Jeremiab ge ǁgamo tsaub ǃnâ ra aoǂgāhe
1 Matanni ôab Sefatjab tsî Pashuri ôab Gedaljab tsî Selemjab ôab Jukali tsî Malkiab ôab Pashuri tsîgu ge Jeremiab ge ǁaesa mîba mîdi hoade ge ǁnâu, mîb geo, 2 nētib ge ǃKhūba ra mî: “Nē ǃās ǃnâ ga hâ khoe-i hoa-i ge torob ǃnâ tamas ka io ǃâtsūǀkhāb xa tamas ka io ǂhīǁōb xa nî ǁō, xawe Xaldeaǁîn ǃoa ga ǃgûǂoa-i ge nî ûi. ǁÎn ge ûitsamase nî ûiǂoa.” 3 ǃAruǀîb ge ǃKhūba ge mî: “Nē ǃās ge ǂanǂansase Babilons gao-aob di toroǂnubisa nî māǁnâhe tsî ǁîn xa nî ūhe.”
4 O gu ge ǂamkhoega gao-aob ǃoa ge mî: “Ab nē khoeba ǃgamhe. ǁÎb ge ǃās ǃnâ ǃgau hâ toroǃkhamaogu tsî hoaraga ǁaes tsîna ra ǂkhabuǂâi kai, nēti i mîde ǁîna mîbas ǀkha. Nē khoeb ge ǁaes di ǃgâiba ôa tama hâ, xawe ǁîn di tsūba ra ôa.”
5 Ob ge gao-aob Sedekiaba ge mî: “ǁÎb ge sago ǃomǁae hâ, tita ge xū-i xare-e sago ǃoagu a dī ǁoa.” 6 O gu ge Jeremiaba ū tsî gao-aob ôab Malkijab di tsaub, ǃûi-aogu di ai-ommi ǃnâ ge hâ ib ǃnâ ge ǂgā. Tsaub ǃnâ i ge ǁgam-e ge ǀkhai i, ǂgoab ǀguib ge ge hâ i tsîb ge Jeremiaba ǂgoab ǃnâ ge ǁgôa.
7 Tsî Etiopiaǁîb Ebed-Meleki, gao-ommi ǂamkhoe ge ib ge Jeremiab ge tsaub ǃnâ ǂgāhe ǃkhaisa ge ǁnâu. Gao-aob ge ǁnā ǁaeb ai Benjamindao-ams tawa ge ǂnôa i, 8 tsîb ge Ebed-Meleka gao-omma xu ǂoa tsî ǁîba sī ge mîba: 9 “ǃGôahesa gao-aotse, nē khoegu ge kēbo-aob Jeremiab ǀkha tsūse go dī; ǁîgu ge ǁîba tsaub ǃnâ go ǂgā tsîb ge ǁîba ǁnāpa ǃâs xa nî ǁō, pere-i ǃās ǃnâ a ǀkhai xui-ao.” 10 Ob ge gao-aoba Etiopiaǁîb Ebed-Meleka ge mîmā: “ǃNona khoega nēpa xu ūsao, î kēbo-aob Jeremiaba tsauba xu ūǂui, ǁōb nîs aiǃâ.” 11 Ob ge Ebed-Meleka ǁnā khoega ūsao tsî gao-ommi di ǁui-ommi ǃnaka hâ ǃnā-oms ǃnâ ǂgâ tsî ǀorotoa hâ ǃkhain tsî doa hâ saran tsîna ge ū, tsî ǁîna tsurigu ǀkha Jeremiab ǃoa tsaub ǃnâ ge ǁgôa kai. 12 Tsîb ge Etiopiaǁîb Ebed-Meleka Jeremiab ǃoa ge mî: “Nē ǀoro ǃkhain tsî doa hâ saran tsîna sa gamǃnâra ǃnâ tsurigu ǃnaka ǁgui.” Ob ge Jeremiaba ǁnāti ge dī. 13 O gu ge Jeremiaba tsurigu ǀkha tsauba xu ge ǂgaeǂui, tsîb ge ǁîba ǃûi-aogu di ai-ommi ǃnâ ge hâ.
Sedekiab ge Jeremiab ai ra ǀape-ôa
14 Gao-aob Sedekiab ge kēbo-aob Jeremiaba ǂgai kai tsî ǁîba ǃnonaǁî dao-ams ǃKhūb ommi dis tawa ge ǃkhōǃoa. Gao-aob ge Jeremiab ǃoa ge mî: “Xū-e ta ge nî dî tsi, xuige tā xū-i xare-e tita xu gaugau re.”
