Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying, “Yahweh says, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live, and he will escape with his life, and he will live.’ Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’ ”
Then the princes said to the king, “Please let this man be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn’t seek the welfare of this people, but harm.”
Zedekiah the king said, “Behold, he is in your hand; for the king can’t do anything to oppose you.”
Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king was then sitting in Benjamin’s gate), Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, and spoke to the king, saying, “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. He is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.”
Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dies.”
So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the cords.” Jeremiah did so.
So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Then Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to himself into the third entry that is in Yahweh’s house. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? If I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.”
So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. You will live, along with your house. But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you won’t escape out of their hand.’ ”
Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.”
But Jeremiah said, “They won’t deliver you. Obey, I beg you, Yahweh’s voice, in that which I speak to you; so it will be well with you, and your soul will live. But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that Yahweh has shown me:
‘Behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house will be brought out to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women will say, “Your familiar friends have turned on you, and have prevailed over you. Your feet are sunk in the mire, they have turned away from you.”
They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape out of their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. You will cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ”
Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of these words, and you won’t die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king; don’t hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also tell us what the king said to you;’ then you shall tell them, ‘I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.’ ”
Then all the princes came to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1–28 The Prophet now shews that he was again dragged…
The Prophet now shews that he was again dragged from the court of the prison to the inner part, which was dark, filthy, and like a grave. The cause of this he states: it was because four of the princes had heard his words. It is probable that many of the people had come there for the purpose of hearing the Prophet, and that he, having received a message, delivered it to every one that came to him. Though then he was shut up in prison, yet the word of God could not be bound, as Paul says, who gloried in the fact, that though he was in chains, yet the truth spread far and wide. (2 Timothy 2:9.) Such was the case as to Jeremiah; though he was retained as a prisoner, he yet ceased not to discharge his office; and yet there is no doubt but that the purpose of the king was in this way to restrain him. The prison was, as it were, the captivity of prophetic truth. But the king and his counselors were mistaken; for Jeremiah was not less free in the court of the prison, than if he had walked through the city all the day, nay, he had many heralds.
But the four princes mentioned here watched him, even Shephatiah, Gadaliah, Jucal, and Pashur. Then the four princes he names, having insidiously watched what he said, immediately made a commotion. They had, no doubt, contrived the ruin of the Prophet before they came to the king; for the unprincipled and wicked, we know, discuss matters together when intent on mischief, and their courtly arts must be taken to the account. As, then, the four were in authority, they must, doubtless, have influenced the greatest part of the king’s council, and led astray easy men, or such as were not of themselves bent on evil. The matter was at length brought before the king; and therefore he adds, that they came to the king But he first explains the doctrine, on account of which these unprincipled men created so much ill-will to him, and endangered his life. Hence he says that the accusation was, that he had not only threatened with ruin all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but that he had also pro-raised life to all that would go out to the Chaldeans: Every one who abides in the city shall die by the sword, famine, or pestilence; but every one who goeth out to the Chaldeans shall live This was the accusation.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17, 19, 22, 26 For Zedekiah had sent these to Jeremiah, to inquire…
For Zedekiah had sent these to Jeremiah, to inquire at the Lord for the state of the country now when Nebuchadnezzar came, as Jer. 21:1.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–28 Jer 38:1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and…
Jer 38:1 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
Ver. 1. Then Shephatiah.] Here was aliud ex alio malum, one affliction on the neck of another. Matters mend with us as sour ale doth in summer, said Bishop Ridley once, when he was prisoner. Poor Jeremiah might well have said so, if ever any, as appeareth by this chapter, where we find him in a worse hole than was that of Jonathan; but his extremity was God’s opportunity.
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Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, &c.] These four princes here named to their eternal infamy were no small men, as appeareth in that the king was not he that could do anything against them. {Jer 38:5} The grandees of the world are greatest enemies usually to the truth. Little they had to say against his doctrines; they quarrel with his affection, as a perturber of the public peace. {Jer 38:4}
Ahab charged the like crime upon Elijah; the Jews upon Christ, and afterwards upon Paul; the heathen persecutors upon the primitive Christians; the heretics still upon the orthodox, that they were seditious, antimonarchical, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Vers. 1. Here are four of the great men,…
Vers. 1. Here are four of the great men, counsellors, or great officers to Zedekiah, named, of whom we have no further mention in holy writ, nor are they worthy of much inquiry after. Jeremiah being now removed into a little freer air, where his friends, or such as had a desire to see him, came to him, and it is very likely were inquisitive to know what God would do with the city, he could not but tell them what he knew of the mind of God in the case, and advise them the best he could. Some of them go to these princes, and inform them of what they had heard from the prophet.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 14 Here, 1. Jeremiah persists in his plain preaching; what…
Here, 1. Jeremiah persists in his plain preaching; what he had many a time said, he still says (Jer 38:3): This city shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon; though it hold out long, it will taken at last. Nor would he have so often repeated this unwelcome message but that he could put them in a certain way, though not to save the city, yet to save themselves; so that every man might have his own life given him for a prey if he would be advised, Jer 38:2. Let him not stay in the city, in hopes to defend that, for it will be to no purpose, but let him go forth to the Chaldeans, and throw himself upon their mercy, before things come to extremity, and then he shall live; they will not put him to the sword, but give him quarter (satis est prostrasse leoni - it suffices the lion to lay his antagonist prostrate) and he shall escape the famine and pestilence, which will be the death of multitudes within the city. Note, Those do better for themselves who patiently submit to the rebukes of Providence than those who contend with them. And, if we cannot have our liberty, we must reckon it a mercy to have our lives, and not foolishly throw them away upon a point of honour; they m ay be reserved for better times. 2. The princes persist in their malice against Jeremiah. He was faithful to his country and to his trust as a prophet, though he had suffered many a time for his faithfulness; and, though at this time he ate the king's bread, yet that did not stop his mouth. But his persecutors were still bitter against him, and complained that he abused the liberty he had of walking in the court of the prison; for, though he could not go to the temple to preach, yet he vented the same things in private conversation to those that came to visit him, and therefore (Jer 38:4) they represented him to the king as a dangerous man, disaffected to his country and to the government he lived under: He seeks not the welfare of this people, but the hurt - an unjust insinuation, for no man had laid out himself more for the good of Jerusalem than he had done. They represent his preaching as having a bad tendency. The design of it was plainly to bring men to repent and turn to God, which would have been as much as any thing a strengthening to the hands both the soldiery and of the burghers, and yet they represented it as weakening their hands and discouraging them; and, if it did this, it was their own fault. Note, It is common for wicked people to look upon God's faithful ministers as their enemies, only because they show them what enemies they are to themselves while they continue impenitent. 3. Jeremiah hereupon, by the king's permission, is put into a dungeon, with a view to his destruction there. Zedekiah, though he felt a conviction that Jeremiah was a prophet, sent of God, had not courage to own it, but yielded to the violence of his persecutors (Jer 38:5): He is in your hand; and a worse sentence he could not have passed upon him. We found in Jehoiakim's reign that the princes were better affected to the prophet than the king was (Jer 36:25); but now they were more violent against him, a sign that they were ripening apace for ruin. Had it been in a cause that concerned his own honour or profit, he would have let them know that the king is he who can do what he pleases, whether they will or no; but in the cause of God and his prophet, which he was very cool in, he basely sneaks, and truckles to them: The king is not he that can do any thing against you. Note, Those will have a great deal to answer for who, though they have a secret kindness for good people, dare not own it in a time of need, nor will do what they might do to prevent mischief designed them. The princes, having this general warrant from the king, immediately put poor Jeremiah into the dungeon of Malchiah, that was in the court of the prison (Jer 38:6), a deep dungeon, for they let him down into it with cords, and a dirty one, for there was no water in it, but mire; and he sunk in the mire, up to the neck, says Josephus. Those that put him here doubtless designed that he should die here, die for hunger, die for cold, and so die miserably, die obscurely, fearing, if they should put him to death openly, the people might be affected with what he would say and be incensed against them. Many of God's faithful witnesses have thus been privately made away, and starved to death, in prisons, whose blood will be brought to account in the day of discovery. We are not here told what Jeremiah did in this distress, but he tells us himself (Lam 3:55, Lam 3:57), I called upon thy name, O Lord! out of the low dungeon, and thou drewest near, saying, Fear not. 4. Application is made to the king by an honest courtier, Ebed-melech, one of the gentlemen of the bed-chamber, in behalf of the poor sufferer. Though the princes carried on the matter as privately as they could, yet it came to the ear of this good man, who probably sought opportunities to do good. It may be he came to the knowledge of it by hearing Jeremiah's moans out of the dungeon, for it was in the king's house, Jer 38:7. Ebed-melech was an Ethiopian, a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, and yet had in him more humanity, and more divinity too, than native Israelites had. Christ found more faith among Gentiles than among Jews. Ebed-melech lived in a wicked court and in a very corrupt degenerate age, and yet had a great sense both of equity and piety. God has his remnant in all places, among all sorts. There were saints even in Caesar's household. The king was now sitting in the gate of Benjamin, to try causes and receive appeals and petitions, or perhaps holding a council of war there. Thither Ebed-melech went immediately to him, for the case would not admit delay; the prophet might have perished if he had trifled or put it off till he had an opportunity of speaking to the king in private. Not time must be lost when life is in danger, especially so valuable a life. He boldly asserts the Jeremiah had a great deal of wrong done him, and is not afraid to tell the king so, though they were princes that did it, though they were now present in court, and though they had the king's warrant for what they did. Whither should oppressed innocency flee for protection but to the throne, especially when great men are its oppressors? Ebed-melech appears truly brave in this matter. He does not mince the matter; though he had a place at court, which he would be in danger of losing for his plain dealing, yet he tells the king faithfully, let him take it as he will, These men have done ill in all that they have done to Jeremiah. They had dealt unjustly with him, for he had not deserved any punishment at all; and they had dealt barbarously with him, so as they used not to deal with the vilest malefactors. And they needed not to have put him to this miserable death; for, if they had let him alone where he was, he was likely to die for hunger in the place where he was, in the court of the prison to which he was confined, for there was not more bread in the city: the stores out of which he was to have his allowance (Jer 37:21) were in a manner spent. See how God can raise up friends for his people in distress where they little thought of them, and animate men for his service even beyond expectation. 5. Orders are immediately given for his release, and Ebed-melech takes care to see them executed. The king, who but now durst do nothing against the princes, had his heart wonderfully changed on a sudden, and will now have Jeremiah released in defiance of the princes, for therefore he orders no less than thirty men, and those of the lifeguard, to be employed in fetching him out of the dungeon, lest the princes should raise a party to oppose it, Jer 38:10. Let this encourage us to appear boldly for God - we may succeed better that we could have thought, for the hearts of kings are in the hand of God. Ebed-melech gained his point, and soon brought Jeremiah the good news; and it is observable how particularly the manner of his drawing him out of the dungeon is related (for God is not unrighteous to forget any work or labour of love which is shown to his people or ministers, no, nor any circumstance of it, Heb 6:10); special notice is taken of his great tenderness in providing old soft rags for Jeremiah to put under his arm-holes, to keep the cords wherewith he was to be drawn up from hurting him, his arm-holes being probably galled by the cords wherewith he was let down. Nor did he throw the rags down to him, lest they should be lost in the mire, but carefully let them down, Jer 38:11, Jer 38:12. Note, Those that are in distress should not only be relieved, but relieved with compassion and marks of respect, all which shall be placed to account and abound to a good account in the day of recompence. See what a good use even old rotten rags may be put to, which therefore should not be made waste of, any more than broken meat: even in the king's house, and under the treasury too, these were carefully preserved for the use of the poor or sick. Jeremiah is brought up out of the dungeon, and is now where he was, in the court of the prison, Jer 38:13. Perhaps Ebed-melech could have made interest with the king to get him his discharge thence also, now that he had the king's ear; but he though him safer and better provided for there than he would be any where else. God can, when he pleases, make a prison to become a refuge and hiding-place to his people in distress and danger.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–28 Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the…
Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur,.... Of these two persons we nowhere else read. Some think that Pashur, whose son Gedaliah was, is the same as is mentioned Jer 20:1; which is not likely, since he was a priest, and this son a prince:
and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah; these had been sent by the king to Jeremiah, to inquire of the Lord, and to pray for him and his people, Jer 21:1; all four were princes, prime ministers of state, of great power and authority, and to whom the king could deny nothing, or withstand, Jer 38:4; these
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heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people; that is, to as many of them as came to the court of the prison to visit him; some out of good will, and some out of ill will; and others out of curiosity; being desirous to know by the prophet how things would go with them; and by which means what he said was spread all over the city, and came to the ears of the above princes; and no doubt there were persons enough officious enough to carry these things to them:
saying; as follows:
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 5, 10, 19, 22 Jeremiah prophesies; is by the princes, with the king's…
Jeremiah prophesies; is by the princes, with the king's permission, cast into a dungeon; but is by Ebed-melech, with the king's consent, taken out again, ver. 1-13. He has a secret conference with the king, in which he counsels him by yielding, to save his life, ver. 14-23. By the king's command he conceals the conference from the princes, ver. 24-27. He abides in prison 'till Jerusalem is taken, ver. 28.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27 The princes of Judah, taking offense at Jeremiah on…
CHAPTER XXXVIII
The princes of Judah, taking offense at Jeremiah on account of
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his predicting the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by
the Chaldeans, cause him to be cast into a deep and miry
dungeon, 1-6.
Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian, gets the king's permission to take
him out, 7-13.
Jeremiah advises the king, who consulted him privately, to
surrender to the Chaldeans, 14-23.
