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Text -- Jeremiah 38:1-23 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
Jeremiah Is Charged with Treason and Put in a Cistern to Die
38:1 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan , Gedaliah son of Pashhur , Jehucal son of Shelemiah , and Pashhur son of Malkijah had heard the things that Jeremiah had been telling the people . They had heard him say ,
38:2 “The Lord says , ‘Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease . Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians will live . They will escape with their lives .’”
38:3 They had also heard him say , “The Lord says, ‘This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon . They will capture it.’”
38:4 So these officials said to the king , “This man must be put to death . For he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying . This man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.”
38:5 King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. For I cannot do anything to stop you.”
38:6 So the officials took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern of Malkijah , one of the royal princes , 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 .
An Ethiopian Official Rescues Jeremiah from the Cistern
38:7 An Ethiopian , Ebed Melech , a court official in the royal palace , heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern . While the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate ,
38:8 Ebed Melech departed the palace and went to speak to the king . He said to him,
38:9 “Your royal Majesty , those men have been very wicked in all that they have done to the prophet Jeremiah . They have thrown him into a cistern and he is sure to die of starvation there because there is no food left in the city .
38:10 Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order: “Take thirty men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies .”
38:11 So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasure room in the palace . He got some worn-out clothes and old rags from there and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern .
38:12 Ebed Melech called down to Jeremiah , “Put these rags and worn-out clothes under your armpits to pad the ropes . Jeremiah did as Ebed Melech instructed .
38:13 So they pulled Jeremiah up from the cistern with ropes . Jeremiah , however, still remained confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse .
Jeremiah Responds to Zedekiah’s Request for Secret Advice
38:14 Some time later Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah brought to him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple . The king said to Jeremiah , “I would like to ask you a question . Do not hide anything from me when you answer.”
38:15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah , “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. If I give you advice , you will not listen to me.”
38:16 So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised , “As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath , I promise you this : I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you.”
38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah , “The Lord , the God who rules over all , the God of Israel , says , ‘You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon . If you do, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down . Indeed, you and your whole family will be spared .
38:18 But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon , this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down . You yourself will not escape from them.’”
38:19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah , “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Babylonians . The Babylonians might hand me over to them and they will torture me.”
38:20 Then Jeremiah answered , “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared .
38:21 But if you refuse to surrender , the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw:
38:22 All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon . They will taunt you saying , ‘Your trusted friends misled you; they have gotten the best of you. Now that your feet are stuck in the mud , they have turned their backs on you.’
38:23 “All your wives and your children will be turned over to the Babylonians . You yourself will not escape from them but will be captured by the king of Babylon . This city will be burned down .”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Malice |
Jeremiah |
Zedekiah |
Ebed-Melech |
Prisoners |
PASHHUR, PASHUR |
Pashur |
Shephatiah |
Ethiopia |
Eunuch |
ZEDEKIAH (2) |
God |
Intercession |
Foreknowledge of God |
Minister |
Persecution |
Mattan |
Jehucal |
ETHIOPIAN |
Hammelech |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Jer 38:1; Jer 38:1; Jer 38:1; Jer 38:1; Jer 38:2; Jer 38:2; Jer 38:2; Jer 38:2; Jer 38:3; Jer 38:3; Jer 38:4; Jer 38:4; Jer 38:4; Jer 38:4; Jer 38:5; Jer 38:5; Jer 38:6; Jer 38:6; Jer 38:6; Jer 38:6; Jer 38:7; Jer 38:7; Jer 38:7; Jer 38:9; Jer 38:9; Jer 38:10; Jer 38:11; Jer 38:11; Jer 38:12; Jer 38:12; Jer 38:12; Jer 38:13; Jer 38:14; Jer 38:14; Jer 38:14; Jer 38:15; Jer 38:16; Jer 38:16; Jer 38:16; Jer 38:17; Jer 38:17; Jer 38:18; Jer 38:18; Jer 38:18; Jer 38:19; Jer 38:19; Jer 38:20; Jer 38:20; Jer 38:22; Jer 38:22; Jer 38:22; Jer 38:23; Jer 38:23; Jer 38:23
NET Notes: Jer 38:1 J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 226, 30) is probably correct in translating the verbs here as pluperfects and in explaining that these words are prophecies ...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:3 See Jer 21:10; 32:28; 34:2; 37:8 for this same prophecy. Jeremiah had repeatedly said this or words to the same effect.
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NET Notes: Jer 38:4 Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfar...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:5 Heb “For the king cannot do a thing with/against you.” The personal pronoun “I” is substituted in the English translation due ...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:6 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 hav...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:7 Heb “And the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate.” This clause is circumstantial to the following clause; thus “while the king was...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:9 “Because there isn’t any food left in the city” is rhetorical exaggeration; the food did not run out until just before the city fell...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:10 Some modern English versions (e.g., NRSV, REB, TEV) and commentaries read “three” on the basis that thirty men would not be necessary for ...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:12 Or “Jeremiah did so.” The alternate translation is what the text reads literally.
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NET Notes: Jer 38:13 Heb “Jeremiah remained/stayed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.” The translation is meant to better reflect the situation; i.e., Jeremia...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:14 The words “when you answer” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for the sake of c...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:15 Or “you will most certainly kill me, won’t you?” Heb “Will you not certainly kill me?” The question is rhetorical and ex...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:17 Heb “Your life/soul will live.” The quote is a long condition-consequence sentence with compound consequential clauses. It reads, “I...
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NET Notes: Jer 38:18 Zedekiah held out this hope of escape until the end and attempted to do so but was unsuccessful (cf. 39:4-5).
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NET Notes: Jer 38:19 Or “and they will badly abuse me.” For the usage of this verb in the situation presupposed see Judg 19:25 and 1 Sam 31:4.
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NET Notes: Jer 38:20 Heb “your life [or you yourself] will live.” Compare v. 17 and the translator’s note there for the idiom.
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NET Notes: Jer 38:22 The taunt song here refers to the fact that Zedekiah had been incited into rebellion by pro-Egyptian nobles in his court who prevailed on him to seek ...
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