An urgent appeal to the king exposes the sheer cruelty and pointlessness of the officials' actions against Jeremiah, highlighting that the prophet's death is closer than ever. The men's decision to leave him in his current place is recognized as a fundamentally evil act [מצודת ציון]. A central question arises regarding the nature of his impending death: since Jeremiah was thrown into a sinking mud pit, why is the danger of starvation the primary concern?
One perspective suggests that the focus on starvation highlights the extreme wickedness of his captors. A severe famine was already plaguing the city. Had they simply left Jeremiah in his previous location, he likely would have starved to death naturally. By choosing to throw him into the pit, the officials transformed from passive observers into active murderers who intentionally hastened his end [רש"י, מלבי"ם]. Even if their sole motivation was to silence his prophecies to prevent him from weakening the soldiers' morale, they could have achieved this by letting him waste away from hunger in his original location. The added brutality of the pit was entirely unnecessary [מצודת דוד].
A different approach draws a direct connection between his placement in the pit and his starvation. Previously, while confined in the prison courtyard, Jeremiah remained visible. People saw his suffering and pitied him, and he even received a daily ration of bread by royal decree. The claim that there is no bread left in the city does not mean food is entirely gone, but rather that it has become incredibly rare and difficult to obtain. Now that he is hidden away in the pit, out of sight and out of mind, no one is available to provide for him, ensuring he will starve [רד"ק]. Furthermore, the physical toll of the mud pit drains what little energy he has left. As he sinks into the mire, he is unable to endure the physical strain due to the weakness brought on by hunger. Therefore, even without a formal execution, lowering him into this pit is effectively a death sentence [ביאור שטיינזלץ].