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.
Ì ye Yeremiya bula koloŋo kono
1 Saayiŋ, Sefatiya, Matani dinkewo, Kedaliya, Pasihuri dinkewo, Yehukali, Selemiya dinkewo, aniŋ Pasihuri, Malikiya dinkewo, wolu ye a moyi nte Yeremiya tarata kumoolu mennu fo kaŋ moolu bee ye ko, 2 “Yaawe* ye ñiŋ ne fo ko: Moo-wo-moo tuta siiriŋ ñiŋ saatewo kono jaŋ, hawusaroo* le be a maarii faa la, waraŋ konkoo, waraŋ alibalaa kuuraŋo. Bari niŋ moo-wo-moo fintita ka taa a faŋ seyi Babiloninkoolu ma, wo maarii be baluu la le. A la baluwo be ke la a ye le ko ì ye meŋ kumakaa ka bo keloo kono. A niyo si kana, a ye baluu. 3 Wo koolaa fanaa Yaawe ye ñiŋ ne fo ko: Fo ñiŋ saatewo si duŋ Babiloni mansakewo la kelediŋolu bulu doroŋ, ì ye a muta.”
4 Bituŋ wo maralilaalu le naata a fo mansa ye ko, “Ñiŋ kewo ñanta le ka faa. A be kelediŋ toomaalu jikilateyindi kaŋ ne, mennu tuta saatewo kono jaŋ, ka taa moolu bee, ka bo niŋ ñiŋ kuma siifaalu la, a ka mennu fo ì ye. Ñiŋ kewo maŋ tara moolu la kayiroo ñiniŋ kaŋ, a ka ǹ na kooroo le ñiniŋ.”
5 Mansa Sedekiya ye ì jaabi ko, “A fele, a be ali bulu. Nte te kuu noo la ali ma wo kuwo to.” 6 Wo le to ì ye nte Yeremiya samba ka m bula mansariŋo Malikiya la koloŋo kono, meŋ be kelediŋ kantarilaalu la luwo to. Ì ye n yoora a kono niŋ juloolu le la. Bari jii te koloŋ ñiŋ kono, potoo doroŋ ne be jee, aduŋ n duutata jee le.
Ebedi-Meleki ye Yeremiya bondi koloŋo kono
7 Ebedi-Meleki Kusinkoo*, meŋ mu mansasuwo kono dookuulaa ti naata a moyi ko ì ye m bula koloŋo le kono. Wo ye a tara le mansa be siiriŋ Benjamini Dundaŋ Daa to, kiitiidulaa. 8 Ebedi-Meleki taata ka bo mansasuwo to, a ko mansa ye ko, 9 “M maarii Mansa, ñiŋ kewolu ye kuu jawu baa le ke Annabilayi Yeremiya la teŋ, ka a bula koloŋo kono. A be faa la konkoo la jee le, kaatu domoroo faŋo le maŋ soto saatewo kono jaŋ.”
10 Bituŋ mansa ye kaŋo dii ka a fo a ye ko, “Kee taŋ saba kafu ì faŋ ma ka bo jaŋ, ali ye taa Yeremiya bondi koloŋo kono, janniŋ a be faa la.”
11 Wo le to Ebedi-Meleki ye kewolu taa, a niŋ ì taata ñoo la mansasuwo kono, maaboridulaa duuma bundiŋo to. A ye feŋ funtoolu doolu taa jee, ka ì yoora niŋ juloo la n kaŋ koloŋo kono. 12 A ko n ye ko, “Ñiŋ funtoolu ke i daboolu koto ka juloolu kotondaŋ ì la.” Bituŋ ŋa wo ke. 13 Ì naata n saba ka m fintindi naŋ koloŋo kono. N tuta kelediŋ kantarilaalu la luwo to jee.
Mansa Sedekiya ye yaamaroo ñini Yeremiya bulu
14 Mansa Sedekiya ye kiilaa kii, ì ye n samba a ye naŋ Yaawe Batudulaa dundaŋ daa sabanjaŋo to. A ko n ye ko, “Nte be i ñininkaa la kuu le la. Kana feŋ nukuŋ m ma.”
