Jeremiah 38:9-19

9 "Your Majesty, what these men have done is wrong. They have put Jeremiah in the well, where he is sure to die of starvation, since there is no more food in the city."
10 Then the king ordered Ebedmelech to take with him three men and to pull me out of the well before I died.
11 So Ebedmelech went with the men to the palace storeroom and got some worn-out clothing which he let down to me by ropes.
12 He told me to put the rags under my arms, so that the ropes wouldn't hurt me. I did this,
13 and they pulled me up out of the well. After that I was kept in the courtyard.
14 On another occasion King Zedekiah had me brought to him at the third entrance to the Temple, and he said, "I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the whole truth."
15 I answered, "If I tell you the truth, you will put me to death, and if I give you advice, you won't pay any attention."
16 So King Zedekiah promised me in secret, "I swear by the living God, the God who gave us life, that I will not put you to death or hand you over to the men who want to kill you."
17 Then I told Zedekiah that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said, "If you surrender to the king of Babylonia's officers, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned down. Both you and your family will be spared.
18 But if you do not surrender, then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will burn it down, and you will not escape from them."
19 But the king answered, "I am afraid of our own people who have deserted to the Babylonians. I may be handed over to them and tortured."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.