New Living Translation
Jeremiah 38:9
9“My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.”
Jeremiah 38:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
- New International Version (NIV)“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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city."
- New King James Version (NKJV)“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.”
Context of Jeremiah 38:9
7But 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, 8so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.” 10So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.” 11So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope.
Read all of Jeremiah 38Jeremiah 38:9 word by word
אֲדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ הֵרֵ֜עוּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֤ים הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ אֵ֣ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ לְיִרְמְיָ֣הוּ הַנָּבִ֔יא אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־הִשְׁלִ֖יכוּ אֶל־הַבּ֑וֹר וַיָּ֤מָת תַּחְתָּיו֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י הָֽרָעָ֔ב כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין הַלֶּ֛חֶם ע֖וֹד בָּעִֽיר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- My lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- these menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- have done evilרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
- in all that they have doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- to Jeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫הוּyirmeyâh yirmeyâhû · JeremiahH3414
- the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- whom they have castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
- into the dungeonבּוֹרbôr · pitH953
- and he is like to dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- forפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
- hungerרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- in the placeתַּחַתtachath · underneath: standH8478
- no more breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- in the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
Cross-references for Jeremiah 38:9
- Jeremiah 38:1Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying,
- Esther 7:4For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”
- Job 31:34Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?
- Proverbs 24:11Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death.
- Proverbs 31:8Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.
- Jeremiah 37:21So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon. Instead, he was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. The king also commanded that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every day as long as there was any left in the city. So Jeremiah was put in the palace prison.
- Jeremiah 52:6By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 38:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9My lord the king, these men have done evil - He must have been much in the king's confidence, and a humane and noble spirited man, thus to have raised his voice against the powerful cabal already mentioned. There is no more bread in the city - They had defended it to the last extremity; and it appears that bread had been afforded to the prophet according to the king's commandment, as long as there was any remaining. See Jeremiah 36:21.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-13Jeremiah could talk to people while in the prison courtyard. He shared the Lord's judgments, which angered some government officials. Zedekiah showed cowardice by allowing these men to put Jeremiah in a muddy cistern. However, the king showed courage when he let a palace servant rescue Jeremiah and bring him back to the palace prison.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. die for hunger in the place where he is; for ... no ... bread in ... city--(Compare Jr 37:21). He had heretofore got a piece of bread supplied to him. "Seeing that there is the utmost want of bread in the city, so that even if he were at large, there could no more be regularly supplied to him, much less now in a place where none remember or pity him, so that he is likely to die for hunger." "No more bread," that is, no more left of the public store in…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 38:9
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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