New King James Version
Jeremiah 38:7
7Now 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,
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;
- New International Version (NIV)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,
- 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 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
5Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” 6So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire. 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, 8Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: 9“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more 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 speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.
- Jeremiah 13:23Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
- Psalms 68:31Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
- Matthew 8:11And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 20:16So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”
- Luke 10:30Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
- Luke 13:29They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
- Acts 8:27So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
- Jeremiah 29:2(This happened after Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.)
- Jeremiah 34:19the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—
- 2 Kings 24:15And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 37:13And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”
- Deuteronomy 21:19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city.
- Job 29:7“When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square,
- Amos 5:10They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries