God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 38:26
26If they come to you, say to them, ‘I asked the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”
Jeremiah 38:26 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.
- New International Version (NIV)then tell them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”
- English Standard Version (ESV)then you shall say to them, 'I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"
- New King James Version (NKJV)then you shall say to them, ‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”
Context of Jeremiah 38:26
24Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die. 25The officials may find out that I’ve been talking with you. They may come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you. Don’t hide anything from us, or we’ll kill you.’ If they come to you, say to them, ‘I asked the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ” 27All the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. He told them exactly what the king had told him to say. So they stopped questioning him, because they hadn’t heard his conversation with the king. 28Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the prison until the day Jerusalem was captured.
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:26 word by word
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם מַפִּיל־אֲנִ֥י תְחִנָּתִ֖י לִפְנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ לְבִלְתִּ֧י הֲשִׁיבֵ֛נִי בֵּ֥ית יְהוֹנָתָ֖ן לָמ֥וּת שָֽׁם׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then thou shalt sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto them, I presentedנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- my supplicationתְּחִנָּהtechinnâh · supplicationH8467
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- that he would not cause me to returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- to Jonathan’sיְהוֹנָתָןyehônâthân · JonathanH3083
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- to dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:26
- Jeremiah 37:15The officials were so angry with Jeremiah that they beat him and put him in prison in the scribe Jonathan’s house, which had been turned into a prison.
- Jeremiah 42:2They said to him, “Please listen to our request, and pray to the Lord your God for all of us who are left here. As you can see, there are only a few of us left.
- Esther 4:8He also gave him a copy of the decree that was issued in Susa. The decree gave permission to exterminate the Jews. Hathach was supposed to show it to Esther to inform and command her to go to the king, beg him for mercy, and appeal to him for her people.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26I presented my supplication - This was telling the truth, and nothing but the truth, but not the whole truth. The king did not wish him to defile his conscience, nor did he propose any thing that was not consistent with the truth.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. 24-28When Zedekiah feared his officials again, he demanded that Jeremiah keep secret what he had told him. The officials might have suspected that Zedekiah planned to surrender to the enemy. Jeremiah obeyed the king's order to stay silent, and he spent the final days of the siege in the palace prison under the king's protection.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. presented--literally, "made my supplication to fall"; implying supplication with humble prostration (see on Jr 36:7). Jonathan's house--(Jr 37:15), different from Malchiah's dungeon (Jr 38:6). This statement was true, though not the whole truth; the princes had no right to the information; no sanction is given by Scripture here to Jeremiah's representation of this being the cause of his having come to the king. Fear drove him to it. Compare Ge 20:2…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:26
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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