7. Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, got word that they had thrown Jeremiah into the cistern. Since the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,
8. Ebed-melech left the palace and said to the king:
9. "My master the king, these men have made a terrible mistake in treating the prophet Jeremiah the way they have; they have thrown him into the cistern where he will die of starvation, for there’s no bread left in the city."
10. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here and take Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."
11. So Ebed-melech took the men and returned to the palace, to an underground supply room, where he found some old rags and scraps of clothing.Ebed-melech lowered them down the cistern by the ropes
12. and called to Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and scraps of clothing under your arms and hold on to the ropes." When Jeremiah did this,
13. they pulled him up by the ropes and got him out of the cistern. After that Jeremiah remained in the prison quarters.
14. King Zedekiah ordered that the prophet Jeremiah be brought to him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple, where the king said to Jeremiah, "I want to ask you something, and don’t hide anything from me."