The king promises the prophet that he will not put him to
death, and requires him not to reveal what had passed to the
princes; to whom he accordingly gives an evasive answer,
telling them only so much of the conference as related to his
request for his life, 24-28.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVIII
Verse 1. Then Shephatiah] This was the faction - what Dahler terms the Antitheocratic faction - who were enemies to Jeremiah, and sought his life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 24 Jer 38:1. Then Shephaliah, &c. — Here are four…
Jer 38:1. Then Shephaliah, &c. — Here are four of the great men, counsellors or chief officers to Zedekiah, named, of whom we have no further mention in holy writ; nor do they deserve to have much inquiry made after them. Some of them were sent by Zedekiah to Jeremiah to inquire concerning the event of the siege, Jer 37:3; Jer 21:1-9. “The answer which Jeremiah returned by them to the king, he afterward published to the people; which was the occasion of the new troubles recorded in this chapter.” — Lowth. The fact seems to have been, that, as he was now removed into a little freer air than he had been in, his friends, or such as had a desire to see him, came to him, and being inquisitive concerning the issue of the siege, he could not but tell them what he knew of the mind of God, and advise them the best way he could for their safety. Some of them, it is likely, went to these princes, and informed them of what they had heard from the prophet.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 28 Had spoken - Spake; or, was speaking.
Had spoken - Spake; or, was speaking.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22, 26 And Phassur, the violent priest, chap. xx. 1. ---…
And Phassur, the violent priest, chap. xx. 1. --- People, who might come to the entry of the prison.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv1, 28 2. Jeremiah in the Pit (third stage of his…
2. Jeremiah in the Pit (third stage of his imprisonment), his Conference with the King and Confinement in the court of the guard (fourth stage of prisonment)
Chap. 38
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1Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah 2 had spoken unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah]: He that remaineth in this city1 shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his 3life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely [or must] be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. 4Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death;2 for thus3 he weakeneth4 the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words5 unto them: for this 5man seeketh not the welfare [lit. peace]6 of this people, but the hurt. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that Song of Solomon 6 do any thing [the king can do nothing]7 against you. Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon [pit, or cistern]8 of Malchiah the son of Hammelech [the king] that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the 7mire. Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which [who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the 8king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebed-melech went forth out of the 9king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, 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 [or must; lit.: is dead] die for hunger in the 10place where he Isaiah 9 : for there is no more bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty10 men with 11thee,11 and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts,12 and old rotten rags [rags of tattered and worn out clothes], and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah 12 And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes13 under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and 14Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison [guard]. Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third [or principal] entry14 that is in [to] the house of the Lord [Jehovah]: and the king said unto Jeremiah , 15 I will ask thee a thing;15 hide nothing16 from me. Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I 16give thee counsel wilt thou not hearken unto me? So Zedekiah the king swore secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord [Jehovah] liveth, that17 made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
17Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah], the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; 18and thou shalt live, and thine house: but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, 19and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid18 of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.19.
20But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice 21of the Lord [Jehovah], which20 I speak unto thee: so it shall be21 well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the 22Lord [Jehovah] hath showed me: And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women [they] shall say, Thy friends [men of thy place]22 have set thee on [over-persuaded] and have prevailed against thee:23 thy feet are sunk in the 23mire,24 and they are turned away back. So they25 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.
24Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know26 of these words, and thou 25shalt not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king 26said unto thee: then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.27
27Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking28 28with him [lit.: were silent from him]; for the matter was not perceived. So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison [guard] until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The chapter consists of two parts. In the first part (Jer_38:1-13) it is narrated how the princes prevailed on Zedekiah to give up Jeremiah to them, on account of his continual exhortations to surrender, that they might render him harmless (Jer_38:1-5). They then lower him down into a pit of mud, from which however the king has him drawn up, on the petition of the Cushite Ebed-melech (Jer_38:6-13). In the second part (14–28) it is recorded how the king has the prophet brought from the court of the guard, to which he had returned from the pit, for a secret conference (Jer_38:14-15). The king desires that Jeremiah disclose the future to him without reserve, and promises him with an oath that his life shall be spared and protected. Jeremiah has, however, nothing else to say to the king, but that surrender is the only way of escape (Jer_38:16-23). Then the king forbids the prophet to communicate the purport of this conference. In accordance with the king’s command, Jeremiah tells the princes, who really come to inquire from him about the conversation, that he only petitioned the king that he might not be taken back to the house of Jonathan, the secretary. The princes have to depart with this answer. Jeremiah, however, remains in the court of the guard till the capture of the city (Jer_38:24-28).
Jer_38:1-6. Then Shephatiah … in the mire. Jeremiah, brought back into the court of the guard, has further opportunity of intercourse with the people, and uses it again and again to counsel voluntary surrender as the only means of escape.—Of the four princes, who hear the prophet’s discourse, Shephatiah, son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, son of Pashur, are not further mentioned; Jucal, son of Shelemiah, is evidently identical with Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, Jer_37:3. Pashur son of Malchiah, has been mentioned in Jer_21:1. Pashur was of sacerdotal (comp. rems. on Jer_21:1), Jucal of Levitic descent (comp. 1Ch_26:1-2; 1Ch_26:9; 1Ch_26:14). These “princes” were thus neither “raised from a lower rank,” as Graf supposes (on Jer_37:15), nor do their former relations to the prophet lead us to conclude that they were inimically disposed towards him. We do not send, to present petitions, as is the case in Jer_21:1-2; Jer_37:3, personas ingratas. The intended departure of Jeremiah (Jer_37:12) seems thus to have awakened suspicion against him.—On Jer_38:3 comp. Jer_21:10.—Seeketh not the welfare. On the subject-matter comp. Jer_29:7; Deu_23:7; Ezr_9:12.—The charge against the prophet is unjust. He has the true welfare of the people in view, viz. that which is in accordance with the divine will, and the confidence which he seeks to break, is not a fully satisfied heroic courage, founded on genuine trust in God, but carnal obstinacy, which must lead to destruction. It is inconceivable how any one can fail to see this and take the part of the prophet’s opponents. Comp. Duncker, I. S. 831. The king, fearing on the one hand the higher power supporting the prophet, and on the other not having the courage openly to oppose the princes standing in corpore before him, delivers the prophet into their hands. That he expected the prophet would be merely taken back to the house of Jonathan (Graf) I do not believe. The princes had decisively demanded Jeremiah’s death (Jer_38:4). Their not having him executed at once, but thrown into a pit, where his escape would appear possible only by a miracle, may have been due either to their wickedness or to a certain fear of shedding the blood of the prophet. Comp. Gen_37:22-24.
Jeremiah is now thrown into a cistern, which bears the name of an otherwise unknown prince, Malkiah (comp. rems. on Jer_36:26), probably because he had it dug. The pit may have been often used as the severest imprisonment. The princes in letting down Jeremiah into it may have intended either his most painful death, or an evasion on their part, that they had not shed his blood, but only thrown him into a prison appropriate to such traitors. If he perished there the guilt would not be theirs. In the central point of the theocracy, opposed to prophets and priests who are filled with diabolical hatred and a weak king led by them, this solitary “servant of Jehovah” is at the lowest stage of humiliation and of suffering. All the hatred of Jerusalem, “that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee” (Mat_23:37), culminates at this time in this behaviour to wards Jeremiah, by which the measure of guilt was fulfilled and the sentence of destruction was pronounced over the unhappy city. The fulfilling and completing antitype of this historical event is certainly not what happened to John the Baptist (as Hengstenberg supposes, Christol., II. S. 400 [Eng. Tr., II., 403]), but what our Lord Himself suffered, who was also the object of the most intense hatred on the part of carnal Israel, as being the prophet of its final overthrow (Matthew 23, 24).—Comp. Psalms 69.
Jer_38:7-13. Now when Ebed-melech … court of the guard. The expression “one of the eunuchs” (comp. Jer_52:25) seems to intimate that a real eunuch is here meant. As the Mosaic law forbade such mutilation (comp. Deu_23:1) and, on the other hand, it is not improbable that eunuchs were then employed in the service of the harem (2Ki_24:15), it is not very strange to find a foreign eunuch in the service of a Jewish king, with whom, as we infer from Jer_38:22-23, the harem occupied an important position. That Ethiopians were preferred for such service seems to be indicated by some traces (comp. Dan_11:43; Terent. Eun., I. 2, 85), as at the present day most of these people come from upper Egypt. (Comp. Winer, R.-W.-B. s. v., Verschnittene. [Smith’sDict., I. 590]). Ebed-melech [servant of the king] (N. B. not הַמֶלֶך) is the proper name of the man, chosen with reference to his function. This name is so purely Hebrew and in accordance with the man’s position at the Jewish court, that it is not to be conceived how Euerst could come to suppose that it is a Hebraized from an Ethiopic name. Comp. H.-W.-B., S. 583.—This Ebed-melech is moreover a proof that the called are not always the chosen, that on the contrary the last are often the first. A stranger, a heathen, a Moor feels compassion for the prophet and horror at the crime committed on him, while in Israel not a hand or tongue is moved in his favor. Comp. Luk_4:25; Luk_19:40; Mat_8:10.—Who was in the king’s house. A relative sentence which expresses that Ebed-melech received the news, while he was present in the palace, but the king was absent, sitting in the gate of Benjamin. Comp. Jer_37:13.—Have done evil, Jer_38:9. Comp. Jer_44:5; Mic_3:4; 2Ki_21:11.—וימת תחתיו. This may certainly mean grammatically, “and he had died,” etc. But Ebed-melech does not wish to blame them, that instead of death by famine, which he would have suffered without this, they had inflicted on him another death, but that they had placed him in a position in which he must die at any rate, but I must inevitably before all succumb to the famine. As is well known the Imperfect with Vau consecutive may represent any action which is not really past, but only represented as such, while in reality it is present or future, or even merely the wish, command, or assumed possibility of it. So here, that is related as an accomplished fact which is merely undoubtedly to be expected. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 88, 5; Jer_8:16; Jer_9:2; Jer_20:17.—Ebed-melech pre-supposes two things, (1) That the detention in the pit is not in itself absolutely fatal; (2) but that Jeremiah must at all events die of hunger in the pit. The latter pre-supposition is evidently founded on this fact, that in the general scarcity of means of subsistence one who was thrown into a pit might least of all expect to be provided for.
Jer_38:14-16. Then Zedekiah … seek thy life. How long after the liberation from the pit the following conference took place, is not stated. Hitzig supposes that Zedekiah sent for the prophet very soon after his liberation, perhaps on the same day, since otherwise the evasion in Jer_38:26 would have lost all probability, for “days or weeks later, being let alone in the meantime, Jeremiah must have been set at rest with respect to the king’s designs.” But with a king of so weak and vacillating character Jeremiah could not, even after weeks, be safe from cruel measures towards his person. All that can be said is, that immediately after showing a favor a contrary treatment was less to be feared than some time afterwards. Nothing more exact can be determined. At all events, in the interval between the deliverance from the pit and the conference no remarkable event occurred.—Third entry. What entrance to the temple this was is unknown. At any rate, it must have afforded a suitable place for a secret conference.—Hitzig, by the use of 2Ki_16:18; 2Ki_23:11; 1Ch_26:18, has attempted a clever combination, which is, however, based on too insecure premises to be satisfactory. [The outer entrance (“the king’s entry without,” 1Ki_16:18) leading from the citadel and after the time of Ahaz from the temple into the προάστειον, where there was the cell of a royal eunuch, 2Ki_23:11.—S. R. A.]—From the prophet’s answer we see that he neither trusted the king with respect to his own person, in spite of the favors he had received from him, nor with respect to the subject in hand did he expect any receptivity to the divine communications. Proudly and boldly he at first declines to answer the question. But the king swears to him that he will neither put him to death himself nor surrender him to his enemies.—Zedekiah swears by the God of life that he will preserve the prophet’s life. Comp. Jer_16:14-15.
Jer_38:17-23. Then said Jeremiah … to be burned with fire. Jeremiah again offers the king the alternative which had been so frequently presented before, either voluntary surrender to the Chaldean generals (שָׂרִים, comp. Jer_39:3; Jer_39:13, Nebuchadnezzar himself was in Riblah, Jer_39:5) and at least the safety of his life and preservation of the city, or continued resistance and destruction of the city and the endangering of his own person. Observe the negative expression, “thou shalt not escape,” in Jer_38:18. Comp. Jer_32:4-5; Jer_34:2-5. Zedekiah, however, cannot make up his mind to follow the advice of the prophet. He alleges that he fears ill-treatment from the Jews who had already gone over to the Chaldeans. It can scarcely be supposed that this fear was seriously intended, though those transfugæ might represent a party, which was discontented with the government of Zedekiah and ascribed all the calamities of the State to him. For even the quieting assurance of Jeremiah, Jer_38:20, makes no impression, which would have been the case if the king had had no other reason. There was really no reason to distrust the prophet’s assurance.—In case Zedekiah, from fear of the insults of his fugitive subjects, refuses to follow the admonition of the prophet, the prospect of insult to his wives is set before him.—This is the word that Jehovah hath showed me. This does not logically follow as apodosis to the protasis if thou refuse, etc. A middle clause is wanting expressing the thought, thus shalt thou know, or I have to announce to thee as follows. Further, וְהִנֵּה is the standing formula with which the subject of the vision is introduced, Jer_24:1; Amo_7:1; Amo_7:4-7; Amo_8:1. Accordingly Jer_38:21 b seems to be contracted from “hear now the word which I speak in thine ears, which Jehovah,” etc. (Jer_28:7). It is not, however, denied that the expression in itself is admissible as it stands. Comp. Eze_11:25.—The prophet’s setting before the king the prospect of the deportation of all his remaining wives, seems to intimate that these were a specially esteemed part of his household, in other words, that he had a large and to him very dear harem. The expression “the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house,” in distinction from “thy wives” in Jer_38:23, indicates that there were still wives of former kings as fixtures in the royal household (comp. 2Sa_12:8; Michaelis, Mos. Recht., I. S. 207; Saalschuetz, Mos. Recht., S. 85), and that even the deportation under Jehoiachin (2Ki_24:15), had by no means exhausted the supply of these fixtures. I do not think that by the “women that are left,” are to be understood the maidens, as distinguished from the wives, as Graf supposes. For their being taken forth to the princes, points to higher rank and estimation. A satirical speech is placed in the mouths of these women, the first part of which is found verbatim (with the exception of הִשִּׁיאוּך instead of הִסִּיתוּךָ) in the prophecy of Obadiah (Jer_38:7). On the indications that, Jeremiah borrowed from Obadiah, and not the reverse, comp. Caspari, Obadja, S. 8, and the article Obadja in Herzog, R.-Enc.—Turned away back. Comp. Jer_46:5; Isa_42:17; Psa_35:4; Psa_40:15; Psa_129:5. As in the first clause, so also in the second two verbs are employed to express the thought, of which the second expresses the result of the first. The warrior sinking in the mire must fall back. The words are characteristic of Zedekiah. They represent him distinctly as a weak man, dependent on the influence of others. No wonder then that instead of a victor’s pæan, with which the women usually receive a conqueror (1Sa_18:7), a song of mockery awaits him. Observe also, that this satirical song is not put into the mouths of Zedekiah’s own wives, for these (in Jer_38:23) are evidently distinguished from the other occupants of the royal harem.—Taken by the hand. As תָּפַשׂ signifies only “to seize,” the words can mean only: thou wilt be taken by the hand, or into the hand of the king, etc. The former would be a mode of expression foreign to the style of the prophet (comp. Jer_20:4; Jer_21:7; Jer_27:6; Jer_29:21; Jer_32:3-4; Jer_34:3, etc. The second construction (Constr. prægnans. Comp. Naegelsb.Gr., § 112, 7) is frequent in Jer_4:31; Jer_11:7; Jer_14:2; Jer_25:34; Jer_32:20; comp. also infra, Jer_38:24; Jer_38:27. The sentence is to be regarded as the contraction of two thoughts into one, according to the example of Jer_34:3.—The following sentence is also strange. For Jeremiah to say to Zedekiah, Thou wilt burn the city, although correct in a certain sense, is contrary to his usual mode of expressing himself. The LXX., Syr., Chald., read תִּשָּׂרֵף. The punctuation תִּשְרֹף may be occasioned by את. The latter is, however, not seldom used to emphasize an antithetical new conception, for which we should say: but as to, etc. Comp. Ewald, § 277, d, and especially the passages Eze_17:21; Eze_44:3; Jer_36:22; 2Ki_6:5. So Ewald, Hitzig, Graf, Meier and others.
