Jeremiah 38:6
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Study Note
Study Note
Jeremiah's imprisonment in the cistern of Malchiah — a muddy pit in the court of the guard — represents the nadir of prophetic persecution in the book, concentrating the opposition of king, princes, and priests into a single act of would-be elimination. The detail that the cistern had 'no water, but mire' echoes the lament psalms' imagery of the 'miry pit' and 'horrible pit' (Psalm 40:2; 69:2) from which YHWH delivers the righteous, giving the narrative a typological dimension. Ethiopian Ebed-melech's subsequent rescue (vv. 7–13) — a foreigner interceding for the prophet where his own people sought his death — anticipates the New Testament pattern of Gentile responsiveness to prophetic witness. The episode influenced early Christian readings of Jeremiah as a type of Christ suffering at the hands of Israel's leaders.
Other Translations
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
And they take Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king, that <FI>is<Fi> in the court of the prison, and they send down Jeremiah with cords; and in the pit there is no water, but mire, and Jeremiah sinketh in the mire.
So they took Jeremiah and put him into the water-hole of Malchiah, the king's son, in the place of the armed watchmen: and they let Jeremiah down with cords. And in the hole there was no water, but wet earth: and Jeremiah went down into the wet earth.
Cross References
And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in …
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon …
I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow …
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, …
Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her …
And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of …
When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should …
So Ebed–melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took …