EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jeremiah 38:4
4When the officers heard that, they said to the king, ‘You must punish this man with death. He is making our soldiers who remain in the city afraid. The things that he says are making all the people in the city very afraid. He does not want to help our people. He wants to destroy them.’
Jeremiah 38:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the officials said to the king, "Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
Context of Jeremiah 38:4
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.” 3The Lord also says, “I will put this city under the power of the King of Babylon's army. They will take it for themselves.” ’ When the officers heard that, they said to the king, ‘You must punish this man with death. He is making our soldiers who remain in the city afraid. The things that he says are making all the people in the city very afraid. He does not want to help our people. He wants to destroy them.’ 5King Zedekiah said to them, ‘You can do to Jeremiah whatever you want to do. I cannot stop you.’ 6So the officers took hold of Jeremiah. They put him in a deep hole in the palace yard where the guards were. Prince Malkijah had made the hole to store water. There was no water in the hole, but only mud. They tied ropes around Jeremiah and they slowly dropped him into the hole. Jeremiah fell deep into the mud.
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:4 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ הַשָּׂרִ֜ים אֶל־הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ י֣וּמַת נָא֮ אֶת־הָאִ֣ישׁ הַזֶּה֒ כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֡ן הֽוּא־מְרַפֵּ֡א אֶת־יְדֵי֩ אַנְשֵׁ֨י הַמִּלְחָמָ֜ה הַֽנִּשְׁאָרִ֣ים׀ בָּעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֗את וְאֵת֙ יְדֵ֣י כָל־הָעָ֔ם לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם כַּדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה כִּ֣י׀ הָאִ֣ישׁ הַזֶּ֗ה אֵינֶ֨נּוּ דֹרֵ֧שׁ לְשָׁל֛וֹם לָעָ֥ם הַזֶּ֖ה כִּ֥י אִם־לְרָעָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore the princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- We beseech thee, let this manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- be put to deathמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- for thus[כִּי עַל] כֵּןkên · sinceH3651
- he weakenethרָפָהrâphâh · to slackenH7503
- the handsיָדyâd · handH3027
- of the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- of warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
- that remainשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
- in this cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- of all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- in speakingדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- such wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- seekethדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
- not the welfareשָׁלוֹםshâlôm shâlôm · peace: well-beingH7965
- but the hurtרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:4
- Jeremiah 26:11Then the priests and the prophets told the officers and all the people why they accused Jeremiah. They said, ‘This man deserves to die because he has prophesied trouble against this city. You yourselves have heard what he said!’
- Jeremiah 36:12Then Micaiah went to the secretary's room in the king's palace. All the king's officers were meeting there. They included: the king's secretary Elishama, Shemaiah's son Delaiah, Akbor's son Elnathan, Shaphan's son Gemariah, and Hananiah's son Zedekiah. All the officers were sitting there.
- 2 Chronicles 24:21The people decided to punish Zechariah. The king gave a command to punish him with death. So they threw stones at him to kill him in the yard of the Lord's temple.
- Ezekiel 22:27The officers in the land are like wolves that catch other animals and tear them into pieces. They use their power to murder people so that they can take their money for themselves.
- Micah 3:1Then I spoke to the leaders: Listen to me, I said. You are the leaders of Jacob's people, you are the rulers of Israel. You ought to know what is right or wrong.
- Zephaniah 3:1It will be very bad for the city! It is like something that is dirty. Its people will not obey me. They like to fight weak people. They also like to do bad things.
- Exodus 5:4But the king of Egypt said, ‘Moses and Aaron, you must not take the people away from their work! Go back to your jobs!’
- 1 Kings 18:17When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, ‘Is that really you, the man who brings trouble to Israel?’
- 1 Kings 21:20When Elijah met Ahab, Ahab said to him, ‘So, my enemy, now you have found me!’ Elijah answered, ‘Yes, I have found you to warn you! You have decided to do things that the Lord says are evil.
- Ezra 4:12We want to tell the king what the Jews here are doing. They came here to Jerusalem from Babylon. Jerusalem has always been a bad city whose people do not obey their rulers. Now they are building the city again. They are building the city's walls and the foundations for other buildings.
- Nehemiah 6:9All our enemies wanted to frighten us. They thought, ‘The Jews will be so afraid that they will not be able to work well. They will not finish building the wall.’ So I prayed to God, ‘Give me strength to continue the work.’
- Amos 7:10Amaziah, was a priest at the holy place called Bethel. He sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. He said, ‘Amos is speaking against you among all Israel's people. What he is saying will deceive the people of our nation.
- Luke 23:2Then they all started to tell Pilate that Jesus had done bad things. They said, ‘We found this man when he was telling our people wrong things. He said that we must not pay taxes to the Roman government. He also said that he himself is the Messiah, that is, a king.’
- John 11:46But some of them went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus had done.
- Acts 16:20They asked the important officers to judge them. They said, ‘These men are Jews. They are causing much trouble in our city.
- Acts 17:6But they did not find Paul and Silas there. So they took hold of Jason and some other believers. They pulled them out of the house. They made them go and stand in front of the important officers of the city. They shouted, ‘These men have caused much trouble everywhere. Now they have come to our city.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Let this man be put to death - And they gave their reasons plain enough: but the proof was wanting.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4For thus - Because he makes the men of war dispirited. No doubt this was true. Jeremiah, however, did not speak as a private person, but as the representative of the government; the temporal ruler in a theocracy being responsible directly to God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The officials thought Jeremiah's prophecies would lower the soldiers' morale against the Babylonian army. So, they put him on trial for treason.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Had Jeremiah not had a divine commission, he might justly have been accused of treason; but having one, which made the result of the siege certain, he acted humanely as interpreter of God's will under the theocracy, in advising surrender (compare Jr 26:11).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:4
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
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries