Jeremiah 38:1-13

Then Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, and Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying: "Thus says the Lord: Whoever will remain in this city will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever will flee away from the Chaldeans, will live, and his soul will dwell in safety. Thus says the Lord: This city will certainly be delivered into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it." And the leaders said to the king: "We petition you to put this man to death. For he is deliberately weakening the hands of the men of war, who have remained in this city, and the hands of the people, by speaking to them with these words. For this man is certainly not seeking peace for this people, but evil." And king Zedekiah said: "Behold, he is in your hands. For it is not fitting for the king to deny you anything." Therefore, they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah, the son of Amelech, which was at the entrance to the prison. And they lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the pit, in which there was no water, but only mud. And so Jeremiah descended into the mire. Now Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had sent Jeremiah into the pit, and also that the king was sitting at the gate of Benjamin. And so Ebedmelech departed from the king's house, and he spoke to the king, saying: "My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have perpetrated against Jeremiah the prophet, casting him into the pit so that he would die there from famine. For there is no more bread in the city." And so the king instructed Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, saying: "Take with you thirty men from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dies." Therefore, Ebedmelech, taking the men with him, entered into the king's house to a place below the storehouse. And he took from there old garments, no longer in use, and he sent them down by rope to Jeremiah in the pit. And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah: "Place these old garments, and these cut and decaying cloths, under your arms and over the ropes." And Jeremiah did so. And they pulled up Jeremiah with the ropes, and they led him away from the pit. And Jeremiah remained in the vestibule of the prison.