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Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Complete Jewish Bible

Jeremiah 38:16

So Tzidkiyahu swore secretly to Yirmeyahu, "As Adonai lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death; nor will I hand you over to these men who want you put to death."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Oath;   Prisoners;   Zedekiah;   Thompson Chain Reference - Oaths;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Prophecy, prophet;   Zedekiah;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - King;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Zedekiah,;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Oath;   Zedekiah (2);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in private, “As the Lord lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who intend to take your life.”
Hebrew Names Version
So Tzidkiyahu the king swore secretly to Yirmeyahu, saying, As the LORD 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.
King James Version
So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that 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.
English Standard Version
Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, "As the Lord lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life."
New American Standard Bible
But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, "As the LORD lives, who made this life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking your life."
New Century Version
But King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah, "As surely as the Lord lives who has given us breath and life, I will not kill you. And I promise not to hand you over to the officers who want to kill you."
Amplified Bible
But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, "As the LORD lives, who made our lives, be assured that I will not put you to death or put you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life."
World English Bible
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.
Geneva Bible (1587)
So the King sware secretly vnto Ieremiah, saying, As the Lorde liueth that made vs these soules, I will not slay thee, nor giue thee into the hands of those men that seeke thy life.
Legacy Standard Bible
But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, "As Yahweh lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death, nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who are seeking your life."
Berean Standard Bible
But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah secretly, "As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who are seeking your life."
Contemporary English Version
He said, "I swear in the name of the living Lord our Creator that I won't have you killed. No one else can hear what we say, and I won't let anyone kill you."
Darby Translation
And king Zedekiah swore secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, [As] Jehovah liveth, that 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.
Easy-to-Read Version
But King Zedekiah secretly swore an oath to Jeremiah. Zedekiah said, "As surely as the Lord lives, who gives us breath and life, I will not kill you, Jeremiah. And I promise not to give you to the officials who want to kill you."
George Lamsa Translation
So King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah in the palace, saying, As the LORD lives, who created soul in us, I will not put you to death, neither will I deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.
Good News Translation
So King Zedekiah promised me in secret, "I swear by the living God, the God who gave us life, that I will not put you to death or hand you over to the men who want to kill you."
Lexham English Bible
So Zedekiah the king swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, "As Yahweh lives, who has made for us this life, I will not kill you and I will not give you into the hand of these men who are seeking your life."
Literal Translation
And Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah lives, who made us this soul, I will not cause you to die, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
So the kynge swore an ooth secretly vnto Ieremy, sayenge: As truly as the LORDE lyueth, that made vs these soules, I will not slaye the, ner geue the in to the hodes of them, that seke after thy life.
American Standard Version
So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, that 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.
Bible in Basic English
So King Zedekiah gave his oath to Jeremiah secretly, saying, By the living Lord, who gave us our life, I will not put you to death, or give you up to these men who are desiring to take your life.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
So Zedekiah the king swore secretly unto Jeremiah, saying: 'As the LORD liveth, that 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.'
King James Version (1611)
So the king sware secretly vnto Ieremiah, saying, As the Lord liueth that made vs this soule, I wil not put thee to death, neither will I giue thee into the hand of these men that seeke thy life.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
So the kyng swore an oth secretely to Ieremie, saying: As the Lorde liueth that made vs these soules, I wyll not slay thee, nor geue thee into the handes of them that seke after thy lyfe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thus saith the Lord; Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thine eyes from thy tears: for their is a reward for thy works; and they shall return from the land of thine enemies.
English Revised Version
So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that 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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Sedechie the king swoor to Jeremye priueli, and seide, The Lord lyueth, that maad to vs this soule, Y schal not sle thee, and Y schal not bitake thee in to the hondis of these men, that seken thi lijf.
Update Bible Version
So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As Yahweh lives, that made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men that seek your life.
Webster's Bible Translation
So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, [As] the LORD liveth, that 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.
New English Translation
So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, "As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you."
New King James Version
So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, "As the LORD lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life."
New Living Translation
So King Zedekiah secretly promised him, "As surely as the Lord our Creator lives, I will not kill you or hand you over to the men who want you dead."
New Life Bible
But King Zedekiah promised Jeremiah in secret, "As the Lord lives, Who gave us life, for sure I will not kill you or give you over to these men who want to kill you."
New Revised Standard
So King Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, "As the Lord lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these men who seek your life."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So King Zedekiah aware unto Jeremiah secretly saying, - By the life of Yahweh who made for us, this soul, I will in no wise put thee to death, Neither will I deliver thee into the hand of these men who are seeking thy life.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Then king Sedecias swore to Jeremias, in private, saying: As the Lord liveth, that, made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, nor will I deliver thee into the hands of these men that seek thy life.
Revised Standard Version
Then King Zedeki'ah swore secretly to Jeremiah, "As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life."
Young's Literal Translation
And the king Zedekiah sweareth unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, `Jehovah liveth, He who made for us this soul, I do not put thee to death, nor give thee unto the hand of these men who are seeking thy soul.'
THE MESSAGE
Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah right there, but in secret, "As sure as God lives, who gives us life, I won't kill you, nor will I turn you over to the men who are trying to kill you."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, "As the LORD lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who are seeking your life."

