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.
Jeremia ta ekelwa mondungu i nonhata Ohamba tai mu popifa lutivali
1 Sefatja yaMattan naGedalja yaPashur naJukal yaSelemja naPashur yaMalkia ova uda eendjovo odo Jeremia e di lombwela ovanhu aveshe, eshi a tile: 2 Omwene ota ti ngaha: “Keshe ou ta kala moshilando eshi ota fi keongamukonda nokondjala nokoudu wolutapo, ndelenee keshe ou ta i kOvakaldea, ota ka kala e nomwenyo note lilikolele omwenyo waye, ndele ta kala e nomwenyo. 3 Omwene ota ti ngaha: Oshili oshilando eshi otashi ka yandjwa momake ongudu yovakwaita vohamba yaBabilon, notave ke shi nangala.” 4 Opo nee ovakulunhu va lombwela ohamba tava ti: “Omulumenhu ou na dipawe, osheshi ota fifa ovakwaita ounye, ava va xupa moshilando ndele ta tyololokifa ovanhu aveshe, eshi te va lombwele eendjovo da tya ngaha. Osheshi omulumenhu ou ita kongo ombili yovanhu ava, ndelenee omupya.” 5 Ndele ohamba Sedekia okwe va lombwela ta ti: “Tala, ye oku li momake eni, osheshi ohamba itai dulu okutya sha kunye.” 6 Opo nee ova kufa Jeremia ndele tave mu ekele mondungu yaMalkia omona wohamba ya li moluumbo longulu yodolongo, ve mu kulukifila nongodi. Mondungu omwa li muhe nomeva, onhata aike. Ndele Jeremia okwa ningina mo monhata. 7 Ndele Ebed-Melek Omuetiopia, elenga la li mouhamba, okwa uda Jeremia a ekelwa mondungu, ndelenee ohamba oya hangikile moshivelo shaBenjamin. 8 Ebed-Melek okwa dja mo mouhamba ndele ta popi nohamba ta ti: 9 “Omwene wange, ohamba. Ovalumenhu venya ova nyona mwaashishe eshi ve shi ningila omuxunganeki Jeremia, eshi ve mu ekela mo mondungu. Ota file mo ondjala, osheshi moshilando kamu na vali omungome.” 10 Ohamba oya lombwela Ebed-Melek Omuetiopia tai ti: “Kufa ovalumenhu omilongo nhatu, mu ye mu ka shile mo omuxunganeki Jeremia fimbo ina fya.” 11 Opo nee Ebed-Melek okwa kufa ovalumenhu, ndele ta i navo mouhamba, ta i monhele i li koshi yelimba lokutuvikila ndele ta kufa mo omalapi a nyanyauka a kulupa, nokwe a kulukifile nongodi kuJeremia mondungu. 12 Ndele Ebed-Melek Omuetiopia okwa lombwela Jeremia ndele ta ti: Omalapi oo oinyanyu a tula meenghwapa doye koshi yongodi. Jeremia okwe shi ninga. 13 Ndele ova shila mo Jeremia nongodi mondungu. Ndele Jeremia okwa kala moluumbo lodolongo.
14 Opo nee ohamba Sedekia okwa tuma omuxunganeki Jeremia a etwe kuye koshivelo oshititatu shomotembeli. Ndele ohamba okwa lombwela Jeremia, ndele tai ti: “Ame onda hala oku ku pula sha, ndele ino holeka nge sha. 15 Ndelenee Jeremia okwa nyamukula Sedekia ndele ta ti: Ngeenge handi shi ku hololele ito dipaa nge? Ngeenge handi ku lombwele ndi ku pukulule, ove ito ka uda nge.” 16 Opo nee ohamba Sedekia okwa anena Jeremia meholeko ndele ta ti: “Oshili, ngaashi Omwene e nomwenyo nokwe tu shitila omwenyo ou, itandi ku dipaa noitandi ke ku yandja momake ovalumenhu ava tava kongo omwenyo woye.” 17 Opo nee Jeremia okwa tya kuSedekia: “Omwene Kalunga komatanga ovakwaita, Kalunga kaIsrael ota ti: Ngeenge ove oto liyandje pahalo liwa momake omalenga omakulunhu ohamba yaBabilon, ove oto ka kala nomwenyo noshilando eshi itashi xwikwa po komundilo. Ndele ove neumbo loye alishe otamu kala mu nomwenyo. 18 Ndelenee ngeenge ito liyandje momake omalenga omakulunhu ohamba yaBabilon, oshilando eshi otashi ka yandjwa momake Ovakaldea ndele tave shi xwike po nomundilo, naave mwene yo ito ka xupifwa momake avo.” 19 Opo nee ohamba Sedekia oya tya kuJeremia: “Ame ohandi tila Ovajuda ovo va ama kOvakaldea, nokutya ohandi yandjwa momake avo, ndele tava ka sheka nge.” 20 Ndelenee Jeremia okwa nyamukula ta ti: “Ahowe, ito yandjwa momake avo. Pwilikina ashike odo handi di ku lombwele pandjovo yOmwene, ndele to ka kala nawa, ndele oto ka kala u nomwenyo. 21 Ndelenee ngeenge to anye okuliyandja, ondjovo oyo tuu ei Omwene e i talifa nge: 22 Tala, ovakainhu aveshe vomouhamba waJuda va fyaala po, otava ka twalwa komalenga ohamba yaBabilon, ndele tava ti:
Ovalumenhu ava wa panga navo oukaume
ovo ve ku pukifa nove ku dula;
eemhadi doye oda ningina monhata,
vo va dja po.
23 “Ovakainhu voye aveshe novana voye otava twalwa kOvakaldea. Naave mwene yo ito dulu okuyonhapo u dje momake avo. Ndelenee ove oto ka kwatwa keke lohamba yaBabilon, noshilando eshi otashi ka xwikwa po komundilo.” 24 Opo nee Sedekia okwa tya kuJeremia: “Eendjovo odo inadi udika nande okomunhu, opo uha fye.” 25 Ndele ovakulunhu ngeenge tava udu eenghundafana detu naave, notave uya kwoove ndele tava ti: Tu lombwela eshi mwa kundafana nohamba, naashi ye e ku lombwela, ino shi tu holeka, fye ohatu ku dipaa? 26 Opo nee va lombwela u tye: Ame onda indila ohamba ndiha twalwe meumbo laJonatan ndi file mo. 27 Opo nee ovakulunhu ve uya kuJeremia ndele ve mu pula. Ndele ye okwe va nyamukula ngaashi a lombwelwa kohamba. Vo ove mu efa nombili, osheshi oshinima inashi shiivika. 28 Osho ngaha Jeremia a kala moluumbo lodolongo fiyo okefiku olo Jerusalem sha nangalwa.
