English Standard Version
Jeremiah 38:23
23All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire."
Jeremiah 38:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
- New International Version (NIV)“All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘So they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans. You 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.’ ”
- New Living Translation (NLT)All your wives and children will be led out to the Babylonians, and you will not escape. You will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.”
Context of Jeremiah 38:23
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying, "'Your trusted friends have deceived you and prevailed against you; now that your feet are sunk in the mud, they turn away from you.' All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire." 24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,'
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:23 word by word
וְאֶת־כָּל־נָשֶׁ֣יךָ וְאֶת־בָּנֶ֗יךָ מֽוֹצִאִים֙ אֶל־הַכַּשְׂדִּ֔ים וְאַתָּ֖ה לֹא־תִמָּלֵ֣ט מִיָּדָ֑ם כִּ֣י בְיַ֤ד מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶל֙ תִּתָּפֵ֔שׂ וְאֶת־הָעִ֥יר הַזֹּ֖את תִּשְׂרֹ֥ף בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- So they shall bring outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: sendH3318
- all thy wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- and thy childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- to the Chaldeansכַּשְׂדִּיםkaώdîy kaώdîymâh · ChaldeaH3778
- and thou shalt not escape outמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422
- of their handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- but shalt be takenתָּפַשׂtâphaώ · to captureH8610
- of the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
- and thou shalt cause this cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- to be burnedשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- with fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:23
- Jeremiah 38:18But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand."
- Jeremiah 39:6The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.
- Jeremiah 41:10Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.
- Jeremiah 52:8But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.
- 2 Kings 25:7They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.
- 2 Chronicles 36:20He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia,
- Jeremiah 27:12To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live.
- Ezekiel 14:9And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
- Ezekiel 43:3And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23They shall bring out all thy wives and thy children - These were the women of the first rank, by whom the king had children. These had no temptation to go out to the Chaldeans, nor would they have been made welcome; but the others being young, and without children, would be well received by the Chaldean princes.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23So - And. In addition to the ridicule there shall be the miseries of the capture. Thou shalt cause this city to be burned - literally, as margin. It shall be thy own act as completely as if done with thine own hand.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. 1-28The focus now returns to Zedekiah, who became king of Judah after his nephew Jehoiachin. These chapters describe meetings between Zedekiah and Jeremiah, highlighting Zedekiah’s struggle to fully commit to God's word (compare Deuteronomy 10:12–13). Zedekiah is a classic example of a person with divided loyalty (James 1:6–8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. children--(Jr 39:6; 41:10). "wives ... children ... thou"; an ascending climax.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:23
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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