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Easy-to-Read Version

Jeremiah 38:20

But Jeremiah answered, "The soldiers will not give you to the men of Judah. King Zedekiah, obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then things will go well for you, and your life will be saved.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Obedience;   Prisoners;   Zedekiah;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Obedience to God;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Zedekiah;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Foreknowledge of God;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - King;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Zedekiah,;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Foreknowledge;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live.
Hebrew Names Version
But Yirmeyahu said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of the LORD, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
King James Version
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord , which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
English Standard Version
Jeremiah said, "You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared.
New American Standard Bible
But Jeremiah said, "They will not turn you over. Please obey the LORD in what I am saying to you, so that it may go well for you and you may live.
New Century Version
But Jeremiah answered, "The Babylonians will not hand you over to the Jews. Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then things will go well for you, and your life will be saved.
Amplified Bible
But Jeremiah said, "They will not hand you over [to them]. Please obey [the voice of] the LORD [who speaks to you through me] in what I am saying to you. Then it will go well with you and you will live.
World English Bible
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of Yahweh, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But Ieremiah sayd, They shall not deliuer thee: hearken vnto the voyce of the Lorde, I beseech thee, which I speake vnto thee: so shal it be well vnto thee, and thy soule shall liue.
Legacy Standard Bible
But Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over. Please listen to the voice of Yahweh in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live.
Berean Standard Bible
"They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the voice of the LORD in what I am telling you, so it may go well with you and you may live.
Contemporary English Version
I said, "If you will just obey the Lord , the Babylonians won't hand you over to those Jews. You will be allowed to live, and all will go well for you.
Complete Jewish Bible
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.
Darby Translation
And Jeremiah said, They shall not give [thee] over. Hearken, I beseech thee, unto the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee; so shall it be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
George Lamsa Translation
But Jeremiah said, They will not deliver you. Obey the word of the LORD, which I speak to you; so it shall be well with you, and your life shall be saved.
Good News Translation
I said, "You will not be handed over to them. I beg you to obey the Lord 's message; then all will go well with you, and your life will be spared.
Lexham English Bible
And Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over. Please obey the voice of Yahweh with regard to what I am saying to you, and it will go well with you, and you will live.
Literal Translation
And Jeremiah said, They will not give. Please obey the voice of Jehovah which I am speaking to you, and it will be well with you and your soul will live.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Ieremy answerde: No, they shal not betraye the: O herken vnto the voyce off the LORDE (I beseke ye) which I speake vnto the, so shalt thou be well, and saue thy life.
American Standard Version
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.
Bible in Basic English
But Jeremiah said, They will not give you up: be guided now by the word of the Lord as I have given it to you, and it will be well for you, and you will keep your life.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
But Jeremiah said: 'They shall not deliver thee. Hearken, I beseech thee, to the voice of the LORD, in that which I speak unto thee; so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.
King James Version (1611)
But Ieremiah said, They shall not deliuer thee: obey, I beseech thee, the voyce of the Lord, which I speake vnto thee: so it shall be well vnto thee, and thy soule shall liue.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But Ieremie aunswered, No, they shall not betray thee: O hearken vnto the voyce of the Lorde I beseche thee, which I speake vnto thee, so shalt thou be well, and saue thy lyfe:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Ephraim is a beloved son, a pleasing child to me: for because my words are in him, I will surely remember him: therefore I made haste to help him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
English Revised Version
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Jeremye answeride, and seide to hym, Thei schulen not bitake thee; Y biseche, here thou the vois of the Lord, which Y schal speke to thee, and it schal be wel to thee, and thi soule schal lyue.
Update Bible Version
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I urge you, the voice of Yahweh, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
Webster's Bible Translation
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver [thee]. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak to thee: so it shall be well to thee, and thy soul shall live.
New English Translation
Then Jeremiah answered, "You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared.
New King James Version
But Jeremiah said, "They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
New Living Translation
Jeremiah replied, "You won't be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord . Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.
New Life Bible
But Jeremiah said, "They will not give you to them. Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you and you will live.
New Revised Standard
Jeremiah said, "That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver! - Hearken I pray thee unto the voice of Yahweh in what I am speaking unto thee, that it may be well with thee and thy soul live.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But Jeremias answered: They shall not deliver thee: hearken, I beseech thee, to the word of the Lord, which I speak to the, and it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.
Revised Standard Version
Jeremiah said, "You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared.
Young's Literal Translation
And Jeremiah saith, `They do not give thee up; hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of Jehovah, to that which I am speaking unto thee, and it is well for thee, and thy soul doth live.
THE MESSAGE
Jeremiah assured him, "They won't get hold of you. Listen, please. Listen to God 's voice. I'm telling you this for your own good so that you'll live. But if you refuse to turn yourself over, this is what God has shown me will happen: Picture this in your mind—all the women still left in the palace of the king of Judah, led out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and as they're led out they are saying: "‘They lied to you and did you in, those so-called friends of yours; And now you're stuck, about knee-deep in mud, and your "friends," where are they now?'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over. Please obey the LORD in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live.

