God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 38:21
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me.
Jeremiah 38:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me:
- New International Version (NIV)But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me:
- English Standard Version (ESV)But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me:
- New King James Version (NKJV)But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me:
Context of Jeremiah 38:21
19King Zedekiah answered Jeremiah, “I’m afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Babylonians. The Babylonians may hand me over to them, and they will torture me.” 20Jeremiah said, “You will not be handed over to them. Obey the Lord by doing what I’m telling you. Then everything will go well for you, and you will live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me. 22All the women who are left in the palace of Judah’s king will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon. These women will say: ‘Your trusted friends have misled you and used you. Your feet are stuck in the mud, and your friends have deserted you.’ 23“All your wives and children will be brought to the Babylonians. You will not escape from them. You will be captured by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.”
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:21 word by word
וְאִם־מָאֵ֥ן אַתָּ֖ה לָצֵ֑את זֶ֣ה הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר הִרְאַ֖נִי יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:21
- Jeremiah 5:3Lord, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don’t feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.
- Exodus 10:3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself in my presence? Let my people go to worship me.
- Exodus 16:28The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to do what I have commanded and instructed you to do?
- Job 34:33Should God reward you on your own terms since you have rejected his? You must choose, not I. Tell me what you know. Speak!
- Proverbs 1:24“I called, and you refused to listen. I stretched out my hands to you, and no one paid attention.
- Isaiah 1:19If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.
- Hebrews 12:25Be careful that you do not refuse to listen when God speaks. Your ancestors didn’t escape when they refused to listen to God, who warned them on earth. We certainly won’t escape if we turn away from God, who warns us from heaven.
- Jeremiah 15:19This is what the Lord says: If you will return, I will take you back. If you will speak what is worthwhile and not what is worthless, you will stand in my presence. The people will return to you, but you will not return to them.
- Jeremiah 26:15But know for certain that if you put me to death, you, this city, and the people living in it will be guilty of killing an innocent person. The Lord has certainly sent me to speak all these things to you.”
- Numbers 23:19God is not like people. He tells no lies. He is not like humans. He doesn’t change his mind. When he says something, he does it. When he makes a promise, he keeps it.
- Numbers 24:13‘Even if Balak would give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I couldn’t disobey the Lord’s command no matter how good or bad the request might seem to me. I must say only what the Lord says.’
- Job 23:13“But God is one of a kind. Who can make him change his mind? He does whatever he wants!
- Ezekiel 2:1He said to me, “Son of man, stand up, and I will speak to you.”
- Ezekiel 4:1⌞The Lord said,⌟ “Son of man, take clay, put it in front of you, and draw a map of Jerusalem on it.
- Ezekiel 5:1⌞The Lord said,⌟ “Son of man, take a sharp blade, and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Take scales to weigh your hair and divide it ⌞into three even parts⌟.
- Ezekiel 7:1The Lord spoke his word to me. He said,
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:21
- 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. 20-22Jeremiah told Zedekiah that things would be fine if he obeyed the Lord. If he did not, even his friends would leave him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-28All this was subsequent to his imprisonment in Jonathan's house, and his release on his interview with Zedekiah. The latter occurred before the return of the Chaldeans to the siege; the similar events in this chapter occurred after it. 1. Jucal--Jehucal (Jr 37:3). Pashur--(Jr 21:1; compare Jr 21:9 with Jr 38:2). The deputation in Jr 21:1, to whom Jeremiah gave this reply, if not identical with the hearers of Jeremiah (Jr 38:1), must have been sent just…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:21
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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