Isaiah 24:22

24:22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, ¹ 

locked up in a prison,

and after staying there for a long time, ²  they will be punished. ³ 

Isaiah 51:14

51:14 The one who suffers ⁴  will soon be released;

he will not die in prison, ⁵ 

he will not go hungry. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 38:6

38:6 So the officials ⁷  took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern ⁸  of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, ⁹  that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 38:13

38:13 So they pulled Jeremiah up from the cistern with ropes. Jeremiah, however, still remained confined ¹¹  to the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Zechariah 9:11

9:11 Moreover, as for you, because of our covenant relationship secured with blood, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.

¹ tn Heb “they will be gathered [in] a gathering [as] a prisoner in a cistern.” It is tempting to eliminate אֲסֵפָה (’asefah, “a gathering”) as dittographic or as a gloss, but sound repetition is one of the main characteristics of the style of this section of the chapter.

² tn Heb “and after a multitude of days.”

³ tn Heb “visited” (so KJV, ASV). This verse can mean to visit for good or for evil. The translation assumes the latter, based on v. 21a. However, BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד B.Niph.2 suggests the meaning “visit graciously” here, in which case one might translate “they will be released.”

⁴ tn Heb “who is stooped over” (under a burden).

⁵ tn Heb “the pit” (so KJV); ASV, NAB “die and go down into the pit”; NASB, NIV “dungeon”; NCV “prison.”

⁶ tn Heb “he will not lack his bread.”

⁷ tn Heb “they.”

⁸ sn A cistern was a pear-shaped pit with a narrow opening. Cisterns were cut or dug in the limestone rock and lined with plaster to prevent seepage. They were used to collect and store rain water or water carried up from a spring.

⁹ tn Heb “the son of the king.” See the translator’s note on Jer 36:26 for the rendering here.

¹⁰ tn Heb “And they let Jeremiah down with ropes and in the cistern there was no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” The clauses have been reordered and restructured to create a more natural and smoother order in English.

¹¹ tn Heb “Jeremiah remained/stayed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.” The translation is meant to better reflect the situation; i.e., Jeremiah was released from the cistern but still had to stay in the courtyard of the guardhouse.