Jer_38:24-28. Then said Zedekiah … was taken. The king feared that if the import of his conversation with Jeremiah were known, he would be regarded as vacillating and be suspected of inclining to the view of the prophet. Though he knew that the fact of the conversation could not remain concealed, he wished, however, that it might be represented as occasioned by Jeremiah himself, and as relating purely to his personal interests.—And thou shalt not die, may be regarded as a threat on the part of the king, but at the same time also as a reference to the danger threatening from the princes. For the king would say: I will have you put to death if you betray me, and the princes will kill you if they learn that you have summoned me again to surrender. In the supposed inquiry of the princes, Jer_38:25, the words hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death, are a parenthesis, the latter expressing the threat, which Zedekiah presupposes in case the prophet should refuse to make a satisfactory statement.—I presented, etc. Comp. rems. on Jer_36:7. The pit is not mentioned here. Zedekiah seems thus to presuppose that Jeremiah need’ not fear a taking back to the pit, from which he had been liberated at the king’s command, but that a return to the prison of Jonathan (Jer_37:15), to avert which he had already offered a petition, might be regarded as possible. The latter seems to have been an ordinary place of confinement, while the pit was only an extraordinary one.—The princes really come to Jeremiah. The fact of the conference thus did not remain concealed, but concerning the import of it, nothing had become known (the matter was not perceived). They must have regarded the declaration of Jeremiah made in accordance with the king’s command as probable, for they do not urge the prophet further, but withdraw in silence. After this Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard till the capture of the city. On that which further occurred between Jeremiah and Zedekiah during this last stage of his confinement comp rems on Jer_32:2-5; Jer_34:1-5.
Footnotes:
[1]Jer_38:2.—The same words as in Jer_21:9. Only here וְנָפַל and הַצָּרִים עֲלֵיכֶם are wanting, and instead we have at the close a repeated וָחָי. The Chethibh יִחְיֶה is here as in Jer_21:9 the more correct reading, agreeing better with the order of the sentence (ימוּת). וָחָי in sense superfluous, but in accordance with the verbose style of the prophet, is construed like Deu_4:42 coll. Jer_19:4; Eze_18:13; Eze_20:11; Naegelsb. Gr., § 84, i. On the form comp. Olsh., S. 480, 482, 460.
[2]Jer_38:4.—יומת־נא את האישו ׳/he>. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr. § 100, 2.
[3]Jer_38:4.—On כִּי עַל־כֵּן Comp. rems. on Jer_29:28.
[4]Jer_38:4.—מְרַכֵא for מְרַכּה Comp. Olsh., § 243, a; Naegelsb. Gr., § 39 Anm.
[5]Jer_38:4.—לדבר. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 95, e.
[6]Jer_38:4.—The construction with לְ, as in Job_10:6; Deu_12:30; 1Ch_22:19; 2Ch_15:13; 2Ch_17:4, etc.
[7]Jer_38:5.—Since אֶתְכֵם can be only the nota Acc. with suffix (not on account of the meaning, but the form), יוּכַל’ must be taken in the meaning “overpower” (comp. Psa_13:5), אִין as purely adverbial with emphatic significance (comp. Job_35:15; 1Sa_21:9; Naegelsb. Gr., § 106, 3), דָּבָּר as accusative of more exact definition: the king can not go beyond you in any matter.
[8]Jer_38:6.—On the article’s position in הַבּוֹר מ׳ comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 71, 5 Anm. 1, b.
[9]Jer_38:9.—תחתיו. The preposition is to be taken in its original meaning as a substantive, and as accusative of place: in its underspace, i. e. as we say, on the spot. Comp. 2Sa_2:23; Exo_10:23; Exo_16:29; Jdg_7:21; 1Sa_14:9; 2Sa_7:10; 1Ch_17:9.
[10]Jer_38:10.—Hitzig (and alter him Ewald, Graf, Meier) would read שְׁלשָׁה; because thirty men is too many and אֲנָשֵׁים is contrary to the syntax, and also in 2Sa_23:13 the same correction is made by the Keri. This alteration does not appear to me to be necessary. Zedekiah might not have ordered the larger number for the sake of the drawing up (for which four men would suffice, as Hitzig reckons), but for greater security and to hinder any resistance. The syntax is not opposed to this. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 76, 4; Gesen. § 120, 2; 2Sa_3:20; 2Ki_2:16 coll. 17.—In 2 Samuel 23 the text is corrupt in many places.
[11]Jer_38:10.—בידך. Comp. Gen_30:35; Gen_32:17; Num_31:49; Jdg_9:29.
[12]Jer_38:11.—בְּלוֹיִם from בְּלוֹ, vetustate tritum (comp. Jos_9:4-5), occurs here only. Comp. Olsh., § 173, 9. So also מְהָבוֹת from סָחַב, to rend, to tear (Jer_15:3; Jer_22:19; Jer_49:20). They are shreds, tatters, rags. The article, which the Keri exscinds, is abnormal and probably occasioned by הַמְּחָנוֹת, Jer_38:12. מְלָחִים also is not found elsewhere. The root מָלַח is found only in Isa_51:6, in the meaning of diffluere, unless we assume another מָלַח, synonymous with מָרַח (Isa_38:21; Lev_21:20), to rub, rub away, and מָרַק, to rub, polish (Jer_46:4; Lev_6:21; 2Ch_4:16).
[13]Jer_38:12.—From the connection this must be the mean
[14]Jer_38:14.—On the construction comp, Naegelsb. Gr., § 73, 2 Anm. [The LXX render: εἰς οἰκίαν ̓Ασελεισήλ, regarding it as a proper name, but this is no authority for a punctuation מְבוֹא הֵשָּׁלִישִׁי, entry of the τριστάται—Hitzig
[15]Jer_38:14.—The sense is the same as in the former question, Jer_37:17. The Part. שֹׁאֵל is to be taken as future: quæsiturus sum. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 97, 1 a.
[16]Jer_38:14.—The second ףָבָר (observe that מְּכַחֵד does not stand simply with a suffix) belongs to the negation, in the sense of ne quid. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 82, 2.
[17]Jer_38:10.—את אשׁר. If the Chethibh is correct, which is favored by the greater difficulty of the reading, these words simply=eum qui. The relative frequently includes the idea of the demonstrative pronoun (comp. Jer_6:18; Naegelsb. Gr., § 80, 5). Since now הַי יְהוָֹה is in the accusative, the pronoun relating to it must also be in the accusative; since, however, אֲשֶׁר must at the same time be the nominative to עָשָׂה, it evidently involves the double conception of eum qui, which is only rendered possible by the אֶת. In Latin it would be impossible to say quem in such a case.
[18]Jer_38:19.—דאג. Comp. Jer_17:8; Jer_42:16.
[19]Jer_38:19.—והתעללו בי. Comp. Num_22:29; Jdg_19:25; 1Sa_31:4 coll. Lam_1:22; Lam_2:20; Lam_3:51. In the Hithp. the meanings of “to gratify, indulge one’s self” and “to mock” appear to be united, the LXX. usually rendering the word by ἐμπαίζω, in this place, however, by καταμωκάομαι.
[20]Jer_38:20.—לְ .לאשׁר=in respect to. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., S. 227; Gen_17:20; Gen_27:8.
[21]Jer_38:20.—וְיִיטַּב וּתְחִי are Jussives with the signification of intended effect. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 89, 3, b, 2.
[22]Jer_38:22.—Comp. Jer_20:10; Psa_41:10.
[23]Jer_38:22—Comp. Jer_43:3; Isa_36:18. The two verbs together express the idea of successful seduction.
[24]Jer_38:22.—בֹּץ ἄπ. λεγ. Comp. בִּצָּה Job_8:11; Job_40:21.—The form רַגְלֶךָ is indeed irregular, but not without analogy. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 44, 4 Anm.
[25]Jer_38:23.—On the absence of a subject comp. Naegelsb. Gr., § 97, 2, b.
[26]Jer_38:24.—Comp. Gen_19:33; Gen_19:35; 1Sa_22:15; Job_35:15. This also seems to be a pregnant construction, the prefix בְּ accordingly being dependent on the idea of penetrating latent in יָדַע. That it would be regarded as partitive I cannot believe. We should then expect מּן.
[27]Jer_38:27.—This inf. (למות) depends on לְבִלְתִּי .הֲשִׁיבֵנִי, and לְ designates here not the subjective purpose, but the objective result. Comp. Gen_19:21; Num_11:11.
[28]Jer_38:27.—On the construction comp. rems. on Jer_38:23.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Jer_37:2-3. The Lord’s words Zedekiah did not care to hear, but the help of the Lord he would have liked to have. This seeking for help then did not proceed from a truly believing heart. It was merely an experiment, as in time of need one tries everything. Hence Zedekiah did not venture to come to the Lord himself, but Jeremiah was to intercede for him. “It is, however, in vain for intercession to be made for him, and he himself does not help to pray. Take the example of Pharaoh, Exo_8:29; Exo_9:28; Exo_10:17.” Cramer.
2. On Jer_37:5-10. Nothing is more bitter than in time of greatest need to see apparent help again disappear. Raised from the depths, one is then cast back into a still profounder deep. The Jews had invoked the aid of the Egyptians on their own responsibility. It was a triumph of worldly policy. The Lord disappoints their calculations. He is not to be so easily put out. The Chaldeans withdraw, but only to defeat the Egyptians, and then return. And Jeremiah must be the prophet of this disappointed hope. A few mortally wounded men, he must proclaim, would suffice to execute the Lord’s decree on Jerusalem. Comp. 2Sa_5:6.
3. On Jer_37:10. This passage is also adduced as an instance, of the so-called scientia media or de future conditionato (Vide Budde, Inst Dogm., pag. 228), together with 1Sa_23:11-12; Jer_38:17; Eze_3:6; Mat_11:21-22; Mat_24:22; Act_27:31. Starke.
4. On Jer_37:11-12. If Jeremiah really wished to leave Jerusalem, because in the city he no longer hoped to secure safety or any success to his ministry (comp. Starke: “It appears that the prophet would betake himself to the country-people, because he hoped from them better results in penitence and the averting of the divine judgments, since hitherto he had been mostly hindered in his office by the priests and the court”), he was in error and took an arbitrary step. For in the first place the servant of God, who is at his post, is under divine protection, and in the second, he had to proclaim the will of God again and again to the stubborn people. There was then still the possibility of their obedient submission to the divine will. Jeremiah did afterwards repeatedly show that deliverance was still possible on the condition of submission (Jer_38:2-3; Jer_38:17), and also, as he had to proclaim ruin unconditionally (Jer_32:3-5; Jer_34:2-5), this testimony was necessary, partly as a proof of the inviolability of the divine counsel, partly to cut off all excuse for the Jews afterwards, partly as a foil to the glorious Messianic prophecies (chh. 32. and 33.) which pertain to this last stage before the destruction of the city. If then Jeremiah really had the purpose at that lime to leave the city, it was an arbitrary step, which was not to succeed, and for which his arrest and what followed was a just punishment. In this sense Diedrich also says (S. 120), “The saints also err, and God deals with them punctiliously, so they also must be docile under the divine chastisements.”
5. On Jer_37:15. “Jeremiah’s prophecies applied to the whole situation (political), and he thus could not avoid the appearance, which his disposition to recommend to the king the surrender of the city occasioned. God be praised! our Lord’s kingdom is not of this world. His servants may renounce the matters, which pertain thereto, with full freedom, and this the more because the Lord raises the instruments who are to labor for the amelioration of the State and the circumstances of mankind also from this kingdom, but gives the prophets of the New Testament a complete dispensation therefrom; of which we have a living example in Jesus and all His Apostles, who did not meddle by a word in any of the civil matters of the authorities, under whom they taught. Justice and chastity were Paul’s themes with the procurator Felix, which were matters of the interior, and that is enough.” Zinzendorf.
6. On Jer_37:17. The king was commanded to put the book of the law before him, and always have it with him, Deu_17:19. As now he did not do this, he must be in awe even of his own servants: sometimes he must look at his counsellors through his fingers and let them do as they will, and though he might have been a master, he must be a servant. For God poureth contempt upon princes and looseth the covenant of the mighty (Job_12:21).” Cramer.
7. On Jer_37:18-20. In the consciousness of his official dignity the prophet proudly appears before the king, saying, Although it has come out clearly that I was right and your prophets wrong, you have done me injustice. Nevertheless he applies with humble and earnest petition to the king in behalf of his person, that he may not betaken back again to the dreadful prison. “After Jeremiah’s example, one may well petition tyrannical magistrates for a mitigation of persecution, but not speak to please them for the sake of the mitigation.” Cramer.
8. On Jer_38:1-4. Jeremiah is like a running spring, which has an abundance of water. The mouth of the tube may be stopped. But no sooner is a slight temporary opening afforded, than the water breaks forth with full power. Although he knew what was before him, he was not silent. For he could not be silent (Jer_20:9). Even if they had beaten him to death on the spot with clubs, yet dying he would have cried: he that goeth forth shall live. Jeremiah was, however, no arch traitor, but the truest patriot in all Israel. Is not this proved by the courage, with which he inflexibly repeated his apparently so unpatriotic counsel? Certainly his opponents regard him as the most dangerous man among the people, just as Ahab accused. Elijah of troubling Israel (1Ki_18:18), Amaziah Amos (Jer_7:10), the Jews Paul (Act_16:20).
9. On Jer_38:5. Legal right to carry out their will, in opposition to that of the king, the princes had none. Zedekiah’s speech, therefore, displays only his individual weakness. He also shows by it how little he was subject to God. For had he been faithful to God, he would have found means to compel the obedience of his princes. He who has the right, has also the Lord on his side. If this was manifest in the case of the poor priest Jeremiah, how much more so in that of the king. But this king was no Jeremiah.
10. On Jer_38:6. No prophet was ever maltreated so pitiably as Jeremiah. He represents the culminating point in the humiliation of the servant of Jehovah, but also the extreme point in the alienation from God of the theocracy, which was immediately followed as a merited punishment by the deepest outward decline. Therefore in Jeremiah also must “Christ’s resurrection become visible (Diedrich).”
11. On Jer_38:7-13. A Moor, a heathen, must have compassion and raise his voice against. the enormity. while all Israel was silent. Thus is completed the testimony to Israel’s decline, and the guilt appears to be a common one.
12. On Jer_38:14-15. This seems to be the manner of princes. They say: I wish to hear the truth, the truth only, the whole truth. And when one tells them the truth, he draws upon himself their highest displeasure. For these lords, accustomed to a Homeric life of the gods (θεοὶ ῥεῖα ζοῶντες), do not like to be disturbed in this their bliss. Nothing, however, affects them more rudely than the truth. Zedekiah even does not seem to have been in earnest with his “pray, hide nothing from me,” for otherwise he would at least have done what he could to follow the prophet’s counsel.
13. On Jer_38:19-23. Zedekiah gives as a pretext his dread of mocking and maltreatment from the fugitive Jews. For these, the malcontents, who attributed all the blame to his government and had therefore fled, might possibly have him delivered over to them, and then take their revenge on him. Jeremiah assures him that he has no insult to fear from them. But he will be exposed to the most sensible insults from a quarter where he would least expect it, viz., from the women of his own harem. To be received by his own wives with insulting songs, instead of songs of victory—what greater disgrace could be conceived for a man and a prince? Incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim.
14. On Jer_38:24-27. Did Jeremiah participate in a prevarication, or not? The opinions on this point are divided. Förster says: Non quidem disertis verbis mentitus est Jeremias; interim tamen hoc ejus factum speciem quondam mendacii habet, vel carte est dissimulatio, quæ non omni ex parte excusanda. Others on the other hand call attention to two points: 1. Although in Jer_38:15-17, no such request is mentioned as, according to Jer_38:26, Jeremiah is said to have made, it is yet implied, both in the words of the prophet in Jer_38:15, and in the answer of the king, Jer_38:16. It follows from what is said by both of them, that Jeremiah wished that he might neither be put to death nor brought into such a condition as would inevitably involve his death. Consequently, he at any rate, cherished the same wish, which he expressed to the king in Jer_38:20. 2. If then the declaration of Jer_38:26 does not contain the whole truth, it contains no untruth. The princes, however, had no right to demand the whole truth from Jeremiah. For they were simply murderers. No one, however, is bound to a murderer to expose himself to his knife, by the confession of the truth. This latter view may well be the correct one. [Comp. Wordsworth and Stanley, Jewish Church, p. 524.—S. R. A.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer_37:3. To supplicate the Lord or to intercede with the Lord is indeed right, but it is useless and wrong to desire the help, but not the Lord Himself. [Sinners contradict their prayers, and thus render them unsuccessful, by their lives. Lathrop.—S. R. A.]
2. On Jer_37:5-10. Instructive example of the difference between man’s help and God’s help. Man’s help self-sought, self-made, shows at first indeed a joyous hopeful countenance, but it is hollow and vacuous, and confidence therein is self-deception. In due course it shows itself perfectly powerless, indeed it turns to the contrary, to destruction. God’s help on the other hand is announced at first under gloomy aspects and hard conditions (surrender to the Chaldeans), but these hard conditions are wholesome chastisement, from which proceed life and salvation.
3. On Jer_37:11-13. “It is the manner of God’s enemies, that they shamefully misinterpret the acts of His servants, when these indeed justify themselves, but when they find no hearing they suffer and are silent; only from the confession of the truth they will not forbear.” The Major Prophets, by Heim and Hoffmann.
4. On Jer_38:4. “Worldly people are still disposed to reproach the preachers of the Gospel with the injury which they inflict on the commonwealth, because they seek to hinder the God-forgotten course of the commonwealth, as the worldly people wish it to be. One must not be put out by this, but go on.” Heim and Hoffmann.
5. On Jer_38:4-13. As at the time of Christ the external theocracy was approaching its final overthrow, so at the time of Jeremiah it was its precursory overthrow. Christ was the prophet of the former, Jeremiah of the latter. As Christ was accused of being an arch-traitor and corrupter of the people (Joh_11:48; Joh_11:50), so also Jeremiah. The true ground here, as there, was diabolical hatred to the divine truth and carnal dependence on outward supports and their own excellence. The princes, who threw Jeremiah into the pit, correspond to the rulers of the people at the time of Christ, the weak Zedekiah to the weak Pontius Pilate, Ebed-melech to those believers from the heathen (the ruler of Capernaum, the Canaanitish woman, the Samaritans) who put Israel to shame by their faith. And as Jeremiah is delivered from the pit, so Christ after three days rises from the grave.
6. On Jer_38:19-23. Our ways and God’s ways 1. Our ways: (a) preserve us not from that which we feared (Jer_38:22): (b) they lead to destruction (Jer_38:23). God’s ways: (a) preserve us from that which we feared (Jer_38:19-20): (b) they lead to safety and life (Jer_38:20)
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 life . . . a prey--He shall escape with…
life . . . a prey--He shall escape with his life; though losing all else in a shipwreck, he shall carry off his life as his gain, saved by his going over to the Chaldeans. (See on Jer 21:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26 THE COMPLAINT OF THE PRINCES, Jer_38:1-5.
THE COMPLAINT OF THE PRINCES, Jer_38:1-5.
Jeremiah’s imprisonment at the first was doubtless the fruit of personal malice. He had become offensive, and the object was to get him out of the way. But the change made by the king’s taking him out of the vaults and allowing him the liberty of the prison court, restored him to intercourse with his friends and contact with the people. Hence a new effort is made to get rid of both the presence and influence of this prophet and his offensive messages.
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1. Had spoken — The original is less restricted, was speaking. The present participle here implies that Jeremiah continued to speak thus.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28 1. And Shephatiah] The removal of Jeremiah from prison…
1. And Shephatiah] The removal of Jeremiah from prison to the court of the guard had facilitated the publication of his message, as we see from this v. Hence the princes take alarm and apply to the king for permission to put him to death.
Gedaliah] He was probably a son of the Pashhur who put Jeremiah in the stocks (ch. Jer_20:1 f.).
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Jucal] the Jehucal of ch. Jer_37:3.
Pashhur the son of Malchijah] the same who is mentioned ch. Jer_21:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 23 (1) Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan . .…
XXXVIII.
(1) Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan . . .—Of the four princes of Judah who are named here, Jucal or Jehucal has been mentioned in Jer_37:3, and would appear, from the frequent occurrence of the name Shelomiah in 1Ch_26:1-2; 1Ch_26:9; 1Ch_26:14, to have been a Levite; Pashur is named in Jer_21:1. Of the other two nothing is known, but the name Shephatiah appears in three or four instances in the royal house of Judah, beginning with a son of David (2Sa_3:4; 2Ch_21:2; Ezr_2:4; Neh_7:9), and may, perhaps, indicate a connexion with it, like that of Jerahmeel in Jer_36:26. Gedaliah, the son of Pashur (possibly of the man of that name who is mentioned last in the list), must be distinguished from Jeremiah’s protector, the son of Ahikam (Jer_26:24; Jer_40:5). They all belonged obviously to the party of the prophet’s enemies.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28 The object of the princes being frustrated (for in…
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.
Two Pashurs appear to be mentioned here: one probably the same who put Jeremiah in the stocks; (Jer_20:1, Jer_20:2) the other a member of the first of Zedekiah"s two embassies to the prophet. (Jer_21:1) On Jucal, see Jer_37:3. Had spoken; rather, kept speaking.
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Vers. 1-13. Jeremiah in the pit.
I JEREMIAH PREACHES FAITHFULLY. (Vers. 2, 5) His conduct is wise, brave, and noble. On the surface it savours of pusillanimity. But so much the greater the wisdom and courage that inspire it. Personally Jeremiah is in greater danger from his fellow citizens than from the invaders. To rouse the anger of the people amongst whom he is living by apparently favouring the plans of their enemies requires no little firmness of character. Moreover, strong moral courage is requisite for such a course as that of Jeremiah"s. His patriotism is certain to be taken for treachery, his wisdom for cowardice. He stands alone with his unpopular advice, sure that it will not be followed, sure that his motives will be misunderstood and his character maligned. To a sensitive man the situation would be exquisitely painful. Fidelity under it reveals a noble courage. Thus we see how the bravest man may be he who appears to be most weak, while the rash and boastful daring that rushes heedlessly with the multitude but shrinks from a course of unpopularity, is really feeble and cowardly.
II THE PRINCES ARE ALARMED. (Ver. 4) They have some reason to dread the effect of Jeremiah"s preaching upon the defence of Jerusalem. If they are certain of the wisdom of the course they are pursuing, it is difficult to see how they can regard the prophet with anything less than dismay. Every time his Cassandra notes are heard in the streets it seems as though disaffection were being urged upon the people. The mistake of the princes is in being so wedded to their policy as never to consider the advice of Jeremiah as of any weight and wisdom. Thus we judge and condemn men with absolute certainty to our own mind, but often only because we assume, without reason, the infallibility of our own position.
III THE KING WEAKLY YIELDS. (Ver. 5) Zedekiah is helpless in the hands of his courtiers. Like Pilate, he thinks to throw off all responsibility on the accusers whom he dare not oppose. (Joh_18:31) But he cannot do this. His weakness is culpable. He is not like a constitutional monarch, legally fettered by a responsible ministry. He is by position a responsible ruler. If he cannot discharge the functions of his position, he should abdicate. In no case is he justified in lending the weight of his name to a deed of which he does not approve. We cannot free ourselves from responsibility by declining to act when it is our duty to interfere and prevent a wrong from being done.
IV JEREMIAH IS CAST INTO THE PIT. (Ver. 6)
1. The action of the courtiers is cruel They treat the prophet with needless indignity and evidently design for him the slow torture of a death by starvation.
2. It is also cowardly. They dare not execute him openly. The horrible fate is assigned to him because it is less dangerous to themselves.
3. The prophet is now in the lowest condition of wretchedness, down in the pit, sunk in the mire, left in that cold, dark solitude to the horrors of approaching starvation. Those of us who are ready to murmur at slighter trouble should remember how much better men than we have had to endure far greater suffering and humiliation than ours. What shame and agony were heaped upon Christ the Son of God!
V THE ETHIOPIAN INTERCEDES. (Vers. 7-9)
1. This man was a heathen by nation, but a good man. Character, not profession, is the one thing of significance with all of us.
2. He was a man of an apparently inferior race. It is better to have a black skin and a humane heart than a white skin and a black heart.
3. He was regarded as an effeminate creature. True manliness belongs to our conduct, not to our appearance and manners. God raises up friends in the most unlikely quarters. One of the advantages of trouble is that it reveals unknown friends.
VI JEREMIAH IS DELIVERED. The weak king only wants the encouragement of his chamberlain to do an act of justice which his own conscience must have urged him to all along. When the distress and danger of Jeremiah are vividly brought before him, he rouses himself. Many people are too weak to do their duty till their imagination and feelings are wrought upon. They live in comfortable indifference to the wretchedness of others simply because they have not been made to feel it. They are not to be excused on this account. But knowing the fact, we should do more to make the needs of the poor, the sick, and the heathen felt by the indifferent who ought to help them. A higher providence leads to the deliverance of Jeremiah. God watches over him in the dungeon, and God sees that he is saved from it. So God will save his people from all their troubles, though in some cases the minister of deliverance is that dark angel of death whose advent the miserable in Andrea Orcagna"s picture at Pisa welcome with joy.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 5, 7, 19 The words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the…
Jer_38:1-4
The words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people.
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Unpatriotic in appearance
Rays of hope had arisen in the clouded sky of the, nation. An Egyptian army was on its way to the city. Thus, it was believed, the Chaldeans would be compelled to raise the siege, which had been growing ever closer, so that first hunger and then starvation stared its inhabitants in the face. An escape from their horrible position seemed possible through an alliance with the Egyptian king. These hopes were dashed to the ground by the emphatic word of the prophet: This city shall assuredly be given into the hand of the army of the King of Babylon. He even went beyond this, and urged desertion to the enemy: He that abideth in the city shall die by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live. All this seemed, not only unpatriotic, but treasonable. It has been well said, No government conducting the defence of a besieged fortress could have tolerated Jeremiah for a moment. What would have been the fate of the French politician who should have urged the Parisians to desert to the Germans during the siege of 1870? Jeremiah seemed a veritable Cassandra, and Cassandras, even if, as in this case, their warnings are but utterances of the inevitable, can only expect to be met with resentment and persecution. (W. Garret Horder.)
