So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it.
My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird.They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me.The water rose over my head, and I cried out,“ This is the end!”But I called on your name, Lord, from deep within the pit.
Our king— the Lord’s anointed, the very life of our nation— was caught in their snares. We had thought that his shadow would protect us against any nation on earth!