Jeremiah Is Held Prisoner in a Dry Well
1 One day, Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jehucal, and Pashhur heard me tell the people of Judah 2-3 that the Lord had said, “If you stay here in Jerusalem, you will die in battle or from disease or hunger, and the Babylonian army will capture the city anyway. But if you surrender to the Babylonians, they will let you live.”
4 So the four of them went to the king and said, “You should put Jeremiah to death, because he is making the soldiers and everyone else lose hope. He isn't trying to help our people; he's trying to harm them.”
5 Zedekiah replied, “Do what you want with him. I can't stop you.”
6 Then they took me back to the courtyard of the palace guards and let me down with ropes into the well that belonged to Malchiah, the king's son. There was no water in the well, but I sank down in the mud.
7-8 Ebedmelech from Ethiopia was an official at the palace, and he heard what they had done to me. So he went to speak with King Zedekiah, who was holding court at Benjamin Gate. 9 Ebedmelech said, “Your Majesty, Jeremiah is a prophet, and those men were wrong to throw him into a well. And when Jerusalem runs out of food, Jeremiah will starve to death down there.”
10 Zedekiah answered, “Take 30 of my soldiers and pull Jeremiah out before he dies.”
11 Ebedmelech and the soldiers went to the palace and got some rags from the room under the treasury. He used ropes to lower them into the well. 12 Then he said, “Put these rags under your arms so the ropes won't hurt you.” After I did, 13 the men pulled me out. And from then on, I was kept in the courtyard of the palace guards.
King Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah
14 King Zedekiah had me brought to his private entrance to the temple, and he said, “I'm going to ask you something, and I want to know the truth.”
15 “Why?” I replied. “You won't listen, and you might even have me killed!”
16 He said, “I swear in the name of the living Lord our Creator that I won't have you killed. No one else can hear what we say, and I won't let anyone kill you.”
17 Then I told him that the Lord had said: “Zedekiah, I am the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel. I promise that if you surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar's officers, you and your family won't be killed, and Jerusalem won't be burned down. 18 But if you don't surrender, I will let the Babylonian army capture Jerusalem and burn it down, and you will be taken prisoner.”
19 Zedekiah answered, “I can't surrender to the Babylonians. I'm too afraid of the people of Judah who have already joined them. The Babylonians might hand me over to them, and they would torture me.”
20 I said, “If you will just obey the Lord, the Babylonians won't hand you over to those Jews. You will be allowed to live, and all will go well for you. 21 But the Lord has shown me that if you refuse to obey, 22 then the women of your palace will be taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar's officials. And those women will say to you:
Friends you trusted led you astray.
Now you're trapped in mud,
and those friends you trusted
have all turned away.
23 The Babylonian army will take your wives and children captive, you will be taken as a prisoner to the King of Babylonia, and Jerusalem will be burned down.”
24 Zedekiah said, “Jeremiah, if you tell anyone what we have talked about, you might lose your life. 25 And I'm sure that if my officials hear about our meeting, they will ask you what we said to each other. They might even threaten to kill you if you don't tell them. 26 So if they question you, tell them you were begging me not to send you back to the prison at Jonathan's house, because going back there would kill you.”
27 The officials did come and question me about my meeting with the king, and I told them exactly what he had ordered me to say. They never spoke to me about the meeting again, since no one had heard us talking.
28 I was held in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day Jerusalem was captured.
Jeremiya unolashigwa mu tshime le vula
1 Ngono kwakati Shefatiya nkololo wa Matani na Gedaliya nkololo wa Phashihuri na Jukali nkololo wa Shelemiya na Phashihuri nkololo wa Malikhiya behwa matama akabe elebgwa ndi Jeremiya ku bathu bose eti, 2 “Yahwe bakati, ‘Iye unosala mu nzi nkulu iwoyu unowobulawa nge thumo kene ne bhamba kene nge bugwele, koga iye unoyenda ku Bakhaladiya unowotjila, unowowana butjilo gugwe guli ndipo ye ngwa ngono katjila.’ 3 Yahwe bakati, ‘Nge malebeswa nzi nkulu iwoyu unowolongwa mu luboko gwe babhayani be mambo we Bhabhiloni ngono unowotapiwa.’ ”
4 Ipapo makulukota kadwa mambo kati, “Nlume iwoyu wakafanila kuti abulawe. Unonyadza moyo babhayani basala mu nzi iwoyu nkulu nenge bathu bose nge zwithu zwaanoleba ku bali. Nlume iwoyu aatoshakila bathu ibaba bubuya koga unoshaka kubalobesa.”
5 Mambo Zedekiya kashandula eti, “Bonani umu maboko enyu, ngoti mambo akuna tjabangamuthama.”
6 Ndizo bakatola Jeremiya bakanlashila mu tshime la Malikija nkololo wa mambo, lakabe lili mu nsha we balindi. Bakalonga Jeremiya nge mitjili mu tshime, lakabe lisina vula kuzhe kwe dope koga ngono Jeremiya kanyumbgwila mu dope.
