; then Zedekiah the king sent,
and brought him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and
said, "Is there any word from the Lord?"

And Jeremiah said, "There is. Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of
the king of Babylon."

Moreover Jeremiah said unto King Zedekiah, "Wherein have I sinned
against thee, or against thy servants, or {311} against this people,
that ye have put me in prison? Where now are your prophets which
prophesied unto you, saying, 'The king of Babylon shall not come
against you, nor against this land'? And now hear, I pray thee, O my
lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before
thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the
scribe, lest I die there."

Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the
court of the guard, and they gave him daily a loaf of bread from the
bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah
remained in the court of the guard.

And the king's officers heard the words that Jeremiah spake unto all
the people, saying, "Thus saith the Lord, 'He that abideth in this
city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but
he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live.' Thus saith the Lord,
'This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king
of Babylon, and he shall take it.'"

Then the princes said unto the king, "Let this man, we pray thee, be
put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war
that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking
such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this
people, but their hurt."

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

Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon that was in the
court of the guard: and they let down {312} Jeremiah with cords. And
in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: and Jeremiah sank in the
mire.

Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, which was in the king's house,
heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, he went forth out of
the king's house, and spake 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 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."

Then the king commanded Ebed-melec