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

15Jeremiah said to the king, ‘If I give you a true answer, you will surely kill me. If I give you advice, you will not agree.’ 16But King Zedekiah made a serious promise to Jeremiah. Nobody else knew about it. He said, ‘I promise you that this is true, as surely as the Lord lives. I promise that I will not kill you. And I will not give you to the men who want to kill you.’ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, ‘The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, “You must put yourself under the power of the king of Babylon's officers. If you do that, you will not die. Your enemies will not burn down this city. You and your family will continue to live. 18But if you do not agree to be under their power, they will take this city for themselves. They will burn it down. You yourself will become their prisoner.” ’ 19King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, ‘I am afraid to do that. Some of Judah's people have gone out of the city to help Babylon's army. Babylon's officers might give me to them and they will be very cruel to 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 80:7God Almighty, turn us to come back to you. Look at us with a smile on your face! Then we will be safe.
• Amos 5:27I will send you away as prisoners. Your enemies will take you beyond Damascus.’ That is what the Lord says, and he is God Almighty.
• 1 Chronicles 17:24so that people see your promises are true. Then people will always give honour to your great name. They will say, “The Lord Almighty is Israel's God.” And David's descendants will continue to serve you as kings.
• Ezra 9:4Then everyone who respected the words of Israel's God came around me. They were afraid of what God might do, because the Israelites who came from Babylon had not obeyed him. I continued to sit there, until the time of the evening sacrifice. I was still very upset.
• Jeremiah 38:2They had heard him say this: ‘The Lord says, “Any people who stay in this city will die. War or famine or disease will kill them. But those people who leave the city will not die. If they put themselves under the power of Babylon's soldiers, they will live.”
• Jeremiah 7:6Do not be cruel to foreigners who are living among you. Do not be cruel to widows, or to children who have no family. You must stop murdering people. You must stop worshipping other gods. If you live like that, it will destroy you.
• Jeremiah 21:8But also tell the people that the Lord says this: “I will let you choose between two things. One is a way that will give you life. The other is a way that will give you death.
• Jeremiah 27:12I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. I told him, ‘Put the yoke of the king of Babylon around your neck. Agree to work for him and for his people. Then you will continue to live.
• Jeremiah 39:3The king of Babylon's officers came into Jerusalem. They sat at the Middle Gate of the city. The officers were Nergal-Sharezer from Samgar, an important officer called Nebo-Sarsekim, and another important officer, also called Nergal-Sharezer. All the other officers of the king of Babylon met with them there.
• Job 23:13But he is always true to himself. Nobody can change him. Whatever he wants to do, 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