Jeremiah 38:24

Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. LET NO MAN KNOW OF THESE WORDS, AND THOU SHALT NOT DIE - if thou wilt not tell this to the people, I will engage thy safety....

Here is seen the miserable condition of the king. Had he no faith in the answer of Jeremiah, he would not have thus feared. But he acknowledged that what he had heard from the mouth of the Prophet was true. In the meanwhile he delayed and extended time as far as he could, and chose rather to spend his life in trembling than to be immediately freed from all care and anxiety. This was by no means to act like a king; for had he any courage, he would not have waited to the last hour. We indeed know that men of courage boldly meet death, when they see no hope of honor remaining. Zedekiah had lost his authority; he held indeed the title of a king, but he was without power; for he was compelled servilely to obey his counselors; and now he feared his own shadow, and yet protracted time, as I have said, as much as he could; and on this account he requested the Prophet, that this conversation migh...

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....

CONTINUATION. EXPOSITION The object of the princes being frustrated (for in the "court of the guard" Jeremiah had perfect freedom and opportunity of speech), the princes resolve upon a more effectual means of stopping the prophet's mouth. He is thrown into a miry pit, with the object that he may die of starvation. JEREMIAH 38:1 Two Pashurs appear to be mentioned here: one probably the same who put Jeremiah in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:1, Jeremiah 20:2); the other a member of the first of Zedekiah's two embassies to the prophet (Jeremiah 21:1). On JUCAL

THEN SAID ZEDEKIAH TO JEREMIAH,.... Not a word signifying his approbation of the counsel given him, or that he intended to take it; his silence showed the reverse: LET NO MAN KNOW OF THESE WORDS: that had passed between them; of the conference and conversation they had had together, at least not the particulars of it; the thing itself was known, as appears by what follows, that the king and prophet had been discoursing together; but what they talked of, he desires might be concealed, pretending the prophet's good, though it was his own honour and safety he sought: AND THOU SHALL NOT DIE; as he had promised he should not, and had sworn to it; but suggests by this, that if he disclosed the conversation, he should took upon himself free from his word and oath; so that this carried something menacing in it: or it may be rendered "that thou die not" c; intimating, that if the princes should...

CHAPTER 38 _ 1. Jeremiah in the dungeon and his rescue (Jeremiah 38:1) _ 2. Jeremiah with Zedekiah: His last appeal (Jeremiah 38:14) Jeremiah 38:1. Jeremiah is next accused of high treason. The charge is based on his message, given to him by the Lord: “He that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live.” Like the conscientious objectors during the past war, they accused him of being unpatriotic. “This man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.” They demand his life. In the sixth verse we see him in a deep dungeon, into which he was put by means of ropes. And Jeremiah sank into the vile mire. This reminds us of Him, our blessed Lord, who was also accused by false witnesses

Zedekiah asks Jeremiah about the future, swearing immunity to him, whatever his answer (Jeremiah 38:16). Jeremiah urges him to save himself and the city by surrender to Nebuchadrezzar's princes (Nebuchadrezzar being absent, Jeremiah 39:3; Jeremiah 39:5); promises that the Jews who have already deserted shall not illtreat him; declares a Divine vision of the end, contingent on the king's refusal to surrender. Jeremiah has seen the women of the harem being brought out for the Babylonian victors, and as they go he has heard them singing a dirge (Jeremiah 38:22) for Zedekiah. The king bids him conceal the true nature of this interview from

_Let no man know_ Zedekiah's feebleness is again conspicuous in this and the two following verses. Although the saving of the prophet from conditions likely to prove fatal is not directly mentioned in the narrative as preserved to us, it is far from unlikely that it was one subject of the conversation. Thus the prophet may well have held himself justified in limiting his statement to the princes in accordance with Zedekiah's desire, especially when we remember that moral standards at that age were not altogether identical with our own....

E. Interviewed by the King Jeremiah 38:14-26 TRANSLATION (14) Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought unto him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said unto Jeremiah, I am about to inquire about a matter; do not hide anything from me. (15) And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen unto me! (16) And king Zedekiah swore unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, As the LORD lives who has made for us this soul, I will not put you to death or give you into the hands of the men who are seeking your life. (17) And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, Thus says the LORD the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will only go forth unto the princes of the king of Babylon, then you shall live, and this city shall not be burned and you and your house

1-3. The removal of Jeremiah from the prison was favourable to the publication of his message. Hence the alarm of the princes....