Patriotism
True patriotism is love of ones native land. A good deal of modern patriotism is love of some one elses land, coupled with an unchristian hatred of other countries. Sometimes people ask whether Christianity and genuine patriotism can go together. For a sincere Christian will love all mankind. Racial hatred is a crime in the eyes of Christ, who teaches us that One is our master, and all of us are brethren, and that we are to love our neighbour as ourself. A Christian can be a most sincere patriot, indeed the only true patriot. Christians are to love the whole world, as Jesus did. Yet, by natural association the soil of our fatherland is endeared to us by a thousand hallowed memories, which the soil of another land cannot recall. I think the limestone hills of Galilee, and the lap of the waters on the shores of Gennesaret were dearer to Christ than the seven hills of Rome, or the flow of the golden Tiber. Our Lord broke His heart over Jerusalem, the city of His love, as He saw the doom from its worn sandals shake the dust against that land. Christ was a patriot, and the thing that cut His heart most painfully was not so much the coming destruction of Jerusalem, as the national sin which caused that national ruin. So, too, a Christian patriot will love his countrys honour even more than its wealth and material greatness. He will value the good name of his fatherland, and the moral and intellectual elevation of his countrymen, far more than mere additions to its territory or additions to its wealth. And a true patriot will love his own land without hating other countries. The Christian must love other lands too, and seek their highest welfare. Charity begins at home: but it is a poor charity that ends at home. Love for other lands prompted the founders of missionary societies, which have been of such incalculable blessing to the civilisation of mankind. A true patriot will stand up for his fatherland; if others seek to enslave it he will make sacrifices for the home of his birth, as England did when the Spanish Armada threatened our liberty and our religion. But a Christian patriot will not do anything to cause hatred of another country. He will aim at making all the nations love one another. If he finds others trying to sow the seed of wicked hate, or if he sees his own land doing wrong, the Christian patriot will dare to speak the truth. When Lord Chatham urged England not to make war on the United States he was howled down by the bastard patriots of the day. But history stamps him as the true patriot, his opponents as the false ones. When John Bright spoke against the folly of the Crimean War he was made the butt of newspaper gibes, and nine-tenths of his countrymen laughed at him or sneered at him. But history shows that John Bright was right. He was the true patriot. The false patriot holds that you must never criticise your countrys dealings with other lands. Perhaps the hardest duty that ever falls on a man who loves his fatherland is to point out that his country is doing wrong. That heavy duty fell often to the lot of Jeremiah. The Jews had so long persisted in idolatry that Gods marvellous patience could bear with them no longer. After repeated warnings, all in vain, God told the people, by His prophet, that they would go into the land of bondage as a punishment for their sin. God also told Jeremiah to inform his fellow-countrymen that it was useless to struggle against the troops of Nebuchadnezzar. God had sent that monarch to chastise the rebellious Jews, to take them into captivity, and to bring ruin to the nation, because of its sin. This painful duty of urging the Jews not to resist, not to persist in a hopeless struggle, was heartbreaking to a true patriot like Jeremiah. The princes, who had no real faith in God, naturally thought Jeremiahs action most unpatriotic. Disbelieving in God, disbelieving in religion, disbelieving in Jeremiahs prophecies, no wonder they said, This man seeketh not the welfare of the people, but their hurt, Poor Jeremiah! The bastard patriots of Jerusalem sneered at him, called him a Little Palestiner, said he was in the pay of the Chaldeans. Poor Jeremiah! He had no love for the Chaldeans in preference to his own nation. Nay, he loved the Jews with all their sins more than the heathen Chaldeans, who were only instruments in Gods hands for punishing the guilty Jews. But he knew it was no use to resist. He knew that he had received a message from God. He knew he must deliver that message, though at the risk of his life. Like a brave hero and a true patriot he told his people of their folly, of their sins, and of their approaching doom. He met with the usual brickbat argument, brute force; he was put into a well, put into captivity, and ill-treated in various ways. But every word he spoke came true. And when the Chaldeans had utterly destroyed the city and crushed its inhabitants, the captain of the guard set Jeremiah free and said, Will you return with me and find a comfortable home in Babylon? Jeremiah was a true patriot, therefore he chose to share the sufferings of his people, though they had so grievously wronged him. The comfort and luxury of Babylon were rejected by the simple, honest patriot, who preferred to dwell in poverty among the people of the land. If those false patriots, who cried him down, had had a chance of the ease and comfort offered to Jeremiah, how they would have jumped at it! They would have preferred Babylons fleshpots to Palestines poverty and want. But Jeremiah chose to share his peoples abject poverty and utter wretchedness. The intense, broken-hearted patriotism of Jeremiah stands out for all time in the magnificent Lamentations that he wrote, with his pen dipped into his hearts own blood. They are the saddest writings in the world. And what made the Jews ruin so intensely sorrowful to Jeremiah was the fact that it was so richly deserved. Therein was the sting. And he knew that there could be no improvement in their lot till their lives became better. He is the ideal of a patriot. Some false teachers have been and are trying to breathe into England a spirit of defiance to other lands, and an unbounded lust for territorial extension of our Empire. These teachers are attempting to stir up racial hatred. A very recent author declares that Germany must be blotted out by England, because she is our great rival in trade. As readers of history we know the curse of the racial hatred that existed between England and France in the time of the first Napoleon. And as Christians we know how fiendish is the advice to cut the throat of a neighbouring nation because she is a commercial rival. Christians do not advocate doing away at once with all soldiers and sailors. Like policemen, they are necessary at present. And we know that our sailors and soldiers will always do their duty bravely. The Christian Church protests against this modern bastard patriotism, which is much the same as piracy, against this glorification of brute force, against this reversion to savageism, against this contempt for all that is gentle, spiritual, Christ-like. Such principles work--
1. Mischief in the social and political world;
2. Mischief in the realm of literature, and all that leads to the higher development of man;
3. Mischief to religion.
These principles work mischief in the social and political world. At the end of last century and the beginning of this, how deplorable was the condition of the workers of this land. Why? Because of our incessant and unnecessary wars with France. These principles of false patriotism work much evil in the realm of literature, and all that leads to the higher development of man. The patriotism which means lust for other peoples land, and hatred of other nations, may produce a Soldiers Chorus, but it will produce no Tennyson, no Shakespeare. Since the German Empire became cursed with militarism it has produced no great writers. The essence of the highest literature is to be cosmopolitan for all the world. The Republic of Athens was a commercial, a scientific, an artistic city. The kingdom of Sparta was military to the highest degree. Military Sparta has left us no literature. Civic Athens has left us a literature which even to-day is a wonder of the world. That is natural. The habitual practice of blind obedience, necessary for the soldier, is the greatest foe to thought, and prevents men from learning how to form judgments and pass opinions. Militarism must be for the masses of the soldiery unintellectual. Our literature during the last few years has in some respects deteriorated sadly. One of the aspects of its decadence is its excessive glorifying of the military spirit. Swarms of books for boys have been published the last twenty years, and they are very largely glorifications of physical force. That is a reversion to the savage. The principles of this false patriotism work deadly mischief to religion. This spurious patriotism is not love of ones country so much as love of more country. It is hatred of other mens patriotism. It cannot understand that foreigners may and ought to love their fatherland even as we do ours. Such teachings lead to bitter hatred instead of love. Racial hatred is as ungodly as it is idiotic. Nelson used to say to his sailors, Fear God, honour the king, and hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil. How could they fear God if they hated Gods children? Every Frenchman was as much loved by God as every Englishman was loved. The business of the Christian Church is to spread love and not hate, to tone down animosities, not to stimulate them. Though the student of history sees how insane and utterly unnecessary most wars have been, war may sometimes be a stern necessity. But the glorification of war is earthly and unchristian. The only argument for militarism worth anything is that it develops pluck. Well, so did gladiator fights. Shall we reintroduce them? Pluck may be learned on the football-field as well as on the field of slaughter, where the animal passions of savageism are let loose. If we are Christians we will turn away from this bastard patriotism which ends in hate of other lands. We will love our country dearly. If occasion comes, we must make great sacrifices for her. But we will ever preach the gospel of love against the badspel of hate. We will preach the superiority of intellectual pursuits to the pursuit of war. We will preach the blessedness of elevating mankind to the spiritual rather than drag humanity down to the animal. (F. W. Aveling, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—Chronological Notes as on preceding chapter.
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—Chronological Notes as on preceding chapter.
Personal Allusions. Jer_38:1. “Shephatiah,” never elsewhere mentioned. “Gedaliah,” possibly son of “Pashur” the violent (chap. Jer_20:1-3). “Jucal,” called Jehucal (Jer_37:3). “Pashur,” son of Malchiah, same as mentioned Jer_21:1.
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Jer_38:6. “Malchiah son of Hammelech” (see on Jer_36:26).
Jer_38:7. “Ebed-melech the Ethiopian.” Mutilation to a Hebrew was forbidden by the Mosaic law (Deu_23:1); and Ethiopians were not infrequently selected for service in the royal harem (Dan_11:43).
Literary Criticisms. Jer_38:1. “Words Jeremiah had spoken:” was speaking. Jer_38:4. “For thus he weakeneth:” i.e. since or because. Jer_38:6. “Into the dungeon:” lit. pit or cistern (see note on Jer_37:16). “Sank in the mire:” so that it was a muddy pit. Subterranean cisterns under the houses became miry pits when the water was exhausted from them. Jer_38:10.
“Thirty men.” Ewald, Hitzig, Graf, &c., thinking שְׁלשִׁים, “thirty,” too many, would read שְׁלשָׁה, three: but this overlooks the resistance which the king’s counsellors might perchance offer. Jer_38:11. “Old cast clouts and old rotten rags:” from סחב, to drag, rend; therefore here, shreds, tatters; and next הַמְּלָחִים, from מָלִח, to rub away; hence soft or smooth rags. Jer_38:15.“Wilt thou not hearken?” The interrogation point is an error: “Thou wilt not,” &c.
Jer_38:22. “Those women shall say, Thy friends,” &c. This “saying” of the king’s women is in the poetic form, making a distich—a jeering refrain—
“Thy friends have urged thee on, and have prevailed with thee:
Thy feet are sunk in the mire: they are turned away back!”
The words, “they are turned away back,” refer not to the king’s feet, but to the friends who, having lured him on, desert him in his difficulties.
Jer_38:28. “He was there when Jerusalem was taken:” a confused sentence. Omit the italic word “there” from the verse; and read, “And it was when Jerusalem was taken;” i.e. “It came to pass when Jerusalem was taken”—then continue next chapter; for these words should stand at the head of chap. 39.
TOPICS OF CHAPTER 38
Jeremiah’s slanderous enemies (Jer_38:1-4).
God’s prophet, a prisoner (Jer_38:6).
A gracious and courageous Ethiopian (Jer_38:7-13).
Jeremiah’s experiences typical of Christ’s (Jer_38:1-13).
Obedience (Jer_38:20).
Sinners the cause of their own sufferings (Jer_38:17-18).
Timidity (Jer_38:19).
Equivocation (Jer_38:27).
Topic: JEREMIAH’S SLANDEROUS ENEMIES. (Jer_38:1-4.)
Jeremiah was no arch-traitor, as these “princes” would imply, but the truest patriot in all the land. This he proved by his courage and faithfulness, in repeating counsel which cost him so much malignity and persecution.
Certainly his opponents regarded him as the most dangerous man among the people, because he thwarted their counsels and designs; just as Ahab accused Elijah of troubling Israel (1Ki_18:18); Azariah, Amos (Amo_7:10); and the Jews, Paul (Act_16:20).
I. Calumny and slander assail even the best of men. “The worthiest people are frequently attacked by slander, as we usually find it to be the best fruit which birds peck at.”—Bacon.
“The world with calumny abounds,
The whitest virtue slander wounds;
There are whose joy is, night and day,
To take a character away.
Eager from rout to rout they haste
To blast the generous and the chaste;
And, hunting reputation down,
Proclaim their triumph through the town.”—Pope.
“Soft buzzing slander: silky moths, that eat
An honest name.”—Thomson.
“The tongue of the slanderer is a devouring fire, which tarnishes whatever it touches; which exercises its fury on the good grain, equally as on the chaff; on the sacred as on the profane; which, wherever it pleases, leaves only desolation and ruin; turns into vile ashes what only a moment before had appeared to us so precious and brilliant; acts with more violence than ever in the time when it was apparently almost smothered up and extinct; which blackens when it cannot consume, and sometimes sparkles and delights before it destroys.”—Massillon.
“Virtue itself ’scapes not calumnious strokes.”—Shakespeare.
II. Calumny and slander base their attacks upon misrendered truths. Jeremiah’s words were quoted as if proving him unpatriotic; whereas his full words are earnest with love and solicitude for his people (comp. Jer_21:8-9).
“You cannot always take up a slander and detect the falsehood there; you cannot evaporate the truth in the slow process of the crucible, and then show the residuum of falsehood glittering and visible; you cannot fasten upon any word or sentence and say that it is calumny; for in order to constitute slander it is not necessary that the word spoken should be false—half truths are often more calumnious than whole falsehoods.”—F. W. Robertson.
An old writer has said that we have two eyes and two ears, but only one tongue, that we may see and hear twice as much as we say; but unhappily men generally act the reverse; for, alas! they say far more than they see or hear.
“Mingling truth with falsehood, sneers with smiles,
A thread of candour with a web of wiles.”—Byron.
III. Calumny and slander inflict the most piteous wrongs (see Jer_38:6). Against slander there is no defence. It stabs with a smile. It is the poisoned arrow whose wound is incurable.
