¹Men da Sjefatja Mattans søn, Gedalja Pasjhurs søn, Jukal Sjelemjas Søn og Pasjhur Malkijas Søn hørte Jeremias tale til alt Folket således:

¹And Shephatiah son of Mattan, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah, hear the words that Jeremiah is speaking unto all the people, saying,

²"Så siger HERREN: Den, der bliver i denne By, skal dø ved Sværd, Hunger og Pest, men den, som overgiver sig til Kaldæerne, skal leve og vinde sit Liv som Bytte;

²`Thus said Jehovah: He who is remaining in this city dieth, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and he who is going forth unto the Chaldeans liveth, and his soul hath been to him for a prey, and he liveth.

³thi så siger HERREN: Denne By skal gives i Babels Konges Hærs Hånd, og han skal indtage den"

³Thus said Jehovah: This city is certainly given into the hand of the force of the king of Babylon, and he hath captured it.`

⁴da sagde Fyrsterne til Kongen: "Denne Mand må dø, thi han tager Modet fra Krigsmændene, som er tilbage i denne By, og fra alt Folket ved at tale således til dem; thi denne Mand tænker ikke på dette Folks Vel, men på dets Ulykke."

⁴And the heads say unto the king, `Let, we pray thee, this man be put to death, because that he is making feeble the hands of the men of war, who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking unto them according to these words, for this man is not seeking for the peace of this people, but for its evil.`

⁵Kong Zedekias svarede: "Se, han er i eders Hånd." Thi Kongen evnede intet over for dem.

⁵And the king Zedekiah saith, `Lo, he [is] in your hand: for the king is not able for you [in] anything.`

⁶Så tog de Jeremias og kastede ham i Kongesønnen Malkijas Cisterne i Vagtforgården, idet de hejsede ham ned med Reb. Der var ikke Vand i Cisternen, men Dynd, og Jeremias sank i Dyndet.

⁶And they take Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit of Malchiah son of the king, that [is] 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.

⁷Imidlertid hørte Ætioperen Ebed Melek, en Hofmand i Kongens Palads, at Jeremias var kastet i Cisternen; og da Kongen var i Benjaminsporten,

⁷And Ebed-Melech the Cushite, a eunuch who [is] in the king`s house, heareth that they have put Jeremiah into the pit; and the king is sitting at the gate of Benjamin,

⁸gik Ebed-Melek fra Paladset og talte således til Kongen:

⁸and Ebed-Melech goeth forth from the king`s house, and speaketh unto the king, saying,

⁹"Herre Konge, ilde har de gjort ved at lade denne Mand dø af Hunger, fordi der ikke er mere Brød i Byen!"

⁹`My lord, O king, these men have done evil [in] all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the pit, and he dieth in his place because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city.`

¹⁰Så bød Kongen Ætioperen Ebed-Melek: "Tag tredive Mænd med herfra og drag Profeten Jeremias op af Cisternen, før han dør!"

¹⁰And the king commandeth Ebed-Melech the Cushite, saying, `Take with thee from this thirty men, and thou hast brought up Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dieth.`

¹¹Ebed-Melek tog Mændene med og gik til Kælderen under Skatkammeret i Kongens Palads, hvor han hentede nogle Klude af slidte og iturevne klæder; dem hejsede han med Reb ned til Jeremias i Cisternen,

¹¹And Ebed-Melech taketh the men with him, and entereth the house of the king, unto the place of the treasury, and taketh thence worn-out clouts, and worn-out rags, and sendeth them unto Jeremiah unto the pit by cords.

¹²idet han sagde: "Læg Kludene om Rebet!" Det gjorde Jeremias,

¹²And Ebed-Melech the Cushite saith unto Jeremiah, `Put, I pray thee, the worn-out clouts and rags under thine arm-holes, at the place of the cords,` and Jeremiah doth so,

¹³og de drog ham op af Cisternen med Rebet. Således kom Jeremias atter til at sidde i Vagtforgården.

¹³and they draw out Jeremiah with cords, and bring him up out of the pit, and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison.

¹⁴Kong Zedekias sendte Bud og lod Profeten Jeremias hente til sig i Livvagtens Indgang til HERRENs Hus. Og Kongen sagde til ham: "Jeg vil spørge dig om noget, dølg intet for mig!"

¹⁴And the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh Jeremiah the prophet unto him, unto the third entrance that [is] in the house of Jehovah, and the king saith unto Jeremiah, `I am asking thee a thing, do not hide from me anything.`

¹⁵Jeremias svarede Zedekias: "Hvis jeg siger dig det, vil du da ikke lade mig dræbe? Og selv om jeg råder dig, vil du dog ikke høre mig."

