New King James Version
Jeremiah 38:23
23‘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.’ ”
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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- 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 word that the Lord has shown me: 22‘Now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say: “Your close friends have set upon you And prevailed against you; Your feet have sunk in the mire, And they have turned away again.” ‘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.’ ” 24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it 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 king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’ ”
- Jeremiah 39:6Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah.
- Jeremiah 41:10Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
- Jeremiah 52:8But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him.
- 2 Kings 25:7Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
- 2 Chronicles 36:20And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,
- Jeremiah 27:12I also spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live!
- Ezekiel 14:9“And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.
- Ezekiel 43:3It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries