Jeremiah 38:6
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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.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
In this chapter, just as in the former, we have Jeremiah greatly debased under the frowns of the princes, and yet greatly honoured by the favour of the king. They used him as a criminal; he used him as a privy-counsellor. Here, I. Jeremiah for his faithfulness is put into the dungeon by the princes (Jer 38:1-6). II. At the intercession of Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, by special order from the king, he is taken up out of the dungeon and confined only to the court of the prison (Jer 38:7-13). III. He has a private conference with the king upon the present conjuncture of affairs (Jer 38:14-22). IV. Care is taken to keep that conference private (Jer 38:24-28).
Open source ↗38:6 In the presence of everyone in the palace courtyard, Jeremiah was thrown into an empty cistern. At the bottom was a thick layer of mud that slowly enveloped Jeremiah’s body.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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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.
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.’
So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time.
I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me.
He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.
As for you,because of the blood of My covenant,I will release your prisonersfrom the waterless pit.
On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.
They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.