Contextual Overview

14 Then King Zedekiah sent someone to get Jeremiah the prophet. He had Jeremiah brought to the third entrance to the Temple of the Lord . Then the king said, "Jeremiah, I am going to ask you something. Don't hide anything from me, but tell me everything honestly." 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I give you an answer, you will probably kill me. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me." 16 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." 17 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "The Lord God All-Powerful is the God of Israel. This is what he says, ‘If you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, your life will be saved, and Jerusalem will not be burned down. And you and your family will live. 18 But if you refuse to surrender, Jerusalem will be given to the Babylonian army. They will burn Jerusalem down, and you will not escape from them.'" 19 But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "But I am afraid of the men of Judah who have already gone over to the side of the Babylonian army. I am afraid that the soldiers will give me to those men, and they will treat me badly and hurt me." 20 But Jeremiah answered, "The soldiers will not give you to the men of Judah. King Zedekiah, obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then things will go well for you, and your life will be saved. 21 But if you refuse to surrender to the army of Babylon, the Lord has shown me what will happen. This is what he has told me: 22 All the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out. They will be brought to the important officials of the king of Babylon. Your women will make fun of you with a song. This is what they will say: ‘Your friends were stronger than you, and they led you the wrong way. You trusted them, but now your feet are stuck in the mud, and your friends have left you.' 23 "All your wives and children will be brought out. They will be given to the Babylonian army. You yourself will not escape from the army of Babylon. You will be captured by the king of Babylon, and Jerusalem will be burned down."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Obey: Jeremiah 26:13, 2 Chronicles 20:20, Daniel 4:27, Acts 26:29, 2 Corinthians 5:11, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 2 Corinthians 6:1, Philemon 1:8-10, James 1:22

and thy: Isaiah 55:3

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 15:19 - let them Jeremiah 27:13 - Why Ephesians 4:1 - beseech

Cross-References

Genesis 20:9
Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "Why have you done this to us? What wrong did I do to you? Why did you lie and say that she was your sister? You brought great trouble to my kingdom. You should not have done this to me.
Leviticus 19:17
"Don't secretly hate any of your neighbors. But tell them openly what they have done wrong so that you will not be just as guilty of sin as they are.
Judges 14:20
So Samson's wife was given to his best man.
2 Samuel 13:3
Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah. (Shimeah was David's brother.) Jonadab was a very clever man.
Luke 23:12
In the past Pilate and Herod had always been enemies. But on that day they became friends.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But Jeremiah said, they shall not deliver [thee],.... To take off the above excuse, or remove that objection, the prophet assures the king that the Chaldeans would never deliver him into the hands of the Jews; he might depend upon it, it would never be done:

obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee; the counsel he had given him, to surrender to the Chaldeans, was not from himself, but from the Lord: and though he had no express order to give it at that time, yet it was what was agreeable to the will of God, and what he had exhorted the people to in the beginning of this chapter; and therefore, since it came from the Lord, as it ought to be attended to, so he might be assured of the divine protection, should he act according to it:

so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live; that is, it would not only be much better with him than he feared, but than it would be with him should he obstinately stand out to the last; he should have more respect and honour from the king of Babylon; and not only have his life spared, but enjoy more of the comforts of life; particularly the sight of his eyes, which he lost when taken.


 
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