New International Version
Jeremiah 38:7
7But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,
Jeremiah 38:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now when Ebed–melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
- English Standard Version (ESV)When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate—
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate,
Context of Jeremiah 38:7
5“He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.” 6So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, 8Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, 9“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.”
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:7 word by word
וַיִּשְׁמַ֡ע עֶֽבֶד־מֶ֨לֶךְ הַכּוּשִׁ֜י אִ֣ישׁ סָרִ֗יס וְהוּא֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כִּֽי־נָתְנ֥וּ אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ אֶל־הַבּ֑וֹר וְהַמֶּ֥לֶךְ יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּשַׁ֥עַר בִּנְיָמִֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now when Ebed–melechעֶ֫בֶד מֶ֫לֶךְ‛ebed melek · Ebed-melechH5663
- the Ethiopianכּוּשִׁיkûshîy · EthiopianH3569
- oneאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of the eunuchsסָרִיסsârîys sâris · eunuchH5631
- which was in the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: palaceH1004
- heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- that they had putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- Jeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫הוּyirmeyâh yirmeyâhû · JeremiahH3414
- in the dungeonבּוֹרbôr · pitH953
- then sittingיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- of Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · Benjamin (Gate)H1144
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:7
- Jeremiah 39:16“Go and tell Ebed-Melek the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city—words concerning disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes.
- Jeremiah 13:23Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.
- Psalms 68:31Envoys will come from Egypt; Cush will submit herself to God.
- Matthew 8:11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 20:16“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
- Luke 10:30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
- Luke 13:29People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
- Acts 8:27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
- Jeremiah 29:2(This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)
- Jeremiah 34:19The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf,
- 2 Kings 24:15Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother, his wives, his officials and the prominent people of the land.
- Jeremiah 37:13But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”
- Deuteronomy 21:19his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.
- Job 29:7“When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
- Amos 5:10There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Ebed-melech - The servant of the king one of the eunuchs who belonged to the palace. Perhaps it should be read, "Now, a servant of the king, a Cushite, one of the eunuchs," etc. The king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin - To give audience, and to administer justice. We have often seen that the gates of cities were the places of public judicature.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Ebed-melech - i. e., the king‘s slave. By “Ethiopian” or Cushite is meant the Cushite of Africa, or negro. It seems (compare 2 Kings 23:11) as if such eunuchs (or, chamberlains) took their names from the king, while the royal family and the princes generally bore names compounded with the appellations of the Deity.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8The Ethiopian (compare Luke 17:18; Acts 28:28): Jeremiah’s rescuer was not from Judah. He was a foreigner who bravely opposed the other officials. He ran to the Benjamin Gate, where they first arrested Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:11–13), and entered the king’s presence without ceremony.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Ebed-melech--The Hebrew designation given this Ethiopian, meaning "king's servant." Already, even at this early time, God wished to show what good reason there was for calling the Gentiles to salvation. An Ethiopian stranger saves the prophet whom his own countrymen, the Jews, tried to destroy. So the Gentiles believed in Christ whom the Jews crucified, and Ethiopians were among the earliest converts (Ac 2:10, 41; 8:27-39). Ebed-melech probably was…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:7
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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