← All Chapters The Book of Jeremiah · Chapter 38

Jeremiah 38: Rescued From the Cistern

Lowered into the mire to die, Jeremiah is saved by the courage of a foreigner, while a fearful king refuses to obey the word he secretly seeks.

Coming soon

Jeremiah 38 (WEB)

1 Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,

2 Thus says Yahweh, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.

3 Thus says Yahweh, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.

4 Then the princes said to the king, “Please let this man be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn’t seek the welfare of this people, but the hurt.”

5 Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he who can do anything against you.

6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin),

8 Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, 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, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.

10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from here thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dies.

11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

12 Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put now these rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the cords. Jeremiah did so.

13 So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entry that is in Yahweh’s house: and the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.

15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? and if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.

16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel: If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house.

18 But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand.

19 Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews who are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.

20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of Yahweh, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.

21 But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that Yahweh has shown me:

22 behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought out to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Your familiar friends have set you on, and have prevailed over you. Your feet are sunk in the mire, they have turned away back.

23 They shall bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans; and you shall not escape out of their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and you shall not die.

25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, Declare to us now what you have said to the king; don’t hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also what the king said to you:

26 then you shall tell them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.

27 Then came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.

28 So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

Summary

Hearing Jeremiah urge surrender to Babylon as the only way to live, the officials charge that he is demoralizing the soldiers and demand his death. The weak king Zedekiah yields, saying he cannot oppose them, and they lower Jeremiah by ropes into a cistern with no water but deep mire, where he sinks and is left to die. Then Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch in the palace, hears of it and boldly appeals to the king, declaring that the men have done evil and Jeremiah will starve. The king grants him men, and Ebed-melech tenderly lowers rags and worn-out garments for Jeremiah to pad the ropes under his arms, and they draw him up. Zedekiah secretly summons Jeremiah again and swears not to kill him. Jeremiah tells him the truth once more: if he surrenders to Babylon's officials he and the city will live, but if he refuses, the city will be burned and he will not escape. The king confesses he is afraid of the Judeans who have already deserted, but Jeremiah urges him to obey the Lord's voice so that it will go well with him. Fearful of being found out, Zedekiah arranges a cover story, and Jeremiah remains in the court of the guard until the day Jerusalem falls.

Main Characters

  • Jeremiah — The prophet cast into a miry cistern to die for his unwelcome message, rescued, and still calling the king to obey the Lord.
  • Ebed-melech — An Ethiopian eunuch who courageously appeals to the king and gently rescues Jeremiah from the cistern with rags and ropes.
  • Zedekiah — The fearful king who hands Jeremiah over, then permits his rescue, secretly seeks his counsel, yet cannot summon the courage to obey it.
  • The princes of Judah — The officials who accuse Jeremiah of weakening the city's defenders and lower him into the cistern to die.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 38:20 (WEB)

But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of Yahweh, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.

Lessons Learned

  • Faithful witness can provoke deadly opposition, yet God preserves his servants.
  • God often works rescue through unexpected and unlikely people.
  • Courage to do right may come from outsiders when insiders fail.
  • Fear of others can keep us from obeying the God we know is right.
  • Truth can be treated as treason. The princes seek Jeremiah's death because he supposedly "weakens the hands of the men of war" (Jeremiah 38:4, WEB). The faithful word is resented as a threat.
  • God raises unlikely rescuers. Ebed-melech, a foreign eunuch, risks himself to save the prophet (Jeremiah 38:7-13, WEB). God's deliverers are often the overlooked.
  • Obedience is the way of life. "Obey… the voice of Yahweh… so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live" (Jeremiah 38:20, WEB). Heeding God leads to life.
  • Fear can paralyze obedience. Zedekiah confesses, "I am afraid of the Jews" (Jeremiah 38:19, WEB). Knowing the right path is not the same as walking it.
  1. Why do the officials want Jeremiah dead, and what does Zedekiah's response reveal about him?
  2. What is striking about who rescues Jeremiah and how he does it?
  3. What does Jeremiah continue to urge the king to do, even after nearly being killed?
  4. How does Zedekiah's fear keep him from obeying the word he knows is from God?
  5. Where might God be calling you to courageous action or obedience that fear is holding back?
  1. The officials claim Jeremiah's call to surrender saps the soldiers' morale, so they demand his death (38:4). Zedekiah caves, saying the king "is not he who can do anything against you" (38:5). His weakness and inability to stand up for what is right are laid bare.
  2. It is a foreign eunuch, Ebed-melech, not Judah's leaders, who acts justly and saves Jeremiah, even thoughtfully sending rags to cushion the ropes (38:7-12). God uses an outsider's courage and tenderness to deliver his prophet when insiders fail.
  3. Even after the cistern, Jeremiah tells Zedekiah plainly that surrender to Babylon means life and refusal means ruin, pleading with him to obey the Lord (38:17-20). His persistence shows a heart set on the king's good, not on self-protection.
  4. Zedekiah admits he fears the deserters' mockery more than he trusts God's promise (38:19). His fear of people overrides his knowledge of God's word, leaving him paralyzed. It is a sobering picture of how dread of others can smother obedience.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name, gently, a place where fear of others' opinions hinders their obedience to God. As leader, encourage courage rooted in trust, and hold up Ebed-melech as an example of doing right despite risk.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.