Jeremiah 38:15 - Forerunner Commentary

Jeremiah 38:15

13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained ^ain the court of the prison.

Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice

14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ^aask you something. Hide nothing from me.”

15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the Lord lives, ^awho made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely ^asurrender ^bto the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.

18 But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and ^ayou shall not escape from their hand.’ ”

19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have ^adefected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they ^babuse me.”

20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be ^awell with you, and your soul shall live.

21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me:

22 ‘Now behold, all the ^awomen who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say:
“Your close friends have¹ set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have¹ turned away again.”

23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and ^achildren to the Chaldeans. ^bYou shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ”

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.

25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’

26 then you shall say to them, ^a‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return ^bto Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”

27 Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard.

28 Now ^aJeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

Verse Comparison: Jeremiah 38:15

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Jeremiah 38:16 >>

American Standard Version
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, thou wilt not hearken unto me.

Amplified® Bible
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.

Contemporary English Version
"Why?" I replied. "You won't listen, and you might even have me killed!"

Darby English Version
And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare [it] unto thee, wilt thou not certainly put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me.

Good News Bible
I answered, "If I tell you the truth, you will put me to death, and if I give you advice, you won't pay any attention."

King James Version
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?

New American Standard Bible
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."

New International Version
Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me."

New King James Version
Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, " If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."

Revised Standard Version
JEREMIAH said to Zedeki'ah, "If I tell you, will you not be sure to put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me."

Young's Literal Translation
And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, `When I declare to thee, dost thou not surely put me to death? and when I counsel thee, thou dost not hearken unto me.'

New English Translation
Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me.¹ If I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

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