¹⁵And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, `When I declare to thee, dost thou not surely put me to death? and when I counsel thee, thou dost not hearken unto me.`

¹⁶Da tilsvor Kong Zedekias i al Hemmelighed Jeremias: "Så sandt HERREN lever, som har skabt vor Sjæl, jeg vil ikke lade dig dræbe eller give dig i disse Mænds Hånd, som står dig efter Livet."

¹⁶And the king Zedekiah sweareth unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, `Jehovah liveth, He who made for us this soul, I do not put thee to death, nor give thee unto the hand of these men who are seeking thy soul.`

¹⁷Så sagde Jeremias til Zedekias: "Så siger HERREN, Hærskarers Gud, Israels Gud: Hvis du overgiver dig til Babels Konges Fyrster, skal du redde dit Liv; denne By skal ikke afbrændes, og du og dit Hus skal blive i Live;

¹⁷And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: If thou dost certainly go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath thy soul lived, and this city is not burned with fire, yea, thou hast lived, thou and thy house.

¹⁸men overgiver du dig ikke til dem, skal Byen gives i Kaldæernes Hånd, og de skal afbrænde den, og du skal ikke undslippe deres Hånd."

¹⁸And if thou dost not go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath this city been given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they have burnt it with fire, and thou dost not escape from their hand.`

¹⁹Men kong Zedekias sagde til Jeremias: "Jeg er ræd for de Judæere, der er løbet over til Kaldæerne, at Kaldæerne skal overgive mig i deres Hånd, og at de skal drive Spot med mig."

¹⁹And the king Zedekiah saith unto Jeremiah, `I am fearing the Jews who have fallen unto the Chaldeans, lest they give me into their hand, and they have insulted me.`

²⁰Så sagde Jeremias: "Det gør de ikke! Adlyd kun HERRENs Ord, som jeg taler til dig, så skal det gå dig vel, og du skal blive i Live.

²⁰And Jeremiah saith, `They do not give thee up; hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of Jehovah, to that which I am speaking unto thee, and it is well for thee, and thy soul doth live.

²¹Men vægrer du dig ved at overgive dig, så hør nu, hvad HERREN har ladet mig skue:

²¹`And if thou art refusing to go forth, this [is] the thing that Jehovah hath shewn me:

²²Se, alle Kvinder, der er tilbage i Judas Konges Palads, førtes ud til Babels Konges Fyrster, medens de sang: Dig forledte og tvang dine gode Venner, de ledte din Fod i en Sump og trak sig tilbage.

²²That, lo, all the women who have been left in the house of the king of Judah are brought forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, and lo, they are saying: Persuaded thee, and prevailed against thee, Have thine allies, Sunk into mire have thy feet, They have been turned backward.

²³Alle dine Hustruer og Børn skal føres ud til Kaldæerne, og du skal ikke undslippe deres Hånd, men gribes af Babels Konges Hånd, og denne By skal abrændes!"

²³`And all thy wives, and thy sons, are brought forth unto the Chaldeans, and thou dost not escape from their hand, for by the hand of the king of Babylon thou art caught, and this city is burnt with fire.`

²⁴Så sagde Zedekias til Jeremias: "Ingen må vide noget om denne Samtale, ellers er du dødsens;

²⁴And Zedekiah saith unto Jeremiah, `Let no man know of these words, and thou dost not die;

²⁵og hvis Fyrsterne skulde få Nys om, at jeg har talt med dig, og komme til dig og sige: Sig os hvad du sagde til Kongen; dølg ikke noget for os, ellers dræber vi dig; sig os også, hvad Kongen sagde til dig!

²⁵and when the heads hear that I have spoken with thee, and they have come in unto thee, and have said unto thee, Declare to us, we pray thee, what thou didst speak unto the king, do not hide [it] from us, and we do not put thee to death, and what the king spake unto thee,

²⁶sig så til dem: Jeg fremførte en ydmyg Bøn for Kongen om ikke at lade mig føre tilbage til Jonatans Hus for at dø der."

²⁶then thou hast said unto them, I am causing my supplication to fall before the king, not to cause me to return to the house of Jonathan, to die there.`

²⁷Og alle Fyrsterne kom til Jeremias og spurgte ham; og han svarede dem nøje, som Kongen havde påbudt. Så lod de ham i Fred, eftersom Sagen ikke var blevet kendt.

²⁷And all the heads come in unto Jeremiah, and ask him, and he declareth to them according to all these words that the king commanded, and they keep silent from him, for the matter was not heard;

²⁸Således sad Jeremias i Vagtforgården, lige til den Dag Jerusalem blev indtaget.

²⁸and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison till the day that Jerusalem hath been captured, and he was [there] when Jerusalem was captured.