“Good name, in man and woman,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Who steals my purse, steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name,
Robs me of that, which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.”—Shakespeare.
Note—
“Slander meets no regard from noble minds;
Only the base believe what the base only utter.”—Bellew.
Topic: GOD’S PROPHET A PRISONER. “Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire” (Jer_38:6).
A prophet in prison! An ambassador of the Most High God in bonds! Let us trace the history of this great crime against the Majesty of Heaven.
Jeremiah’s prison experiences began twenty years before the taking of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon. “Pashur, who was governor of the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks,” &c. (Jer_20:1). And what things had Jeremiah prophesied? Only those which the Lord commanded him, saying, “Diminish not a word.” He had denounced the innumerable abominations which prevailed in the land, the oppressions which one class practised upon another, and the gross idolatries, with all their attendant cruelties and sensualities; had foretold the Divine judgments that were hastening to overwhelm the nation, and from which there was now no escape.
When Nineveh was threatened with destruction by the stranger prophet, it repented and humbled itself in sackcloth and ashes. But Jerusalem hardened itself against the Divine voice, and the chief governor of its Temple seized the prophet who had dared to foretell its doom, and “smote him.”
I. It was the governor of the Lord’s house that did this great wrong.
1. It was the chief priests of the Lord’s house that led the conspiracy against the Master of prophets and apostles six hundred years later, and one of their officers rudely struck the Divine captive with the palm of his hand. Jesus repelled the wrong with calm dignity, saying, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou Me?” But Jeremiah did not bear his trial with the calmness and meekness which adorned the Master; for he addressed severe words to his persecutor: “Thou Pashur … shall go into captivity,” &c. (Jer_20:6). But having delivered his message, he breaks out into complaints which have no parallel in the history of the good men of the Bible, except of Job in the hour of bitter despair. “Cursed be the day in which I was born,” &c. (Jer_20:14-18). All this after his deliverance, and after saying, “Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord; for He hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evil-doers.”
Many a servant of God has put the ancient prophet to shame. “I found the comforts of my God in the Fleet prison exceedingly, it being the first time of my being a prisoner,” wrote a persecuted Englishman two centuries ago. Nor did the strength of this good man depart from him when he stood in the pillory and had his ears cut off by the hangman. “All the while I stood in the pillory I thought myself to be in heaven, and in a state of glory and triumph, if any such state can be on earth. I found these words of Peter verified on me in the pillory: ‘If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you, which on their part is blasphemed, but on yours glorified.’ ” Henry Burton is more of a prophet in the pillory than Jeremiah, and one wonders at the Hebrew saint that he should sink into such a slough of despond.
We must find the secret of it very much in his natural temperament. His was a task which required the firmness of a rock and the boldness of a lion—characters which were certainly not constitutional with Jeremiah. But the Lord knew his frame, and did not err in choosing him for His instrument: “I am with thee to deliver thee,” was His promise. And the vicissitudes of the prophet’s spirit are to us a precious legacy of instruction and comfort.
On his release his warfare against the sins of the nation was continued as heretofore (Jer_20:11-12). In prolonged strains of Divine severity, mingled with promises of a return from Babylon, whither they were doomed to be carried into exile, and with promises of still greater blessing at a more distant period, under the reign of the Messiah, Jeremiah continued his expostulations with a degenerate people, but amid intense suffering to his own tender spirit—“Mine heart within me is broken; all my bones shake,” &c. (Jer_33:9).
2. Later on we find the spiritual and the secular powers playing the parts which they have often played in other ages and countries, the one persecuting the prophet, the other protecting him; the spiritual demanding his death, the secular, with more regard to justice, covering him with the shield of his protection. The priests and prophets, and all the people, took him and said, “Thou shalt surely die.” … Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and prophets, “This man is not worthy to die; for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord” (Jer_26:7-16).
The secular ruler Pilate was more righteous than the spiritual rulers Annas and Caiaphas. “Behold I bring Him forth unto you, that ye may know that I find no fault in Him.” But in this case the people took part with unrighteous priests, and demanded that the innocent One should be crucified. In the case of Jeremiah, the people at first joined his persecutors in demanding that he should die. But the appeal to their reason and conscience won them to the side of justice, and they joined the princes in saving the Lord’s servant out of the hands of his enemies.
The king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem about fifteen years after the first imprisonment of Jeremiah, and the prophet was instructed to say, “Though ye fight with the Chaldeans ye shall not prosper” (Jer_32:5). The king was now the persecutor: “Wherefore dost thou prophesy,” said Zedekiah, “and say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon?” (Jer_32:2). It was the old story. “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” said the wicked Ahab to the prophet Elijah. “I trouble not Israel,” was the memorable reply; “but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” Not the prophet, but the king, and such as the king, was the cause of the dark cloud which now hung over the favoured city.
II. The prison walls within which Jeremiah was shut up could not exclude the presence and the voice of the Lord.
In his solitude he received assurances not only of the inevitable catastrophe which should overwhelm the land, but of a certain recovery and restoration (Jer_32:26; Jer_32:42), a message which Jeremiah found means of addressing to the king and to the people. How and when he was released does not appear, but we find him soon again sent back to his place of confinement. The Chaldeans retire from the siege of the city for a time for fear of the Egyptian army, and Jeremiah tries to slip away into the land of Benjamin. He is caught in the gate in the act of departure, and charged with falling away to the Chaldeans. In vain he denies the charge; he must return to prison, and there he remains many days (Jer_37:16).
The king, whose secret conscience assures him not only of Jeremiah’s innocence, but of the gravity of the message with which he is charged of God, sends for him and asks in private, “Is there any word from the Lord?” The prophet answers promptly, “There is; for thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.”
Royal menace and royal clemency are alike impotent to sway the prophet from the faithful discharge of his duty. But fain would he be saved from returning to his prison-house. And one’s heart is moved by the earnestness with which he remonstrated with the king (Jer_37:20). The king was so far moved that he ordered that Jeremiah should be committed not to the dungeon in Jonathan’s house, but to the court of the prison, and that a piece of bread should be supplied to him daily. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison (Jer_37:21).
But the hostility of his enemies was not satisfied. The princes appealed to the king (Jer_38:4). The sovereign of Judah was weak as well as wicked, and rehearsed the part of Herod, in relation to John the Baptist, centuries before Herod’s time. “Behold he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do anything against you.” Then they took him, and not having courage to murder him outright, they put him into a dungeon where it was not possible that he should live long (Jer_38:6). But his faith did not fail him. Reciting his experiences afterwards, he said, “I called upon the Lord out of the low dungeon. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon Thee: Thou saidst, Fear not” (Lam_3:55-57.) This blessed “Fear not”—how often has the Voice from the excellent glory said to the hearts of sufferers and mourners, “Fear not”! “Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will help thee.”
The heart of an Ethiopian is moved by the pitiful condition in which wicked men have left the prophet, and he goes into the king’s presence and represents the wrong that has been done and the danger in which the prophet is. The king grants the Ethiopian’s request, and says, “Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he die” (Jer_38:10). What a place that dungeon must have been! A deep pit, used as a cistern, perhaps, during part of the year, but now dry, and with a quantity of mud at the bottom, into which the prophet was so sunk that it required not only the strength but the skill of the thirty men to drag him up!
Jeremiah, thus rescued from a cruel death, was not set at liberty, but remained in the court of the prison until the city was taken by the army of Babylon.
III. The Lord’s blessing was on the head of his deliverer, Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian.
1. While Jeremiah was yet in prison there came a message from heaven to him, saying, “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, and say unto him” (Jer_39:15-18).
The Ethiopian’s skin was not changed in the land of his bondage, but his heart was. He found light shining in this deep night of Judaism, and was guided by it to the everlasting and ever-loving God. And while the children of the kingdom cast themselves out, this child of darkness and of the desert was brought in to share the inheritance of the faithful. He “trusted” in the Lord.
2. The message of God to the Ethiopian rebukes the vain philosophy of man, and is fraught with comfort to the obscure and despised of mankind. God is too great to concern Himself with the affairs of individuals! He may hold in His right hand the mighty suns of the great universe He has made, but what to Him are the twinkling lights of cottage homes? He may rule kings and princes, but what to Him are slaves and beggars? The philosophy which is capable of being popularised into such questions as these must be vain. Mungo Park, faint and perishing, observes a single tuft of grass in the waste African desert, when he thought there was nothing left for him but to die, and his heart argued with the rapidity of lightning, that the Creator of that tuft of grass could not be unobservant of him, His child; and strengthened by the thought he persevered and was saved. And now Jehovah singled out an Ethiopian in the court of Zedekiah, and sent to him a message of His divine and fatherly love. To God the small and the great are alike (Isa_40:26; Isa_40:29). If He telleth the number of the stars, and calleth them by their names, He likewise gathereth together the outcasts of Israel; He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds (Psa_147:3-4).
IV. Jeremiah’s after ministry.
Jeremiah was still in prison when the armies of Babylon took Jerusalem. He was found in chains and carried with other captives on the way to Babylon, but was released at Ramah, six miles from Jerusalem. Thus ended the prison life of Jeremiah, but not his ministry.
1. How long the prophet was in prison it is difficult to determine—probably for years. His first imprisonment so stunned him as for the moment to overthrow faith and patience. But his later experience was more worthy of the man of God; and his grief was far less for himself than for the people whose day of grace was coming to an end. The words (Jer_8:21 to Jer_9:1) may have been written in prison; if not, they were recalled there and oft recited by the bleeding heart of the sorrowing prophet. The matter of the Lamentations which he wrote after the destruction of Jerusalem must have been his frequent meditation in the house of his prison.
2. He was permitted even in his prison to exercise his ministry. The word of the Lord was not bound. It came to him and went from him. Prison bars and fetters could not separate him from his God, and happily it did not separate him even from his people. Their conscience and their fears together made them listen to the words which were given to him from God to speak to them.
It may be likewise that his imprisonment was cheered, for some time at least, by the companionship of his faithful friend and amanuensis, Baruch. Tradition says that Baruch was his fellow-prisoner when the prison door was opened by the victorious arms of Babylon. The apostle Paul was comforted in his prison by the coming of Titus. Baruch must have been as an angel of God to Jeremiah in his solitude. Often would they commune together of the hour drawing nearer every day, when sword and famine and pestilence should fill the streets and homes of Jerusalem with horrors unutterable, and the thought of it was more than these prisoners could bear. But their darkness was not unmingled. There was light beyond.
“Behold the days come, saith the Lord,” &c. (Jer_23:5-8, and Jer_33:14-15).
The prophet and his fellow-prisoner could not understand these promises so clearly and fully as we do now. But they saw enough in them to lighten their burden and cheer their spirits. Through present gloom the eye of faith penetrated into a glorious future.
3. Jeremiah must likewise have written some portion of his prophecies within prison walls. The thirty-second, thirty-third, and thirty-fourth chapters were doubtless written there, perhaps much besides—perhaps by the hand of the skilful and faithful penman, Baruch.
Again are we reminded of the great apostle of the Gentiles. Four, at least, of the epistles which bear his name were written in his Roman prison. And many books, which the world would not willingly let die, have been written in like circumstances.
Who that has read the “Pilgrim’s Progress” can forget its opening sentence?—“As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept I dreamed a dream.” The den wherein John Bunyan dreamed his immortal dream was Bedford Jail, which was the good man’s home for twelve years. With his Bible and Foxe’s “Book of Martyrs” as his constant companions, he wrote his allegory, not witting nor dreaming of its wonderful history in ages after his death. As the composition advanced he read it, part by part, to his fellow-prisoners, to their no small amusement as well as instruction. But so doubtful was he of the value of his prison-work, and so various were the counsels which he received on the subject of its publication, that he did not put it into the printer’s hands for some years after his liberation. To-day it is read in more languages of the earth, probably, than any other book, except the Word of God.
Jeremiah is the first prison author that we know of. The last has not yet written. For the conflict foretold when sin entered the world is not yet ended: “I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.” And so long as this enmity lasts, and the conflict between good and evil is waged on earth, we shall find battles fought and prisons built and stakes erected.
Be it so. The words of Christ cannot be broken, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Let them call upon their God out of their low dungeon, as did the Jewish prophet, and the Divine voice which cheered his prison will cheer theirs. “Fear not.” It is enough. It is enough. God says it. Martyrs, rejoice!—your God is with you. If your night be long, He will not forsake you. If it end in the flames of a cruel death, these flames will be as Elijah’s chariot to carry you from earth to heaven.—Rev. John Kennedy, D.D., London: From “Christian World Pulpit,” 1872.
Topic: A GRACIOUS AND COURAGEOUS ETHIOPIAN. (Jer_38:7-13.)
All the king’s counsellors were hostile to God’s prophet; “his foes were they of his own household.” Ebed-melech the Ethiopian was a stranger, an alien; yet he befriended this servant of Jehovah. So with the misused Jewish traveller: the Levite and priest passed him by in his wounded and perishing state, but the Samaritan pitied and helped him. Consider—
I. The graciousness of his spirit. He was—
1. Deeply affected by the miseries of God’s servant (Jer_38:7). To hear of what was done troubled him. He had “a heart at leisure for itself to soothe and sympathise.”
2. Impelled by pity to attempt his help (Jer_38:8). Not passive sympathy only; he set himself to aid his deliverance. “A little help is worth a deal of pity.”
3. Saw the wickedness of the cruelty shown to Jeremiah (Jer_38:9). The inhumanity was shocking to his kind nature; but the sin of it was equally evident, for abuse of God’s messenger was defiance of God!
4. Dealt very tenderly with him in rescuing him (Jer_38:12). His gentleness is touching. He realised how sick and weak the prophet must be through the horrors of his imprisonment, and from being deprived of food. A tender heart makes the hand gentle.
II. The courage of his conduct.
1. He was alone in this act of pity. Others may have felt pity, but feared to show it; he had the courage to avow his commiseration and sympathy with Jeremiah.
2. By his practical sympathy he openly condemned the cruelty and guiltiness of the king’s courtiers. Thus braving their malevolence.
3. Fearless of all consequences, he even presses his appeal upon the king. Even as Esther: “So will I go in unto the king; and if I perish, I perish.”