15 Ob ge Jeremiaba Sedekiab ǃoa ge mî: “Mîba tsi ta kao, amase ǃgam tets tide? ǀApemā tsi ta ka, xawets ge ǃgâ te tide.”
16 Gao-aob Sedekiab ge Jeremiaba ǂganǃgâsib ǃnâ nūs ǀkha ge mîmâiba: “ǃKhūb sakhom ǀomra ge dīb a ûitsama ǃkhais ao ta ge ǃgam tsi tide; ǁkhāti ta ge ǁnāgu hîa sa ûiba ra ôagu ai māǁnâ tsi tide.”
17 Ob ge Jeremiaba Sedekiab ǃoa ge mî: “Nētib ge ǃKhūb Elob Hoaǀgaixab, Israeli di Eloba ra mî. Babilons gao-aob di ǂamkhoegu aits ga māǁnâsen, ob ge sa ûiba nî sâuhe tsîs ge nē ǃāsa khauǃkhūhe tide. Sats tsî sa ǀaokhoen tsîdu ge nî ûi. 18 Xawe Babilons gao-aob di ǂamkhoegu aits ga māǁnâsen tama io, os ge nē ǃāsa Xaldeaǁîn ǃomǁae nî māǁnâhe tsîn ge ǁîna ǁîsa nî khauǃkhū tsî sats tsîn ge ǁîn ǃomǁaeba xu ûiǂoa tide.”
19 Ob ge gao-aob Sedekiaba Jeremiab ǃoa ge mî: “Tita ge ǁnā Jodeǁîn, Xaldeaǁîn ǃoa ge ǃgûn xa ra ǃao. ǀNîsin ge Xaldeaǁîna ǁîn ai nî māǁnâ te tsîn ge ǁîna nî tsûtsû te.”
20 Ob ge Jeremiaba ge mî: “Sats ge ǁîn ai māǁnâhe tide. ǃKhūb di mîs hîa ta ra mîba tsisa ǁnâuǀnam re, ots ge nî ǃgâibahe tsîb ge sa ûiba nî sâuhe. 21 Xawe māǁnâsensats ga ǂkhāo, nēs ge ǃKhūb ge ǂhaiǂhaiba te ǃkhaisa: 22 Judab gao-ommi ǃnâ ge ǃgau khoedi hoadi ge Babilons gao-aob di ǂamkhoega ǃoa nî ǂgaeǂguiǂuihe tsî di ge nî mî:
“ ‘Sa ǃgâi ǀhōsagu ge satsa ge ǂgaeǂhapu,
ǁîgu ge satsa ge dan.
Sa ǂaira go ǂgoab ǃnâ tsōǂgâ,
o gu ge satsa xu go ūbēsen.’ ”
23 “Sa tarekhoedi hoadi tsî sa ôan hoan tsîn ge Xaldeaǁîn ǃoa nî ǂgaeǂguiǂuihe. Sats tsîn ge Xaldeaǁîna xu ûiǂoa tide tsî Babilons gao-aob xa ǃkhōsis ǃnâ nî ūhe, tsî ǃās ge nî khauǃkhūhe.”
24 Ob ge Sedekiaba Jeremiab ǃoa ge mî: “Tā i khoe-i xare-e nē ǃhoaǁares xa ǂan, îts tā ǁō. 25 Ti ǂamkhoegu ga sats ǀkha ta goro ǃhoasa ǁnâu tsî sats tawa hā tsî mîo: ‘Mîba ge re tare-ets go gao-aoba mîbas tsî tare-eb go gao-aoba sats ǃoa mîsa; tā xū-i xare-e sige xu gaugau, ǃgam tsi ge tide xuige.’ 26 O ǁîga mîba: Tita ge gao-aob ai goro ǀkhomabasen, îb tā Jonatanni omsa ǃoa sî-oa te ǁnāpa ta nî ǁōse.” 27 Tsî gu ge ǂamkhoegu hoaga Jeremiab ǃoa hā tsî ǁîba ge dî, ob ge ǁîga gao-aob ge mîmā bi khami ge ǃeream. O gu ge ǁîba ge ǁnāxū, ǀgui khoe-i tsîn ge nē ǁgamǁaresa ǁnâu tama hâ i xui-ao. 28 Tsîb ge Jeremiaba ǃûi-aogu di ai-ommi ǃnâ ge hâǀgara, Jerusalems ge ūhe tsēs kōse.
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.
