah swears in secret that he will not kill Jeremiah or hand him over to those who wanted him dead -- a personal guarantee, but hidden from the very court he did not control.
  17. Jeremias 38:17Jeremiah’s final offer: if Zedekiah surrenders voluntarily to the Babylonians, his life and the city would be spared -- surrender is still presented as salvation, not cowardice.
  18. Jeremias 38:18The alternative is harsh: refusing to surrender means the city will fall, be burned, and the king himself will not escape the hands of the Chaldeans in any way.
  19. Jeremias 38:19Zedekiah reveals the real fear behind his indecision: it is not Babylon, but being handed over and mocked by the Jews who had already deserted to the Babylonian side.
  20. Jeremias 38:20Jeremiah tries to reassure him: that specific fear will not come true if he simply obeys the instruction to surrender.
  21. Jeremias 38:21Before detailing the alternative, Jeremiah warns that he is about to reveal what God showed him about a refusal -- preparing the king for a harsh vision of what comes next.
  22. Jeremias 38:22The vision: the women of the royal harem would be brought out to the Babylonian officials and would sing a mocking verse, blaming the king’s own trusted advisers for leading him to ruin.
  23. Jeremias 38:23Sums up the final outcome if Zedekiah does not surrender: wives and children taken to the Chaldeans, the king himself captured, and the city burned -- everything surrender could have prevented.
  24. Jeremias 38:24Zedekiah asks for secrecy about this conversation, fearing how the officials would react if they knew what was really said -- more concerned with protecting himself from his own court than with acting on the warning.
  25. Jeremias 38:25Anticipates that the officials will question Jeremiah about the content of the conversation, pressing him for details.
  26. Jeremias 38:26Teaches Jeremiah a safe, partial answer to give the officials: to say only that he asked not to be sent back to the prison in Jonathan’s house, hiding the real content of the conversation about surrender.
  27. Jeremias 38:27The officials do question Jeremiah, and he answers exactly with the agreed-upon version -- a strategic deception that avoids revealing the true counsel given to the king.
  28. Jeremias 38:28Jeremiah remains in the court of the guard, a relatively mild confinement, until the day Jerusalem finally falls -- closing the chapter on the threshold of the final disaster.

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