Глава 38

Some of the princes, indignant at the predictions made by the Prophet about the city (for he said that those who voluntarily surrendered to the Chaldeans would receive salvation, and those withstanding the siege would be given over to destruction), tried to irritate the king against the Prophet, claiming that with such predictions he weakened the zeal of those capable of war. The foolish king betrayed the Prophet to these informers, and they, having received him into their power, poured out their anger on him and threw him into a ditch in which there was stinking mud. Not a single one of the Jews helped the Prophet, who suffered such punishment for the words of God, but the eunuch Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian by birth, reproaches the king and boldly calls out: Jer.38:9. You have done the evil that you have done by killing this man because of the famine, as if there was no bread in the city. Zedekiah, having heard the reproof, makes Ebed-melech his servant to save the Prophet, and he, having accepted the assistance of others, threw old rags to the Prophet, ordered them to be placed under the rope under his arms, and pulled him out of the ditch heref, for the prophet calls the ditch the word heref. Having been freed from the pit and placed in prison, Jeremiah was again summoned by the king and brought into his presence. (Jer.38:14) “to the house of Aselisil, who is in the house of the Lord” (the Syrian interpreter translated: to the crossroads), and asks the Prophet to tell him God’s word and not hide the truth; The Prophet says to him: Jeremiah 38:15. If I tell you, will I not put me to death, and if I advise you, will you not listen to me? For Jeremiah, as a Prophet, knew what would happen to him, and already had experience as a teacher. But when the king swore that he would not betray him to the wicked; then he also said: Jer.38:17. If you go out to the commander of the king of Babylon, your soul will live, and this city will not be burned by fire, and you and your house will live. (Jer.38:18). “Unless you go to the prince of the king of Babylon, this city will be given over to the hands of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you will not escape from their hand.” The Prophet predicted this many times. But we must ask why those who left the city are promised salvation, and those who did not leave are threatened with death? Zedekiah, when Nebuchadnezzar made him king, gave him an oath that he would pay tribute and maintain goodwill towards the king, but after a short time, he violated the condition, did not pay tribute, and went over to the side of the Egyptians. Therefore, the Lord God, since the king confirmed his oaths in the name, not of inanimate idols, but of the Creator of all things, and then dared to break them, commands him to go out to the Chaldeans, and hereby reward him for breaking the oaths. But Zedekiah says to the Prophet: Jer.38:19. I fear the Imam from the Jews who fled to the Chaldeans, so that they will not betray me into their hands, and they will mock me. I’m afraid, he says, that I’ll become a laughing stock for those who fled voluntarily. However, the Prophet again convinces him, and as he did not obey, he utters a threat. For he says: Jer.38:22. Behold, all the wives remaining in the house of the king of Judah will be brought before the princes of the king of Babylon: and you will say: “Your men of peace have deceived you, and have prevailed over you, and have weakened your foot in trespassing.” You are afraid of becoming a laughing stock for those who crossed over voluntarily, but later, when the city is taken, you will see that the wives will be dragged from the royal palaces, and they will remind you that you were deceived by the Prophets, and they will say that the culprits of all this were those who promised peace, who enjoyed honor with you and arranged that for this reason you crawled to violate the divine laws. Jer.38:23. And all your wives and your children will be brought to the Chaldeans. And the city will be burned, and you will be taken into captivity. But the foolish king remained adamant, and ordered the Prophet not to tell any of the princes what they were discussing, but to say that the Prophet begged the king not to throw him into this intolerable prison. Then the Prophet tells how they came and tried to find out what was discussed with the king, and he assured them that the conversation was about prison.