Jeremiah 38:17

Jeremiah 38:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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:
• New International Version (NIV)Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to 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.

Context of Jeremiah 38:17

15Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Even if I do give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who made our lives, be assured that I will not put you to death or put you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life.” Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If you will go out and surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live and this city will not be burned with fire; and you and your household will live. 18But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans [of Babylon] and they will set it on fire; and you yourself will not escape from their hand.’ ” 19Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews [my former subjects] who have deserted to join the Chaldeans, for the enemy may put me into their hand and they will mock me and abuse me.”

Jeremiah 38:17 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יִרְמְיָ֣הוּ אֶל־צִדְקִיָּ֡הוּ כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָה֩ אֱלֹהֵ֨י צְבָא֜וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אִם־יָצֹ֨א תֵצֵ֜א אֶל־שָׂרֵ֤י מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶל֙ וְחָיְתָ֣ה נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ וְהָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את לֹ֥א תִשָּׂרֵ֖ף בָּאֵ֑שׁ וְחָיִ֖תָה אַתָּ֥ה וּבֵיתֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Jeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫הוּyirmeyâh yirmeyâhû · JeremiahH3414
• unto Zedekiahצִדְקִיָּ֫הוּtsidqîyâh tsidqîyâhû · ZedekiahH6667
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• If thou wilt assuredlyיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: surrenderH3318
• unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Babylon’sבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
• princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• then thy soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• shall liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
• and this cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• shall not be burnedשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
• with fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• and thine houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004

Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:17

• Psalms 80:7Restore us, O God of hosts; And cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.
• Amos 5:27Therefore, I will send you to go into exile far beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.
• 1 Chronicles 17:24Let Your name [and the character that it denotes] endure and be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, yes, a God to Israel; and the house of Your servant David is established before You.’
• Ezra 9:4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me as I sat appalled until the evening offering.
• Jeremiah 38:2“So says the Lord, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by virulent disease (pestilence), but he who goes out to the Chaldeans [of Babylon] will live and have his [own] life as a reward and stay alive.’
• Jeremiah 7:6if you do not oppress the transient and the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood [by oppression and by unjust judicial murders] in Jerusalem, nor follow after other gods to your own ruin,
• Jeremiah 21:8“And to this people you (Jeremiah) shall also say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
• Jeremiah 27:12I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah in the same way, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!
• Jeremiah 39:3Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate [establishing both military control of the city and their authority to judge the captives]: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris (chief of the eunuchs), and Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag (chief of the magicians), with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
• Job 23:13But He is unique and unchangeable, and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Wilt assuredly go - On the king's obedience to the advice of the prophet the safety of the city depended. Unto the king of Babylon's princes - The generals of the army then returning to the siege from the defeat of the Egyptians; for Nebuchadnezzar himself was then at Riblah, in Syria, Jeremiah 39:5, Jeremiah 39:6.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-28Verses 14-28 Jeremiah was not forward to repeat the warnings, which seemed only to endanger his own life, and to add to the king's guilt, but asked whether he feared to do the will of God. The less men fear God, the more they fear men; often they dare not act according to their own judgments and consciences.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18Jeremiah explained the Lord's command. Zedekiah could save the city by surrendering, or he could see it destroyed by the invaders.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. princes--(Jr 39:3). He does not say "to the king himself," for he was at Riblah, in Hamath (Jr 39:5; 2Ki 25:6). "If thou go forth" (namely, to surrender; 2Ki 24:12; Is 36:16), God foreknows future conditional contingencies, and ordains not only the end, but also the means to the end.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 38:17

• Babylon
• Prisoners
• Zedekiah

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Jeremiah
• Zedekiah
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Foreknowledge of God
• Jeremiah (2)
• Zedekiah (2)

Commentaries on Jeremiah 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings