Jeremiah 38:6

⁴ Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”

⁵ “Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.”

So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

⁷ Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,

⁸ Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king,

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
KJV: Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
WEB: Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
ASV: 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. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
DARBY: Then they took Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the guard, and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
BLB: And they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king that [was] in the court of the guard. And they sent down Jeremiah with the ropes. And in the cistern there was not water, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

ÅB: Da tok de Jeremias og kastet ham i kongesønnen Malkias brønn, som var i vaktgården, og de firte Jeremias ned med rep; i brønnen var ikke vann, men bare dynd, og Jeremias sank ned i dyndet.
OTB: Så tok de Jeremias og satte ham i brønnen til Malkia, kongens sønn, som var i vaktgården. De senket Jeremias ned med tau i brønnen; det var ikke vann i den, bare gjørme, og Jeremias sank ned i gjørmen.
B1930: Da tok de Jeremias og kastet ham i kongesønnen Malkias brønn, som var i vaktgården, og de firte Jeremias ned med rep; i brønnen var ikke vann, men bare dynd, og Jeremias sank ned i dyndet.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Jeremiah 37:21
So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Read in context
Psalms 69:2
I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me.
Read in context
Psalms 69:14–15
Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink; deliver me from my foes and out of the deep waters.
Read in context
Jeremiah 38:22
All the women who remain in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon, and those women will say: ‘They misled you and overcame you— those trusted friends of yours. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.’
Read in context
Jeremiah 37:16
So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.
Read in context
Lamentations 3:52–55
Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
Read in context
Acts 16:24
On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Read in context
Genesis 37:24
and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.
Read in context