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And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur, the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,

So says Jehovah, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague. But he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and his life shall be a prize; and he shall live.

So says Jehovah, This city giving shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, and he shall capture it.

And the rulers said to the king, Please cause this man to die. For in this way he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking these words to them. For this man does not seekthe peace of this people, but the evil.

And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand. For the king cannot do anything against you.

And they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guardhouse. And they let Jeremiah down with ropes. But no water was in the pit, only mud. So Jeremiah sank into themud.

And Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian man, of the eunuchs in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the pit (the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin).

Ebed-melech went out of the king's house and spoke to the king, saying,

My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have thrown into the pit. And it will be that he has died in his place because of the famine, for there is no more food in the city.

And the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take in your hand thirty men from here and bring up Jeremiah the prophet out of the pit before he dies.

And Ebed-melech took the men in his hand and went into the king's house, to under the treasury. And he took worn out clothes and worn out rags from there. And he let them down by ropes into the pit to Jeremiah.

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Now put these worn out clothes and rags under the armpits of your hands, under the ropes. And Jeremiah did so.

And they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and brought him up out of the pit. And Jeremiah dwelt in the court of the guardhouse.