Contextual Overview

14 Tzidkiyahu summoned and had Yirmeyahu brought to him through the third entry in the house of Adonai . Then the king said to Yirmeyahu, "I want to ask you something; don't hide anything from me." 15 Yirmeyahu said to Tzidkiyahu, "If I do say it to you, won't you have me put to death? And if I give you counsel, you won't listen to me." 16 So Tzidkiyahu swore secretly to Yirmeyahu, "As Adonai lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death; nor will I hand you over to these men who want you put to death." 17 Then Yirmeyahu said to Tzidkiyahu, "Here is what Adonai -Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: ‘If you will go out and surrender to the king of Bavel's officers, then you will stay alive — this city will not be burned down; and you and your family will live. 18 But if you will not go out to the king of Bavel's officers, then this city will be handed over to the Kasdim; they will burn it to the ground; and you will not escape from them.'" 19 Tzidkiyahu the king said to Yirmeyahu, "I am afraid of the Judeans who deserted to the Kasdim. The Kasdim might hand me over to them, and they would mistreat me." 20 Yirmeyahu answered, "They won't hand you over. I beg you, listen to the voice of Adonai concerning what I'm telling you about; then it will go well with you, and you will live. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, then this is the word Adonai has shown me: 22 all the women remaining in the king of Y'hudah's palace will be brought out to the king of Bavel's officers, and those women will taunt you: ‘Your own close friends misled you and took advantage of you. Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they have abandoned you.' 23 They will bring all your women and children out to the Kasdim, and you will not escape from them. Rather, you will be captured by the king of Bavel, and you will cause this city to be burned to the ground."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

sware: Jeremiah 37:17, John 3:2

that made: Numbers 16:22, Numbers 27:16, Ecclesiastes 12:7, Isaiah 57:16, Zechariah 12:1, Hebrews 12:9

of these: Jeremiah 38:1-6, Jeremiah 34:20

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 20:3 - as thy soul Job 31:34 - Did I Jeremiah 22:25 - I

Cross-References

Deuteronomy 23:18
"No woman of Isra'el is to engage in ritual prostitution, and no man of Isra'el is to engage in ritual homosexual prostitution.
2 Samuel 13:11
But when she brought them near, so that he could eat, he grabbed her and said to her, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
Ezekiel 16:33
but also instead of receiving gifts like every other prostitute, you give gifts to all your lovers, you bribe them to come to you from all over the place and have sex with you!
Matthew 26:15
and said, "What are you willing to give me if I turn Yeshua over to you?" They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to Y'hudah.
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all the evils; because of this craving, some people have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves to the heart with many pains.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly unto Jeremiah,.... The king not only gave the prophet his word, but also annexed to it his oath, that his life should be in no danger, either from him or his princes; this oath was made secretly, both for the honour of the king, he swearing to a subject, and that it might not be known by the princes, and for fear of them:

saying, [as] the Lord liveth, that made us this soul; or "these souls", as the Targum: here a superfluous word, את, is used; which, as the Jews observe, is one of the eight words which are written, but not read: he swears by the living God, by whom only men should swear, whenever it is necessary; this is the proper form of an oath; the appeal is to be made to the eternal God, that knows all things, the Father of spirits, the Maker of souls, and giver of the lives of all men, and who can take them away when he pleases. The sense is, may the living God, who has made my soul and yours, and given life to us both, may he take away my soul, my life, from me, if ever I make any attempt upon yours;

I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of those that seek thy life; he not only promises and swears to it, that he would not take awake his life with his own hands, or give orders to take it away; but he would not deliver him into the hands of his princes, who he knew were implacable enemies, and sought all opportunities and advantages against him; but then he makes no promise that he will take any counsel or advice that should be given him; as to this, he would lay himself under no obligation to observe, resolving to take his own way; if he liked it, to follow it; if not, to reject it; he would not be bound by it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That made us this soul - This very unusual addition to the formula of an oath 1 Samuel 20:3 was intended to strengthen it. By acknowledging that his soul was God’s workmanship Zedekiah also implied his belief in God’s power over it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 38:16. As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul — He is the living God, and he is the Author of that life which each of us possesses; and as sure as he lives, and we live by him, I will not put thee to death, nor give thee into the hands of those men who seek thy life. A very solemn oath; and the first instance on record of the profane custom of swearing by the soul.


 
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