6. So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit of Malchiah, the son of the king, which was in the courtyard of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down by ropes. Now in the pit there was no water, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
7. When Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch who was in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the pit—now the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin—
8. Ebed-melech went out from the house of the king and spoke to the king, saying,
9. “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, in that they have thrown him into the pit, and he will die there because of starvation, for there is no longer any bread in the city.”
10. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying, “Take with you these thirty men and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the pit before he dies.”
11. So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the palace of the king, to a place beneath the storehouse, and he took from there rags and worn-out clothes. And he let them down into the pit by ropes to Jeremiah.
12. Then Ebed-melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Please put the rags and worn-out clothes under the joints of your arms under the ropes,” and Jeremiah did so.
13. And they pulled Jeremiah by the ropes and brought him up from the pit. And Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the guard.
14. And Zedekiah the king sent and made someone bring Jeremiah the prophet to him, to the third entrance that was at the temple of Yahweh. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I am asking you something, you must not hide anything from me.”
15. And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely kill me? Besides, if I advise you, you will not listen to me.
16. So Zedekiah the king swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, “As Yahweh lives, who has made for us this life, I will not kill you and I will not give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life.”
17. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If only you will go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, and this city will not be burned with fire, and you will live, you and your house.
18. But if you do not go surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hand.’ ”
19. And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand and they abuse me.”
20. And Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please obey the voice of Yahweh with regard to what I am saying to you, and it will go well with you, and you will live.
21. But if you are refusing to surrender, this is the thing that Yahweh has shown me.
22. Now look, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah are being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon. And look, they are saying, ‘Your trusted friends have misled you, and they have prevailed against you. Your feet are stuck in the mud, so they turned backward.’
23. And all your wives and your children will be led out to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon you will be seized, and this city will burn with fire.”