Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah 38:7
7But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,
Jeremiah 38:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now when Ebed–melech 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;
- New International Version (NIV)But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,
- English Standard Version (ESV)When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate—
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
Context of Jeremiah 38:7
5King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.” 6So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king’s palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, 8Ebed-melech went from the king’s palace and spoke to the king: 9“My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:7 word by word
וַיִּשְׁמַ֡ע עֶֽבֶד־מֶ֨לֶךְ הַכּוּשִׁ֜י אִ֣ישׁ סָרִ֗יס וְהוּא֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כִּֽי־נָתְנ֥וּ אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ אֶל־הַבּ֑וֹר וְהַמֶּ֥לֶךְ יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּשַׁ֥עַר בִּנְיָמִֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now when Ebed–melechעֶ֫בֶד מֶ֫לֶךְ‛ebed melek · Ebed-melechH5663
- the Ethiopianכּוּשִׁיkûshîy · EthiopianH3569
- oneאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of the eunuchsסָרִיסsârîys sâris · eunuchH5631
- which was in the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: palaceH1004
- heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- that they had putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- Jeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫הוּyirmeyâh yirmeyâhû · JeremiahH3414
- in the dungeonבּוֹרbôr · pitH953
- then sittingיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- of Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · Benjamin (Gate)H1144
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:7
- Jeremiah 39:16“Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words for disaster and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day.
- Jeremiah 13:23Can the Cushite change his skin, or a leopard his spots? If so, you might be able to do what is good, you who are instructed in evil.
- Psalms 68:31Ambassadors will come from Egypt; Cush will stretch out its hands to God.
- Matthew 8:11I tell you that many will come from east and west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 20:16“So the last will be first, and the first last.”
- Luke 10:30Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead.
- Luke 13:29They will come from east and west, from north and south, to share the banquet in the kingdom of God.
- Acts 8:27So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem
- Jeremiah 29:2This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 34:19The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf —
- 2 Kings 24:15Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. He took the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 37:13But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans.”
- Deuteronomy 21:19his father and mother are to take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown.
- Job 29:7When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the town square,
- Amos 5:10They hate the one who convicts the guilty at the city gate, and they despise the one who speaks with integrity.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Ebed-melech - The servant of the king one of the eunuchs who belonged to the palace. Perhaps it should be read, "Now, a servant of the king, a Cushite, one of the eunuchs," etc. The king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin - To give audience, and to administer justice. We have often seen that the gates of cities were the places of public judicature.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Ebed-melech - i. e., the king‘s slave. By “Ethiopian” or Cushite is meant the Cushite of Africa, or negro. It seems (compare 2 Kings 23:11) as if such eunuchs (or, chamberlains) took their names from the king, while the royal family and the princes generally bore names compounded with the appellations of the Deity.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8The Ethiopian (compare Luke 17:18; Acts 28:28): Jeremiah’s rescuer was not from Judah. He was a foreigner who bravely opposed the other officials. He ran to the Benjamin Gate, where they first arrested Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:11–13), and entered the king’s presence without ceremony.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Ebed-melech--The Hebrew designation given this Ethiopian, meaning "king's servant." Already, even at this early time, God wished to show what good reason there was for calling the Gentiles to salvation. An Ethiopian stranger saves the prophet whom his own countrymen, the Jews, tried to destroy. So the Gentiles believed in Christ whom the Jews crucified, and Ethiopians were among the earliest converts (Ac 2:10, 41; 8:27-39). Ebed-melech probably was…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:7
In the dictionaries
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
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