15 Ŋa a jaabi ko, “Niŋ ŋa a fo i ye, fo m maŋ a loŋ ko, i be m faa la le baŋ? Niŋ ŋa yaamaroo dii i la fanaa, i te i lamoyi la n na.”
16 Bari Mansa Sedekiya kalita n ye kulloo kono le ko, “A be koyiriŋ ñaameŋ ko Yaawe be baluuriŋ ne, meŋ ye niyo dii m̀ bee la, a be koyiriŋ wo le ñaama ko n te i faa la, waraŋ ka i duŋ kewolu bulu, mennu be i niyo nooma.”
17 Bituŋ n naata a fo a ye ko, “Yaawe Alihawaa Maariyo*, Banisirayila la Alla ye ñiŋ ne fo ko: Niŋ i ye i faŋ seyi Babiloni mansakewo la maralilaalu ma, i niyo be kana la le. Wo le to ì te ñiŋ saatewo jani la, aduŋ i la dimbaayaalu si baluu. 18 Bari niŋ i maŋ i faŋ seyi ì ma, ñiŋ saatewo be duŋ na Babiloninkoolu bulu le. Ì be a jani la le fo a niŋ bankoo ye tembe, aduŋ ite faŋo te kana la ì ma.”
19 Wo le to Mansa Sedekiya ko, “N silata Yahuuda moolu le la, mennu ye jamfaa ke ka taa Babiloninkoolu yaa. A si ke Babiloninkoolu ye n dii ì la, ì ye n tilimbaliyaa.”
20 Ŋa a jaabi ko, “Ì te i dii la ì la. Yaawe la kumoo muta, ka bo niŋ ŋa meŋ fo i ye. Niŋ i ye wo ke, wo le be ke la i la kayiroo ti, aduŋ i niyo be kana la le. 21 Bari niŋ i balanta ka i faŋ seyi, Yaawe ye n jerindi ñiŋ ne la ko: 22 A fele, musoolu mennu tuta Yahuuda mansabuŋo kono, ì be ì bee le samba la banta, Babiloni mansakewo la maralilaalu ye. Wo musoolu be tara la teelindiroo la le ko:
‘I teeri kendoolu le ye i filindi,
ì ye i dundi le,
saayiŋ i tututa potoo mereŋo kono,
ì bee borita i la.’ ”
23 N tententa ko, “Ì be ali la musoolu niŋ ali diŋolu bee samba la Babiloninkoolu ye le, aduŋ ite faŋo te kana la ì ma. Babiloni mansakewo be i muta la le, aduŋ ì be ñiŋ saatewo jani la le.”
24 Bituŋ Sedekiya ko n ye ko, “Kana soŋ moo ye kuu loŋ ǹ na ñiŋ diyaamoo to, i si a je i si tanka ñiŋ ma, ka faa. 25 N na maralilaalu si a moyi noo le ko n niŋ i diyaamuta le. Ì si naa noo ka a fo i ye ko, ‘A fo ǹ ye i niŋ mansa ye meŋ diyaamu. Kana a nukuŋ m̀ ma, niŋ wo nte m̀ be i faa la le.’ 26 Niŋ wo keta, a fo ì ye ko, i woosiita mansa ye le ka a daani, a kana i murundi bunjawoo kono Yonatani la buŋo to, ka faa jee.”
27 Bituŋ maralilaalu bee naata naa n kaŋ, ka n ñininkaa, aduŋ ŋa ì jaabi le ko mansa ye a fo n ye ñaameŋ. Wo le to ì naata m bula, ì maŋ feŋ fo n ye kotenke, kaatu moo maŋ n niŋ mansa la diyaamoo moyi nuŋ.
28 N naata tu kelediŋ kantarilaalu la luwo to, ka taa fo waatoo meŋ na ì ye Yerusalaamu saatewo muta.
