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Ordinary Time · Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year C

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Jeremiah Thrown into the Cistern

August 20, 2028

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt van Rijn
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1630Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
An early Rembrandt. Jeremiah leans on a book with the city burning in the background, so small and so far off that it takes a moment to find it.So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. There was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.Rembrandt van RijnRembrandt (1606-1669) painted scripture as if it had happened in a room he had been in, and returned to the same stories across forty years, changing his mind about them in public.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Netherlands' national museum, built around the Dutch Golden Age and reopened in 2013 after a ten-year rebuilding.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Roman Lectionary
GospelLuke 12:49-53Lk 12:49-53
Second ReadingHeb. 12:1-4Heb 12:1-4
First ReadingJer. 38:4-6, 8-10Jer 38:4-6, 8-10
Responsorial PsalmPs. 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (14b)Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (14b)

Overview & Insights

"They took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern... and Jeremiah sank into the mud" (Jeremiah 38:6).

The officials, angered by Jeremiah's unwelcome prophecy, lower him into a muddy cistern to silence him, until Ebed-melech the Cushite intercedes with the king and has him drawn back out.

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Take it further: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Commentary

Jeremiah 38 CommentaryJer 38 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Commentary on Jeremiah's suffering in the cistern and his rescue.

Jeremiah 38:6 CommentariesJer 38:6 Commentaries BibleHub

Collects classic commentary on Jeremiah being lowered into the mud.

Jeremiah 38 CommentaryJer 38 Commentary Precept Austin

Detailed notes on the plot against Jeremiah and his deliverance.

Jeremiah 38 (Barnes/Gill)Jer 38 (Barnes/Gill) StudyLight

Gill's Exposition works through the cistern episode.

Background & Word Study

Jeremiah OverviewJer Overview BibleProject

Animated overview of Jeremiah's message and rejection by the leaders.

Jeremiah 38 in HebrewJer 38 in Hebrew Sefaria

Reads the cistern narrative in its original Hebrew.

Jeremiah 38:6 InterlinearJer 38:6 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew word study on Jeremiah's descent into the mud.

The Church Fathers

Jeremiah 38 CatenaJer 38 Catena Catena

Patristic readings on Jeremiah's suffering as a type of the persecuted righteous.

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