Jeremiah 37; Jeremiah 38; Jeremiah 39; Hebrews 3

1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had appointed Zedekiah son of Josiah to be king of Judah. Zedekiah took the place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim.

2 But Zedekiah, his servants, and the people of Judah did not listen to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

3 Now King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah with a message to Jeremiah the prophet. This was the message: "Jeremiah, please pray to the Lord our God for us."

4 At that time Jeremiah had not yet been put into prison. So he was free to go anywhere he wanted.

5 The army of the king of Egypt had marched from Egypt toward Judah. Now the Babylonian army had surrounded the city of Jerusalem. When they heard about the Egyptian army marching toward them, the Babylonian army left Jerusalem.

6 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah the prophet:

7 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Jehucal and Zephaniah, I know Zedekiah king of Judah sent you to seek my help. Tell this to King Zedekiah: 'The army of the king of Egypt came here to help you, but they will go back to Egypt.

8 After that, the Babylonian army will return and attack Jerusalem and capture it and burn it down.'

9 "This is what the Lord says: People of Jerusalem, do not fool yourselves. Don't say, 'The Babylonian army will surely leave us alone.' They will not!

10 Even if you defeated all of the Babylonian army that is attacking you and there were only a few injured men left in their tents, they would come from their tents and burn down Jerusalem!"

11 So the Babylonian army left Jerusalem to fight the army of the king of Egypt.

12 Now Jeremiah tried to travel from Jerusalem to the land of Benjamin to get his share of the property that belonged to his family.

13 When Jeremiah got to the Benjamin Gate of Jerusalem, the captain in charge of the guards arrested him. The captain's name was Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah. Irijah said, "You are leaving us to join the Babylonians!"

14 But Jeremiah said to Irijah, "That's not true! I am not leaving to join the Babylonians." Irijah refused to listen to Jeremiah, so he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officers of Jerusalem.

15 Those rulers were very angry with Jeremiah and beat him. Then they put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the royal secretary, which had been made into a prison.

16 So those people put Jeremiah into a cell in a dungeon, and Jeremiah was there for a long time.

17 Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to the palace. Zedekiah asked him in private, "Is there any message from the Lord?" Jeremiah answered, "Yes, there is. Zedekiah, you will be handed over to the king of Babylon."

18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "What crime have I done against you or your officers or the people of Jerusalem? Why have you thrown me into prison?

19 Where are your prophets that prophesied this message to you: 'The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land of Judah?'

20 But now, my master, king of Judah, please listen to me, and please do what I ask of you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the royal secretary, or I will die there!"

21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be put under guard in the courtyard of the guard and to be given bread each day from the street of the bakers until there was no more bread in the city. So he stayed under guard in the courtyard of the guard.

1 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people. He said:

2 "This is what the Lord says: 'Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, or hunger, or terrible diseases. But everyone who surrenders to the Babylonian army will live; they will escape with their lives and live.'

3 And this is what the Lord says: 'This city of Jerusalem will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture this city!'"

4 Then the officers said to the king, "Jeremiah must be put to death! He is discouraging the soldiers who are still in the city, and all the people, by what he is saying to them. He does not want good to happen to us; he wants to ruin us."

5 King Zedekiah said to them, "Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop you."

6 So the officers took Jeremiah and put him into the well of Malkijah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guards. The officers used ropes to lower Jeremiah into the well, which did not have any water in it, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

7 But Ebed-Melech, a Cushite and a servant in the palace, heard that the officers had put Jeremiah into the well. As King Zedekiah was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,

8 Ebed-Melech left the palace and went to the king. Ebed-Melech said to him,

9 "My master and king, these rulers have acted in an evil way. They have treated Jeremiah the prophet badly. They have thrown him into a well and left him there to die! When there is no more bread in the city, he will starve to death."

10 Then King Zedekiah commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from the palace and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the well before he dies."

11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the storeroom in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from that room. Then he let those rags down with some ropes to Jeremiah in the well.

12 Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to be pads for the ropes." So Jeremiah did as Ebed-Melech said.

13 The men pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the well. And Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard of the guard.

14 Then King Zedekiah sent someone to get Jeremiah the prophet and bring him to the third entrance to the Temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something. Do not hide anything from me, but tell me everything honestly."

15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I give you an answer, you will surely kill me. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."

16 But King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah, "As surely as the Lord lives who has given us breath and life, I will not kill you. And I promise not to hand you over to the officers who want to kill you."

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: 'If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be saved. Jerusalem will not be burned down, and you and your family will live.

