Jeremiah 38:5

Easy-to-Read Version

So King Zedekiah said to the officials, "Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop you."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he’s in your hands since the king can’t do anything against you.”

Hebrew Names Version
Tzidkiyahu the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he who can do anything against you.

King James Version
Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

English Standard Version
King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you."

New American Standard Bible
And King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you."

New Century Version
King Zedekiah said to them, "Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop you."

Amplified Bible
Then King Zedekiah [fearing the princes] said, "Listen, he is in your hand; for the king is in no position to do anything against you."

World English Bible
Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he who can do anything against you.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Zedekiah the King sayd, Behold, he is in your hands, for ye King can denie you nothing.

Legacy Standard Bible
So King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you."

Berean Standard Bible
"Here he is," replied King Zedekiah. "He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you."

Contemporary English Version
Zedekiah replied, "Do what you want with him. I can't stop you."

Complete Jewish Bible
Tzidkiyahu the king said, "All right, he is in your hands; for the king can't prevent you from doing as you please."

Darby Translation
And king Zedekiah said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do a thing against you.

George Lamsa Translation
Then King Zedekiah said, Behold, he is in your hands; for the king cannot say anything to you.

Good News Translation
King Zedekiah answered, "Very well, then, do what you want to with him; I can't stop you."

Lexham English Bible
And Zedekiah the king said, "Look, he is in your hand, for the king is not able to do a thing against you."

Literal Translation
And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand. For the king cannot do anything against you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Sedechias the kinge answered and sayde: lo, he is in yor hodes, for ye kige maye denye you nothinge.

American Standard Version
And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do anything against you.

Bible in Basic English
Then Zedekiah the king said, See, he is in your hands: for the king was not able to do anything against them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then Zedekiah the king said: 'Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.'

King James Version (1611)
Then Zedekiah the king sayd, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Zedekia the kyng aunswered, and sayde, Lo, he is in your handes: for the kyng may denie you nothyng.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For ye have planted vineyards on the mountains of Samaria: plant ye, and praise.

English Revised Version
And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And kyng Sedechie seide, Lo! he is in youre hondis, for it is not leueful that the kyng denye ony thing to you.

Update Bible Version
And Zedekiah the king said, Look, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do anything against you.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he [is] in your hand: for the king [is] not [he that] can do [any] thing against you.

New English Translation
King Zedekiah said to them, "Very well, you can do what you want with him. For I cannot do anything to stop you."

New King James Version
Then Zedekiah the king said, "Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you."

New Living Translation
King Zedekiah agreed. "All right," he said. "Do as you like. I can't stop you."

New Life Bible
So King Zedekiah said, "He is in your hands. The king can do nothing against you."

New Revised Standard
King Zedekiah said, "Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said King Zedekiah, - Lo! he is in your hand; for the king is not one who is able to do anything against you.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And king Sedecias said: Behold he is in your hands: for it is not lawful for the king to deny you any thing.

Revised Standard Version
King Zedeki'ah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you."

Young's Literal Translation
And the king Zedekiah saith, `Lo, he [is] in your hand: for the king is not able for you [in] anything.'

THE MESSAGE
King Zedekiah caved in: "If you say so. Go ahead, handle it your way. You're too much for me."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you."

Contextual Overview

¹ Some of the royal officials heard what Jeremiah was saying. They were Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah. Jeremiah was telling all the people this message: ² "This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, hunger, or disease. But everyone who surrenders to the army of Babylon will live and escape with their lives.' ³ And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city of Jerusalem will surely be given to the army of the king of Babylon. He will capture this city.'" ⁴ Then the royal officials who heard what Jeremiah was telling the people went to King Zedekiah. They said to the king, "Jeremiah should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are still in the city and everyone else by what he is saying. He is not looking for peace; he is just trying to cause trouble." ⁵ So King Zedekiah said to the officials, "Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop you." ⁶ So the officials took Jeremiah and put him into Malkijah's cistern. Malkijah was the king's son. The cistern was in the Temple yard where the king's guard stayed. They used ropes to lower Jeremiah into the cistern. The cistern didn't have any water in it, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud. ⁷ But a man named Ebed Melech heard that the officials had put Jeremiah into the cistern. Ebed Melech was from Ethiopia, and he was a eunuch in the king's palace. King Zedekiah was sitting at the Benjamin Gate, so Ebed Melech left the king's palace and went to talk to the king at the gate. ⁸Ebed Melech said, "My lord and king, these officials have done evil. They have treated Jeremiah the prophet badly. They have thrown him into a cistern and left him there to die." ¹⁰ Then King Zedekiah gave a command to Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian. This was the command: "Ebed Melech, take three men from the palace with you, and go get Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies." ¹¹ So Ebed Melech took the men with him. But first he went to a room under the storeroom in the king's palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from that room. Then he let the rags down with some ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

for: 1 Samuel 15:24, 1 Samuel 29:9, 2 Samuel 3:39, 2 Samuel 19:22, Proverbs 29:25, John 19:12-16

Reciprocal: Genesis 16:6 - in Exodus 23:2 - to decline Joshua 9:25 - we are Job 1:12 - power Job 31:34 - Did I Jeremiah 26:14 - As for Jeremiah 37:17 - asked Jeremiah 38:19 - I Daniel 6:16 - the king

Cross-References

Genesis 38:11
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Go back to your father's house. Stay there and don't marry until my young son Shelah grows up." Judah was afraid that Shelah would also be killed like his brothers. So Tamar went back to her father's home.

Genesis 38:26
Judah recognized these things and said, "She is right. I was wrong. I did not give her my son Shelah like I promised." And Judah did not sleep with her again.

Genesis 46:12
Judah's sons were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan died while still in Canaan.) Perez's sons were Hezron and Hamul.

1 Chronicles 4:21
Shelah was Judah's son. Shelah's sons were Er, Laadah, Jokim, the men from Cozeba, Joash, and Saraph. Er was the father of Lecah. Laadah was the father of Mareshah and the tribes of linen workers at Beth Ashbea. Joash and Saraph married Moabite women. Then they went back to Bethlehem. The writings about this family are very old.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Zedekiah the king said, behold, he [is] in your hand,.... In your power, to do with him as you please. This is either a grant of the king, allowing them to do as they thought fit; or a declaration of their power, supposing them to be the princes of the sanhedrim, as Grotius thinks, to judge of a false prophet, and condemn him; but that they were such does not appear; nor does their charge of the prophet, or their procedure against him, confirm it. The former sense seems best:

for the king [is] not [he that] can do [any] thing against you; which is said either in a flattering way, that such was their interest in him, and so great his regard for them, that he could not deny them any thing. So it is in the old translations, "for the king may deny you nothing"; and, "the king can deny you nothing": or else in a complaining way, suggesting that, he was a king, and no king; that he had no power to oppose them; they would do as they pleased; and therefore it signified nothing applying to him; he should not say any thing against it; he would have no concern in it; they might do as they pleased, since he knew they would.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

All real power was in their hands, and as they affirmed that Jeremiah’s death was a matter of necessity, the king did not dare refuse it to them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 38:5. He is in your hand — Ye have power to do as you please; I must act by your counsel. Poor weak prince! you respect the prophet, you fear the cabal, and you sacrifice an innocent man to your own weakness and their malice!