4. He bravely denounces the king’s own counsellors. Thus carrying judgment against “those men” (mark its vehement scorn) into the king’s presence; and thereby implying that the king was himself wrong in having such men about him, and in conniving at their conduct.
5. He honoured Jeremiah as being the prophet of Jehovah. Others ridiculed Jeremiah, refused to own him God’s messenger; but Ebed-melech calls him “the prophet” (Jer_38:9), and then insinuates the impiety of all, king and people, for disregarding his messages.
III. The success of his intervention (Jer_38:10). This is remarkable; for the king had only just before owned himself afraid to act against his “princes,” and helpless to check them (Jer_38:5). How explain the king’s compliance?
1. The right conduct of one man will start right convictions in another. Zedekiah could not look at this brave Ethiopian, so courageously and fearlessly and touchingly pleading for the prophet, without feeling condemned for his own supineness and cowardice; and impelled to better purposes. Even a lowly man, acting in fear of God, may awaken the conscience and move the heart of a king! This encourages the humblest to a fearless piety: it must work good results.
2. Courageous conduct should be regulated by prudence. Armed with “thirty men,” he arranged for Jeremiah’s rescue. The king saw he would need such a band of helpers. But he knew himself that if Jeremiah was to be drawn up alive, the work must be done tenderly; so he provided himself with “old cast clouts,” which would be needed to prevent injury to the prophet, for the force needed to draw him up out of the mire would be great.
3. Befriending care followed his act of rescue (Jer_38:13). For only there would the prophet be safe from the fury of the princes; and, providentially, he was there within reach of the king, to give him counsel (Jer_38:14).
Here, then, is—
i. Encouragement to good men to appear in a good cause and act vigorously for God, notwithstanding they are alone and menaced by dangers and difficulties.
ii. Noble deeds done by despised Ethiopians find record in God’s book, to assure us that He honours whosoever fears Him. So it is recorded of Joseph of Arimathea, that he went in boldly to Pilate to beg the body of Jesus.
iii. Though the Ethiopian cannot “change his skin,” his heart can be changed. This man showed himself to be a true child of God. Such an instance as that of the Candacian eunuch predicts the future when “Ethiopia shall lift up her hands unto God.”
See homily on chap. Jer_39:15-18 : “A LONELY HERO OF FAITH.”
Topic: JEREMIAH’S EXPERIENCES TYPICAL OF CHRIST’S.
i. Charged with political treachery. Jeremiah (Jer_38:1-4); Jesus (Luk_23:1-5).
ii. Abandoned by the chief magistrate of the nation to his malignant foes. Jeremiah by the king (Jer_38:5); Jesus by Pilate (Luk_23:24).
iii. The awful profounds of his sufferings suggestive of Christ’s. Jeremiah (Jer_38:6, “pit,” &c.); Christ’s (Psa_69:2; Psa_69:15). Jeremiah “sank in the mire,” up to the neck, says Josephus, and so, “I sink in the mire” (Psa_69:2).
iv. Though rejected and maltreated by his own nation, yet cherished by a Gentile alien. So Christ was believed in by Gentiles while Israel despised Him, and Ethiopians were among the earliest converts (Act_2:10; Act_2:41; Act_8:27-39).
v. In Jeremiah’s being raised up alive from the pit, we have Christ’s resurrection from the dead prefigured and portrayed.
vi. The Ethiopian’s plea to rescue Jeremiah reminds us of a like act by Joseph of Arimathea (see Jer_38:8-9, and comp. Luk_23:52).
Note.—It is remarked by Ambrose, “Jeremiah was cast into the pit; and no one was found among the Jews to draw him out of the deep dungeon. But Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian convert, he did it. Here is a beautiful figure. The Prophetic Word was cast by the Jews into the mire; but we of the Gentiles, who were formerly darkened, like Ethiopians, with stains of sin (comp. Jer_13:23), and were unfruitful, have raised up that Word out of the mire. As it is said by the psalmist, ‘Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God’ (Psa_68:31).”
Topic: OBEDIENCE. “Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, when I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live” (Jer_38:20).
I. Safety lies in obedience to the Divine Will. There is scarcely a loss sustained by an intelligent creature, but may be traced to disobedience to the Divine Will. Angels’ loss of heaven. Adam’s loss of Eden. Israelites who lost their lives in the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan. Jews’ loss of their country in captivity. Ananias and Sapphira who lost life. The captain who lost his ship through not heeding Paul. Equally it is through disobeying the Divine Will that health is lost, reputation is lost, the soul is lost.
II. Causes actuating to disobedience of the Divine Will.
1. The first cause of the first act of disobedience is an insoluble mystery. God alone understands the origin of sin. It is a mystery unfathomable that holy and intelligent creatures, as “the angels that sinned,” should, without being tempted, fall into temptation.
2. The second act of disobedience, that of our first parents, is less mysterious: the tempter, by lies and insinuations, allured them to disobedience. Fallen angels had no tempter; fallen men had.
3. Since the fall of angels and of our first parents two causes have operated leading to universal disobedience—Satanic agency and man’s depravity. Hence the mystery of sin lessens as we discover the causes leading thereto. Yet these causes do not justify acts of disobedience.
III. Love is the one moving, prompting cause of all obedience.
Love prompts the angels to fulfil the Divine behests: “They do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.”
Love prompts “the spirits of the just made perfect;” they are “ministers of His, to do His pleasure.”
Love prompted the Apostles to obey the Divine commission, “Go ye into all the world;” “The love of Christ constraineth us.”
Love prompted the martyrs to be “faithful unto death.”
Of all forces there is none so great as the power of love. Law, with all its penalties; judgments, with all their terror; morality, with all its advantages; are feeble impulses to obedience compared with love. “Love is strong as death.”
IV. Consider the pleasures of obedience to the Divine Will.
1. There is a present pleasure arising from the testimony and approbation of conscience.
2. A reflective pleasure arising from the consciousness of having obeyed the Divine Voice. Paul felt this, on review of life, when he said, “I have fought a good fight,” &c. This was Christ’s pleasure: “I have glorified Thee on the earth,” &c.
3. An anticipatory pleasure; looking for the Divine approval—“Well done, good and faithful servant,” &c.
And as there is a threefold pleasure in obedience, so there is a threefold pain in disobedience—
1. Present: the pain of an accusing conscience. 2. Reflective: the memory of wasted life. 3. Anticipatory: dreading hearing the words, “I never knew you; depart from Me,” &c.
V. The importance of obedience of the Divine Will. “It shall be well unto thee.”
Let the sinner obey the voice of Jesus, and “it shall be well unto him;” not die, but live.
Let the believer obey the voice of his Lord and Master, and he shall enjoy Divine favour and live and reign with Him for ever.
“Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.”
Yet obedience will not save the soul. Obedience is no ground of merit nor basis of hope. It avails nothing for a sinner’s justification; and yet, without obedience, the soul will be cast away. Obedience is the sign of faith and manifestation of love.
Topic: SINNERS THE CAUSE OF THEIR OWN SUFFERING. “If thou wilt not go forth … thou shait not escape out of their hands” (Jer_38:17-18; comp. Jer_39:7 : “Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes”).
Zedekiah illustrates the non-acceptance of chastisements. We may attribute his sufferings (chap. Jer_39:7) to Nebuchadnezzar’s cruelty. But they came from something underlying that. Nebuchadnezzar was not cruel to Zedekiah till Zedekiah had been cruel to himself. He brought it upon himself, compelled God to be thus severe to him. He would not accept the less severe chastisement God had prepared (Jer_38:17). God proves too strong for rebellious man.
The sure consequence of non-acceptance of chastisements is increased sorrow.
I. Chastisements announced (Jer_38:17-18). Here consider—
1. The proper course of action when chastisement or discipline is announced. God is speaking from the midst of clouds and darkness; go into the secret place and see God Himself. It is His will that we should see Him; see that there is One who works behind the chances and changes of life. The first thing is to believe God is in it; not to lose time in groping about for Him in the darkness.
2. A common mistake as to the designs of sorrow and joy: that joy is intended to draw us to God; sorrow the reverse. This is our error.
3. The co-existence of trouble and alleviation. Along with chastisement God promises circumstances of gracious dealing (Jer_38:17). We think of the trouble only, and ask its removal, ignoring the alleviation which God places side by side with it.
What are the speakings to us of the word “Moreover” (Jer_39:7)?
(1.) Bounded chastisements are not to be rejected.
(2.) God’s omnipotence is to be realised.
(3.) The sad effects of the rejection of God’s chastisements on memory—nothing left to Zedekiah but bitter reflections.
(4.) Chastisements are always the lightest possible under the circumstances.
(5.) God’s terrible reverses of chastisements (chap. Jer_42:6).
(6.) God’s care of His people under chastisements—He remembers mercy.
(7.) The “moreover” of what might have been; and some of the mercies which are bestowed.
(8.) The need of keeping ourselves within the line of God’s action (2Sa_24:14). We may pass from the bounded line of God’s action to the unbounded line of man’s! This is to go we know not whither.
(9.) We may always go into troubles with the certainty of alleviation. Try and find how many lighteners to our trials are vouchsafed. God will never crush a man except so far as he makes it downright necessary that he should be crushed.
II. Chastisements rejected. Not because he wished daringly to defy God; but because of personal humiliation and suffering (Jer_38:19). How powerful this motive was is evident from his overcoming such tremendous considerations as those of Jer_38:18!
1. When God is appointing chastisement and we accept it, we may be sure it is bounded. As with Job—“Only not upon himself;” “only save his life.”
2. Enter trouble with the consciousness of limitation. He who refuses God’s cross makes a heavier one for himself (Jer_38:21-22).
3. God’s grace in meeting our fears with assurances. “They shall not deliver thee” (Jer_38:20). “Obey the voice of the Lord, and it shall be well with thee,” &c. (Jer_38:20).
III. Chastisements inflicted with increase (Jer_39:7). A terrible “moreover” is this! Sightless henceforth; yet what a scene the last he witnessed! Zedekiah refused to put himself into the hands of God; and now he “fell into the hands of man.” It counsels—
1. Immediately chastisements come, go to God. Thus, all the affliction needed to reduce to obedience and to attention to God’s voice will not be inflicted.
2. Be not too curious in examining a discipline. The good effects will be revealed after endurance.
3. By a too close inspection of our troubles and brooding over them, God will recede from our view; the affliction will also assume an exaggerated importance.
4. Beware lest a dark dispensation so overwhelm you as to prevent your appreciating the alleviations.
5. In all our trial let us consider not only what has been, but what is left. God would have left Zedekiah a great deal if he had yielded. God is great in healing as well as in inflicting wounds.
Heaven-made crosses are lighter than earth-made ones. The troubles which He sends will always be less than what you bring.—Constructed and condensed from “Breviates,” by Rev. P. B. Power, M.A.
Topic: RENEWAL OF OPPORTUNITY WITH ITS ALTERNATIVE ISSUES.
See on Section 1–7, chap. 34. p. 558.
Topic: TIMIDITY. “I am afraid” (Jer_38:19).
A craven king! Pitiable. His case explained thus: he knew his duty, but disliked it; so was continually “halting between two opinions;” wishing to know God’s messages, yet reluctant to obey them. His mind was harassed with divided attention; he was afraid of men, yet also troubled with a dread of God. It is thus that “conscience doth make cowards” of compromising and craven souls.
I. Fear of men creates instability of character and conduct. Zedekiah knew he did well to ask counsel of Jeremiah (Jer_38:14), yet feared to follow it (Jer_38:19). Such timidity—
1. Paralyses the will; 2. Fosters duplicity; 3. Confuses the clear voice of conscience; 4. Enfeebles the power with which God’s word should sway the life.
“Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt.”—Sewell.
II. Fear of men degrades the noblest nature into servility. Here was a monarch reduced to a miserable schemer, afraid to have his subjects know what he did! Its natural fruits are—
1. Secret transactions (Jer_38:14); 2. Cringing cowardice (Jer_38:24); 3. Lying subterfuges (Jer_38:25-26).
“Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once.”—Shakespeare.
III. Fear of men entails inevitable derision and disaster. All Zedekiah’s scheming to keep out of difficulties—the difficulties of honesty and piety—would only lead to ills far more serious.
1. The scorn of observers. “The Jews will mock me” (Jer_38:19), and “the women” will make me their jeering song (Jer_38:22). 2. Desertion by false friends (Jer_38:22, “They are turned away back”). 3. Dire judgments from God (Jer_38:23).
IV. Fear of men alienates God’s protection and favour. His selfish plottings left him miserable alternatives. His life would be spared if he took one course (Jer_38:17), although it would be spared only for suffering and degradation at the hands of his conqueror; whereas the other course would entail utter ruin (Jer_38:18). To this dilemma had all his contrivances reduced him. And all our schemings in which we entrench ourselves will end fatally. Honest obedience of God, regardless of consequences and of human threatenings, will ensure us the Divine overshadowing; but this impiety and timidity will—
1. Leave us friendless in our extremity; and 2. Deprive us of all Divine hiding and succour when enemies prevail.
“Fear or guilt attends the deeds of darkness:
The virtuous breast ne’er knows it.”—Havard.
Hence—(a.) Obey God’s voice; for in His favour is life. “It shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live” (Jer_38:20).
(b.) Trust not in friends whose attachment can be preserved only by disobeying Divine counsels (Jer_38:19).
(c.) Shun duplicity; it degrades to contemptible insincerity (Jer_38:25). “The fear of man worketh a snare.”
(d.) Righteousness makes courageous. For in God’s friendship the soul becomes confident. “The righteous is bold as a lion.”
Topic: EQUIVOCATION. “So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived” (Jer_38:27).
The plain meaning of such words is that Jeremiah hoodwinked them. He did not lie to them certainly; but he did not tell the full truth, and left them with a false impression. It comes very near to deception; it was evasion, and certainly was not an honest act. It seems an oblique lie.
I. By what prudential considerations has this act of equivocation been extenuated? Let us hear the pleas of his defenders.
