New English Translation
Jeremiah 38:5
5King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. For I cannot do anything to stop you.”
Jeremiah 38:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
- New International Version (NIV)“He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.”
Context of Jeremiah 38:5
3They had also heard him say, “The Lord says, ‘This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. They will capture it.’” 4So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. This man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. For I cannot do anything to stop you.” 6So the officials took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud. 7An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. While the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate,
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:5 word by word
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ צִדְקִיָּ֔הוּ הִנֵּה־ה֖וּא בְּיֶדְכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־אֵ֣ין הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ יוּכַ֥ל אֶתְכֶ֖ם דָּבָֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:5
- 1 Samuel 15:24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes.
- 1 Samuel 29:9Achish replied to David, “I am convinced that you are as reliable as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us in the battle.’
- 2 Samuel 3:39Today I am weak, even though I am anointed as king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too much for me to bear! May the Lord punish appropriately the one who has done this evil thing!”
- 2 Samuel 19:22But David said, “What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? You are like my enemy today! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t you realize that today I am king over Israel?”
- Proverbs 29:25The fear of people becomes a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high.
- John 19:12From this point on, Pilate tried to release him. But the Jewish leaders shouted out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar! Everyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!”
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5He is in your hand - Ye have power to do as you please; I must act by your counsel. Poor weak prince! you respect the prophet, you fear the cabal, and you sacrifice an innocent man to your own weakness and their malice!Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5All real power was in their hands, and as they affirmed that Jeremiah‘s death was a matter of necessity, the king did not dare refuse it to them.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The officials angrily confronted King Zedekiah and made their demands. He was weak and afraid.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. the king is not he--Zedekiah was a weak prince, and now in his straits afraid to oppose his princes. He hides his dislike of their overweening power, which prevented him shielding Jeremiah as he would have wished, under complimentary speeches. "It is not right that the king should deny aught to such faithful and wise statesmen"; the king is not such a one as to deny you your wishes [Jerome].Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:5
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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Commentaries