7 Ngono kukati Ebedimeleki we N'topiya ngomwa yakabe ishinga mu ng'umba ya mambo ehwa kuti bakalonga Jeremiya mu tshime, ipapo mambo kabe aligele ku nkoba we Nkoba we Bhenjamini, 8 Ebedimeleki kadwa pa ng'umba ya mambo ngono kanodwa mambo eti, 9 “Tetshi wangu mambo, balume ibaba bathama tjakabipa muna zose zwabathamila Jeremiya nlebesambeli, banlashila mu tshime, iko kwaanofila ko ebulawa nge zhala ngoti akutjina zojiwa mu nzi nkulu.”
10 Ipapo mambo kadwa Ebedimeleki we N'khushi kati, “Tola balume bali makumi matatu (30) bayende nawe unodusa Jeremiya nlebesambeli mu tshime asathu akafa.”
11 Ndizo Ebedimeleki katola balume ibabo akangina mu ng'umba ya mambo ku mabiganyilo e zwiambalo ngono katola masaka makulukugwe ne zwiambalo zwikulukugwe ngono kazwilashila kuna Jeremiya mu tshime nge misungo. 12 Ebedimeleki we N'khushi wakadwa Jeremiya kati, “Longa masaka ne zwiambalo mu apkhwa dzidzo ne misungo kusi kwazo.” Jeremiya kathama sa ikoku. 13 Ipapo bakakweba Jeremiya ne misungo bakan'dusa mu tshime. Jeremiya kagala kakale mu nsha we babhayani.
Zedekiya unobhuzwisisa Jeremiya kakale
14 Mambo Zedekiya katuma bathu kuti ban'danile Jeremiya we nlebesambeli ngono bakan'zhisa ku nkoba we butatu we Ng'umba ya Yahwe. Ngono mambo bakadwa Jeremiya bakati, “Ndowokubhuzwa tjimwe, usitongondisumbikila tjimwe.”
15 Jeremiya kadwa Zedekiya kati, “Ha ndimubudza matama, atenditi mowondibulaya? Kakale nenguba ndingamukumbuludza amunganditeedze.”
16 Koga Mambo Zedekiya katuna kuna Jeremiya ngekwa kasumbikala kati, “Ha Yahwe batjatjila, ibo bakathama butjilo gwedu, andingakubulaye kene kukulonga mu maboko e balume ibaba banoshaka butjilo gugo.”
17 Ipapo Jeremiya kadwa Zedekiya kati, “Yahwe Ndzimu Masimbawose, Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, ‘Aungamilidza maboko ukazwipa ku balauli be babhayani be mambo we Babhabhiloni ipapo butjilo gugo gowotjengetiwa ne nzi iwoyu aungatjapisiwe nge moto ngono iwe ne be nsha uwo mowotjila. 18 Koga ausingamilidze maboko awo ukazwipa ku balauli be babhayani be mambo we Bhabhiloni nzi iwoyu nkulu unowolongwa mu maboko e Bakhaladiya ngono banowoupisa nge moto, iwe aungapudzumuke mu maboko abo.’ ”
19 Mambo Zedekiya kadwa Jeremiya kati, “Ndotja Bajuta bakathoba beyenda ku Bakhaladiya pamwe swiyo bangadwa bendilonga mu maboko abo kuti bandidziyidze.”
20 Jeremiya kashandula eti, “Abanga mulonge mu maboko abo, teedzani hwi la Yahwe muna tjandinomubudza ngono kowomululwamila koga ne butjilo gwenyu gowotjengetiwa. 21 Koga amusinga milidze maboko enyu mukazwipa kuna mbono iyeyi Yahwe yabandilakidza: 22 Bakadzi bose bakasala mu ng'umba ye bumambo ya mambo we Juda banowotolegwa ku balauli be babhayani be Bhabhiloni. Bakadzi ibabo banowoti kukuli,
“ ‘Bakwinya babo banogalikabgwe,
bakakudiyila ntome.
Makumbo awo atjimwila mu dope,
bakwinya babo bakufupatila.’
23 “Bakadzi babo bose ne bana banowoyisiwa ku Bakhaladiya ngono iwe nge kuko aungapudzumuke mu maboko abo koga unowobhakhwa nge mambo we Bhabhiloni ne nzi iwoyu nkulu unowopisiwa nge moto.”
24 Ipapo Zedekiya kadwa Jeremiya kati, “Kushete wawabudza ngekwe ndebeleko iyeyi kusaka jalo unowofa. 25 Ha balauli be babhayani bangahwa kuti ndalebeleka nawe bebe bezha kukuli beti, ‘Tibudze tjawabudza mambo ne tjawadwiwa ndi mambo, usitisumbikile kusaka jalo towokubulaya,’ 26 ipapo ubadwe uti, ‘Ndabe ndikumbila mambo kuti basindibgwilize ku ng'umba ya Jonathani kunofila ko.’ ”
27 Balauli bose be babhayani bakazha kuna Jeremiya kuwombhuzwisisa ngono kababudza kose kwaadwiwa ndi mambo kuti akulebe. Ndizo bakasiti tjimwe ku nli ngoti akuna wakabe ahwa ndebeleko ya Jeremiya na mambo.
28 Jeremiya kagala ku nsha we balindi kuswikila zhuba Jerusalema layaka tapiwa.