1. “It does not appear that he said what was untrue.”—Bishop Wordsworth.
2. “No one is bound to reveal all he knows—to enemies who seek his life.”—Bishop Wordsworth.
3. This reservation of part of the truth “was necessary to prevent an open rupture between the king and his generals.”—Dr. Payne Smith.
4. He did not tell them “what they wanted to know” because “he was ordered to be silent by one to whom obedience was due.”—Dr. Payne Smith.
5. “The princes were not questioning him in due course of law, but by a power which, they had usurped.”—Dr. Payne Smith.
6. “Had the issue only concerned the prophet himself, it might have been his duty to have spoken the whole truth; but the princes had no right to question him as to the king’s conduct.”—Dr. Payne Smith.
Put these six pleas into common English, and they mean—
(a.) Suppression of part of the truth is not a falsehood. But, on the contrary, it most frequently is; for a half-truth is often the worst of lies.
(b.) Discretion should teach us to save our own skin rather than be frank and fearless! But this is contemptible cowardice, and is opposed to our Lord’s words: “He that will save his life shall lose it.”
(c.) Preserve good feeling between men, even though prevarication be the only way to effect it! But what had Jeremiah to do with “preventing a rupture,” &c.? If peace is thus to be purchased at any price, then farewell to honesty and honour.
(d.) Obey a king’s command even when his order is contrary to strict truthfulness! But who is a king, forsooth, that he should regulate conduct in matters of conscience? We should “obey God rather than man.”
(e.) Throw dust in the eyes of enemies. Well, if “all is fair in love and war,” this may pass; but craftiness is not placed among the Christian virtues.
(f.) It is right to do for another what would be wrong if done for yourself. But no! wrong can never be made right. If Jeremiah suppressed the truth for the king’s sake, it was as much a piece of deception as if he had done it for himself.
II. On what sacred principles should this act of equivocation be condemned?
1. Fear of consequences should not sway conscience from its fidelity. “Be just, and fear not.” But fear now drove Jeremiah to equivocate (comp. Gen_20:2).
2. Guileless speech should distinguish the godly character (Psa_34:13). Christians should be “children of light,” “sincere and without offence.”
3. Honesty in God’s messengers is imperative. A witness for Jehovah should certainly not accommodate himself to the convenience of a godless potentate.
4. Truth suffers in the hands of compromising men. It brings discredit upon truth in general, if professedly holy men are discovered to tamper with it by equivocation. Souls in whom God’s Light shines should never emit dim rays.
5. Our Saviour’s example was ever on the side of outspoken honesty even before adversaries. “If I have spoken evil, bear witness,” &c.; “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.”
6. Life is safe in God’s keeping, therefore we should never dissimulate for the sake of our own safety (1Pe_2:21-23).
“The man of pure and simple heart
Through life disdains a double part;
He never needs the screen of lies
His inward bosom to disguise.”—Gay.
“His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles;
His love sincere, his thoughts imuaculate;
His tears, pure messengers sent from his heart;
His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.”—Shakespeare.
“Honesty, even by itself, though making many adversaries
Whom prudence might have set aside, or charity have softened,
Evermore will prosper at the last, and gain a man great honour.
Yet there are others that will truckle to a lie, selling honesty for interest,
And do they gain! They gain but loss; a little cash, with scorn.
Behold! sorrowful change wrought upon a fallen nature:
He hath lost his own esteem and other men’s respect.
For the buoyancy of upright faith, he is clothed in the heaviness of cringing;
For plain truth, where none could err, he hath chosen tortuous paths;
In lieu of his majesty of countenance, the timorous glances of servility;
Instead of Freedom’s honest pride, the spirit of a slave.”—Tupper.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 Jeremiah 38
Jeremiah 38
Ropes and rags.
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I. Help always comes from above. Jeremiah found it so. It was useless to try to climb out of the dungeon,—it was only to fall deeper into the mire. "Salvation is of the Lord." Ebedmelech is only a very poor picture of Jesus. The Saviour does more than send down a rope. He comes Himself and lifts us up.
II. Although Ebedmelech may be a very poor type of Jesus Christ, he is a very good picture of the style in which one man may help another. He had sympathy. His kind heart bled as he thought of the suffering prophet. Sympathy is the mother of help.
III. Ebedmelech did not allow difficulty to deter him. He knew that the enemies of the prophet were unscrupulous, and would not hesitate to cut his throat, but he did not give up because of that. If you mean to help others you will have to pull hard against the stream.
IV. Ebedmelech teaches us to spare the feelings of those we help. The rope of deliverance should not cut the flesh of those we save. We may wound men in helping them, and they may like the remedy less than the disease.
V. Among the practical lessons of this story there is the great truth that one man may set others going. Ebedmelech went to the king for help, and he gave him thirty helpers. "So they drew up Jeremiah." The great mass of people are not original; they can imitate, and if you can show them the way they will follow.
VI. Let us learn the value of despised and cast-off things. The prudent chamberlain had seen "under the treasury the old cast clouts and old rotten rags." No one else saw any value in them, but he knew where they lay and put them to a good use. VII. Ebedmelech found out that God pays the best wages.
T. Champness, New Coins from Old God.
References: Jer 39:1, Jer 39:2.—R. Glover, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxii., p. 74. Jer 43—P. Thomson, Expositor, 1st series, vol. x., p. 397.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 1-3. The removal of Jeremiah from the prison was…
1-3. The removal of Jeremiah from the prison was favourable to the publication of his message. Hence the alarm of the princes.
1. Pashur] see on Jer_20:2.
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2. He that goeth forth] i.e. submits: so Jer_38:17.
6. Dungeon] RM 'pit,'or cistern. It is conjectured that Psalms 69 may have been composed by Jeremiah on this occasion.
7-13. Jeremiah is rescued by Ebed-melech.
10. Thirty] possibly a copyist's error for 'three.'The two words resemble each other much more closely in Hebrew than in English.
14-28. The king again asks the prophet's advice. Result.
14. The third entry] Probably referring to some passage between the Temple and the palace.
15. Wilt thou not hearken unto me?] RV 'Thou wilt not hearken unto me.'
18. The king of Babylon's princes] Nebuchadnezzar was probably himself at Riblah: see Jer_39:5.
19. And they mock me] for not surrendering sooner as they had done.
22. The women of the harem shall join in the reproaches, saying, Thy friends have persuaded thee against thy better judgment, and then deserted thee.
24-26. Zedekiah's weakness is again conspicuous.
28. And he was, etc.] RV 'And it came to pass when Jerusalem was taken'; the words thus belonging not to what precedes, but to Jeremiah 39.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 let this man
let this man
See Jer 26:11.
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The fundamental reason why the prophetic warnings of the Old and New Testaments are unwelcome to an unreasoning optimism.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. Jeremiah in the dungeon and his rescue (Jer…
CHAPTER 38
1. Jeremiah in the dungeon and his rescue (Jer 38:1-13)
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2. Jeremiah with Zedekiah: His last appeal (Jer 38:14-28)
Jer 38:1-13. 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, and who went Himself into the horrible pit and the miry clay, into the deepest suffering and the jaws of death, to take us out of the dungeon, where sin has put us. The wicked princes evidently meant to leave Jeremiah in that dungeon to suffer a horrible death.
But the servant of the Lord was not in the hands of the princes, but in the hands of his Master. God chooses for the deliverer a slave, an Ethiopian, Ebed-melech (servant of the king). The heart of this Ethiopian eunuch was touched with pity. He goes to the king, who seems to have been ignorant about what had been done to Jeremiah and tells him that Jeremiah is likely to starve to death in the filthy hole where they had put him. The king commands the eunuch to act at once with thirty men to deliver Jeremiah. With what tenderness, to spare the man of God all needless pain, Ebed-melech carried out the king’s wish (Jer 38:12)!
Jer 38:14-28. This is a great dramatic scene. Zedekiah sends once more for Jeremiah. We suppose the filth of the dungeon was still clinging to the prophet’s garments. The king wants to know something. “Hide nothing from me,” he demands. He may rest assured that the prophet of holy courage hides nothing. But Jeremiah asks two questions: “Wilt thou not surely put me to death? And if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?” The first question the king answers: “I will not put thee to death.” The second question he leaves unanswered. His heart was hardened like Pharaoh’s heart.
He gives him once more the message of Jehovah: Go forth to the king of Babylon, acknowledge his authority, believe in My Word and thou shalt live and thine house; then Jerusalem will not be burned. But if not, then you cannot escape and the doom of the city is sealed. The king shrinks from such a surrender. Terrors of an imaginary kind seize hold on him. He fears the Babylonian king will deliver him into the hands of the Jews who had deserted already, and that they would mock him and ill-treat him. Jeremiah pleads once more. It is his final appeal: “Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD.” But the king refuses. The final request he made of Jeremiah but reveals his miserable character. The last interview has ended. Jeremiah remains in the prison and was there when Jerusalem was taken.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 14 Jeremiah Cast into a Pit
Jeremiah Cast into a Pit
v. 1. Then Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashur, the latter being of priestly descent, but full of enmity toward the prophet, and Jucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur, the son of Malchiah, 21:1, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
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v. 2. Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, 21:9; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, since Jehovah had now definitely decided that they should possess the land of Judah; for he shall have his life for a prey and shall live. Though all his goods might perish, the life of every such person would be spared.
v. 3. Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. Sayings of this kind were the gist of Jeremiah’s proclamation to the soldiers and to all members of the nation who happened to come into the court of the prison. Although he was under suspicion as favoring the enemy’s cause and even of playing traitor to his own nation, Jeremiah was not deterred from his course of action as the Lord’s messenger. This fact, however, filled the leaders of the people with the greatest bitterness.
v. 4. Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death; for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them, he caused their hands to hang down helplessly, he discouraged them utterly; for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. So far as outward appearances were concerned, there was some foundation for the complaint of the rulers, for the words of Jeremiah certainly tended to discourage any attempts at defending the city. At the same time, Jeremiah was the best of patriots, having the true welfare of his people in view, for the spirit exhibited by the rulers was not a confidence founded on the divine will, but a carnal obstinacy, which was bound to lead to destruction.
v. 5. Then Zedekiah, the king, weakly yielding to the demand of his counselors, especially since he seems to have harbored a secret grudge against the prophet on his own account, said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do anything against you. It was a complimentary speech, but at the same time a confession both of weakness of character and of weakness of authority.
v. 6. Then took they Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon, a pit formerly used as a cistern, of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison; and they let down Jeremiah with cords, there being no direct way of access to the bottom of the pit. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire, the mud and settlings that remained after the water had been drawn out; so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. The act shows the hatred of the princes. They did not have Jeremiah executed with the sword, as they might have done; but they deliberately chose this method of letting the prophet die under the most distressing circumstances, while they, at the same time, could quiet the voice of their conscience by declaring that they had not shed Jeremiah’s blood.
v. 7. Now, when Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, probably the chief officer of the king’s harem, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, the king then sitting in the Gate of Benjamin, one of the northern gates of the city, where he may have been superintending some work connected with the defense of the city,
v. 8. Ebed-melech went forth out of the king’s house and spake to the king, not secretly, but openly, fearlessly championing the cause of the persecuted prophet and risking the displeasure of the capricious king, saying,
v. 9. My lord the king, these men, who had ordered this cruelty to be performed against Jeremiah, 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, where he would be most likely to be overlooked; for there is no more bread in the city. Jeremiah had formerly received a daily allowance of bread, 37:21, but now either the public store of bread was exhausted, or there was practically no bread left anywhere.
v. 10. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, a sufficiently large squad under his command to protect Jeremiah in case some of the princes or their retainers should attempt to interfere with the work of rescuing the prophet, and take up Jeremiah, the prophet, out of the dungeon before he die. The remonstrance of Ebed-melech had had at least this much effect upon Zedekiah, that he determined to prevent outright murder.
v. 11. So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, to a room which was evidently used for storage purposes, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, remnants of cast-off and worn-out garments of every description, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Ebed-melech evidently possessed both presence of mind and resourcefulness, for he lost no time in beginning his work of rescuing the prophet.
v. 12. And Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, whose nationality is clearly mentioned time and again with the object of making his behavior stand out favorably by way of contrast with that of the Jews, said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords, to prevent them from cutting into the flesh as they drew him out of the pit. And Jeremiah did so.
v. 13. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison, still under arrest, but no longer in danger of slow death by starvation. God makes use even of the poor and lowly as instruments of His goodness in protecting His children.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 27 Shephatiah ... Mattan, Gedaliah ... Pashhur, Jehukal ... Shelemiah…
Shephatiah ... Mattan, Gedaliah ... Pashhur, Jehukal ... Shelemiah ... Pashhur ... Malkijah
men's names (See: How to Translate Names)
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Anyone staying in this city will be killed by sword, famine, and plague
This can be translated in active form. AT: "Anyone staying in this city will die by sword, famine, and plague" or "I will kill anyone staying in this city with sword, famine, and plague" (See: Active or Passive)
He will escape with his own life
The one who surrenders to the Babylonians will escape alive, even though he will lose all his possessions. See how you translated a similar phrase in Jeremiah 21:9.
This city will be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon
The word "hand" is a metonym for the power or control that the hand exercises. This can be translated in active form. AT: "I will allow the army of the king of Babylon to conquer Jerusalem" (See: Metonymy and Active or Passive)
he will capture it
The reader should understand that others will help the king of Babylon capture the city. "his army will capture it"
translationWords
word
Jeremiah
declare
Yahweh
sword
famine
plague
Chaldea
hand
king
Babylon
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 19, 20, 24 38:1-13 Jeremiah was free to talk to people while…
38:1-13 Jeremiah was free to talk to people while he was in the prison courtyard. He repeated the Lord’s decrees of judgment, but this stirred fierce anger among some of the government officials. Zedekiah showed his cowardice by letting these men put Jeremiah in a muddy cistern; the king also had a courageous moment when he permitted a palace servant to rescue Jeremiah and return him to the palace prison.
38:1 The Gedaliah mentioned here had a different father than the Gedaliah in 40:6. • The first Pashhur might have been the man in 20:1. The second Pashhur had a different father.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.