18 But if you refuse to surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, Jerusalem will be handed over to the Babylonian army, and they will burn it down. And you yourself will not escape from them.'"

19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I'm afraid of some Jews who have already gone over to the side of the Babylonian army. If the Babylonians hand me over to them, they will treat me badly."

20 But Jeremiah answered, "The Babylonians will not hand you over to the Jews. Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then things will go well for you, and your life will be saved.

21 But if you refuse to surrender to the Babylonians, the Lord has shown me what will happen.

22 All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out and taken to the important officers of the king of Babylon. Your women will make fun of you with this song: 'Your good friends misled you and were stronger than you. While your feet were stuck in the mud, they left you.'

23 "All your wives and children will be brought out and given to the Babylonian army. You yourself will not even escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylon, and Jerusalem will be burned down."

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not tell anyone that I have been talking to you, or you will die.

25 If the officers find out I talked to you, they will come to you and say, 'Tell us what you said to King Zedekiah and what he said to you. Don't keep any secrets from us. If you don't tell us everything, we will kill you.'

26 If they ask you, tell them, 'I was begging the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die.'"

27 All the officers did come to question Jeremiah. So he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. Then the officers said no more to Jeremiah, because no one had heard what Jeremiah and the king had discussed.

28 So Jeremiah stayed under guard in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

1 This is how Jerusalem was captured: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and surrounded the city to attack it. This was during the tenth month of the ninth year Zedekiah was king of Judah.

2 This lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah's eleventh year. Then the city wall was broken through.

3 And all these officers of the king of Babylon came into Jerusalem and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of the district of Samgar; Nebo-Sarsekim, a chief officer; Nergal-Sharezer, an important leader; and all the other important officers.

4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they ran away. They left Jerusalem at night and went out from the king's garden. They went through the gate that was between the two walls and then headed toward the Jordan Valley.

5 But the Babylonian army chased them and caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was at the town of Riblah in the land of Hamath. There Nebuchadnezzar passed his sentence on Zedekiah.

6 At Riblah the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons and all the important officers of Judah as Zedekiah watched.

7 Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes. He put bronze chains on Zedekiah and took him to Babylon.

8 The Babylonians set fire to the palace and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

9 Nebuzaradan, commander of the king's special guards, took the people left in Jerusalem, those captives who had surrendered to him earlier, and the rest of the people of Jerusalem, and he took them all away to Babylon.

10 But Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, left some of the poorest people of Judah behind. They owned nothing, but that day he gave them vineyards and fields.

11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard:

12 "Find Jeremiah and take care of him. Do not hurt him, but do for him whatever he asks you."

13 So Nebuchadnezzar sent these men for Jeremiah: Nebuzaradan, commander of the guards; Nebushazban, a chief officer; Nergal-Sharezer, an important leader; and all the other officers of the king of Babylon.

14 They had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. Then they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, who had orders to take Jeremiah back home. So they took him home, and he stayed among the people left in Judah.

15 While Jeremiah was guarded in the courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to him:

16 "Jeremiah, go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite this message: 'This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Very soon I will make my words about Jerusalem come true through disaster, not through good times. You will see everything come true with your own eyes.

17 But I will save you on that day, Ebed-Melech, says the Lord. You will not be handed over to the people you fear.

18 I will surely save you, Ebed-Melech. You will not die from a sword, but you will escape and live. This will happen because you have trusted in me, says the Lord.'"

1 So all of you holy brothers and sisters, who were called by God, think about Jesus, who was sent to us and is the high priest of our faith.

2 Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was in God's family.

3 Jesus has more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.

4 Every house is built by someone, but the builder of everything is God himself.

5 Moses was faithful in God's family as a servant, and he told what God would say in the future.

6 But Christ is faithful as a Son over God's house. And we are God's house if we keep on being very sure about our great hope.

7 So it is as the Holy Spirit says: "Today listen to what he says.

8 Do not be stubborn as in the past when you turned against God, when you tested God in the desert.

9 There your ancestors tried me and tested me and saw the things I did for forty years.

10 I was angry with them. I said, 'They are not loyal to me and have not understood my ways.'

11 I was angry and made a promise, 'They will never enter my rest.'"

12 So brothers and sisters, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that will turn you away from the living God.

13 But encourage each other every day while it is "today." Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.

14 We all share in Christ if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning.

15 This is what the Scripture says: "Today listen to what he says. Do not be stubborn as in the past when you turned against God."

16 Who heard God's voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt.

17 And with whom was God angry for forty years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert.

18 And to whom was God talking when he promised that they would never enter his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him.

19 So we see they were not allowed to enter and have God's rest, because they did not believe.