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Jeremiah 38

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Princes Demand Jeremiah’s Death 1–6

1
Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, ​
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Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. ​
3
Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
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Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. ​
5
Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. ​
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Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. ​

Ebed-Melech Rescues Jeremiah 7–13

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Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; ​
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Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
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My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. ​
10
Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. ​
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So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
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And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. ​
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So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

Zedekiah Seeks Secret Counsel 14–23

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Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. ​
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Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
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So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. ​
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Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: ​
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But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
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And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. ​
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But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
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But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
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And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. ​
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So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire. ​

King Zedekiah’s Deception 24–28

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Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. ​
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But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
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Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there. ​
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Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
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So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 38

Verse 1

Shephatiah… Gedaliah… Jucal… Pashur — Four officials hear the message of vv.2–3. Jucal is 'Jehucal the son of Shelemiah' whom Zedekiah sent to ask Jeremiah's prayer (Jer 37:3); Pashur 'the son of Melchiah' was sent on a like errand (Jer 21:1). Those once sent to him now seek his death.

Verse 2

his life for a prey — Shalal, plunder taken in war: the one who goes out keeps his life as spoil, nothing more. The same offer was made earlier: 'he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans… his life shall be unto him for a prey' (Jer 21:9). The way of staying is 'the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence'.

Verse 4

weakeneth the hands — Raphah, to slacken or let go limp; the men of war and the people are said to lose heart through his words. The princes ask for death, as the priests and prophets had in Jer 26:11 ('This man is worthy to die'). They charge that he 'seeketh not the welfare' (shalom) of the people.

Verse 5

he is in your hand — Zedekiah gives Jeremiah over with the plea that 'the king is not he that can do any thing against you'. Yet in v.16 he swears to protect him and in v.19 voices fear of others. Pilate's yielding is similar: 'If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend' (John 19:12).

Verse 6

the dungeon of Malchiah — Bor, a pit or cistern; here 'no water, but mire' (tit, clay). 'Hammelech' is literally 'the king'. The pit lay 'in the court of the prison', where Jeremiah had been kept (Jer 37:21). His plight echoes the psalmist: 'I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing' (Ps 69:2).

Verse 7

Ebedmelech the Ethiopian — His name means 'servant of the king'; Kushi is a Cushite, and he is a saris, a court officer or eunuch, in the king's house. The king was sitting 'in the gate of Benjamin', the gate where Jeremiah had been seized as a deserter (Jer 37:13). Compare Ps 68:31, 'Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.'

Verse 9

no more bread in the city — The danger is hunger: Jeremiah's daily bread was to last 'until all the bread in the city were spent' (Jer 37:21). Ebedmelech calls the princes' act 'evil' (ra'a) and names Jeremiah 'the prophet', against the charge of v.4. The famine foretold in v.2 is already present.

Verse 10

take up Jeremiah… before he die — The king who said 'he is in your hand' (v.5) now gives the command, with 'thirty men' to go with Ebedmelech. 'Take up' is alah, to bring up, the verb used of the rescue itself in v.13, where they 'took him up out of the dungeon'.

Verse 12

under thine armholes — Atsil (with yad, 'hand') is a joint (of the hand or arm), here rendered 'armholes'. The 'old cast clouts and rotten rags' are those fetched in v.11 (sechabah and malach, worn cloth), padding where the cords would bear the weight. 'And Jeremiah did so' states his obedience in a single clause.

Verse 14

the third entry — Shelishi mabo, a third entrance of the house of the LORD; the verse gives no more. Earlier 'the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD?' (Jer 37:17). Here he asks 'a thing' (davar, a word) and bids him 'hide nothing' (kachad, to conceal).

Verse 16

sware secretly — The oath is 'As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul' (nephesh), made in the third entry, away from the princes. It has two parts: not to put Jeremiah to death, and not to give him to 'these men that seek thy life'. The king swears by the name he has not yet obeyed.

Verse 17

the king of Babylon's princes — Sar, officers. The offer: go out, and 'thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned'. These princes later 'sat in the middle gate' (Jer 39:3). Zedekiah instead fled by night 'by the way of the king's garden' and was taken in the plains of Jericho (Jer 39:4–5).

Verse 19

I am afraid of the Jews — Da'ag, to be anxious. The king fears 'the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans', lest they mock him; 'mock' is alal, to deal wantonly with, abuse. His fear is of men, not of the outcome Jeremiah had declared in v.18: 'The fear of man bringeth a snare' (Prov 29:25).

Verse 22

thy feet are sunk in the mire — The women of the king's house are to be brought out to Babylon's princes and say this. 'Sunk' is taba, the verb of Jeremiah's sinking in v.6, though the mire here is bots, not tit. The 'friends' are literally men of thy peace, who 'have set thee on' and then 'are turned away back'.

Verse 23

thy wives and thy children — All are to be brought out to the Chaldeans, and Zedekiah is to be 'taken by the hand of the king of Babylon'. It came about: Nebuchadnezzar 'slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes', put out his eyes and bound him to carry him to Babylon (Jer 39:6–7).

Verse 24

Let no man know of these words — Zedekiah asks silence and promises, 'thou shalt not die', the same assurance as his oath in v.16. He wants the conversation kept from the princes, not the counsel followed. Vv.25–27 supply the answer Jeremiah is to give them, and 'the matter was not perceived'.

Verse 26

Jonathan's house — The house of 'Jonathan the scribe', which the princes had made a prison (Jer 37:15). Jeremiah had in fact pleaded 'that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there' (Jer 37:20). The answer he is told to give rests on that supplication (techinnah).

Verse 28

until the day that Jerusalem was taken — Jeremiah stays in 'the court of the prison', where he had been put in Jer 37:21 and returned in v.13. 'Taken' (lakad) is the verb of v.3, 'which shall take it'. When the city fell, he was taken out and committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam (Jer 39:14).