Jeremiah 38:2

THE MESSAGE

"This is God 's Message: ‘Whoever stays in this town will die—will be killed or starve to death or get sick and die. But those who go over to the Babylonians will save their necks and live.'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will retain his life like the spoils of war and will live.’

Hebrew Names Version
Thus says the LORD, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Kasdim shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.

King James Version
Thus saith the Lord , He that remaineth in this city 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 life for a prey, and shall live.

English Standard Version
"Thus says the Lord : He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live.

New American Standard Bible
"This is what the LORD says: 'Anyone who stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as plunder, and stay alive.'

New Century Version
"This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, or hunger, or terrible diseases. But everyone who surrenders to the Babylonian army will live; they will escape with their lives and live.'

Amplified Bible
"So says the LORD, 'He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by virulent disease (pestilence), but he who goes out to the Chaldeans [of Babylon] will live and have his [own] life as a reward and stay alive.'

World English Bible
Thus says Yahweh, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thus sayth the Lord, He that remaineth in this citie, shall dye by the sworde, by the famine and by the pestilence: but hee that goeth foorth to the Caldeans, shall liue: for he shall haue his life for a praye, and shall liue.

Legacy Standard Bible
"Thus says Yahweh, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as spoil and stay alive.'

Berean Standard Bible
"This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will escape with his life as a reward and will live.

Contemporary English Version
that the Lord had said, "If you stay here in Jerusalem, you will die in battle or from disease or hunger, and the Babylonian army will capture the city anyway. But if you surrender to the Babylonians, they will let you live."

Complete Jewish Bible
"Here is what Adonai says: whoever remains in this city will die by sword, famine and plague; but whoever leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim will stay alive; his own life will be his only ‘spoils of war,' but he will stay alive.

Darby Translation
Thus saith Jehovah: He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

Easy-to-Read Version
"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.'

George Lamsa Translation
Thus says the LORD: He who remains in this city shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live: and shall save his life.

Good News Translation
the Lord had said, "Whoever stays on in the city will die in war or of starvation or disease. But those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will not be killed; they will at least escape with their life."

Lexham English Bible
"Thus says Yahweh, ‘The one who stays in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague. But the one who goes out to the Chaldeans will live. And his life will be for him as booty, and he will live.'

Literal Translation
So says Jehovah, He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague. But he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and his life shall be a prize; and he shall live.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thus saieth the LORDE: Who so remayneth in this cite, shall perish, ether with the swearde, with honger or with pestilence: But who so falleth vnto the Caldees, shal escape, wynnynge his soule for a pray, & shal lyue.

American Standard Version
Thus saith Jehovah, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.

Bible in Basic English
These are the words of the Lord: Whoever goes on living in this town will come to his death by the sword or through need of food or by disease: but whoever goes out to the Chaldaeans will keep his life out of the power of the attackers and be safe.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
'Thus saith the LORD: He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.

King James Version (1611)
Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this citie, shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he that goeth forth to the Caldeans, shall liue: for he shall haue his life for a pray, and shall liue.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thus saith the Lorde, Who so remayneth in this citie, shall perishe either with the sworde, with hunger, or with pestilence: but who so falleth vnto the Chaldees shal escape, winning his soule for a pray, and shall lyue.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thus saith the Lord, I found him warm in the wilderness with them that were slain with the sword: go ye and destroy not Israel.

English Revised Version
Thus saith the LORD, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`and seide, The Lord seith these thingis, Who euer dwellith in this citee, schal die bi swerd, and hungur, and pestilence; but he that flieth to Caldeis, shal lyue, and his soule schal be hool and lyuynge.

Update Bible Version
Thus says Yahweh, He that abides in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey, and he shall live.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city 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 life for a prey, and shall live.

New English Translation
"The Lord says, ‘Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives.'"

New King James Version
"Thus says the Lord: 'He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.' Jeremiah 21:9">[fn]

New Living Translation
"This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!'

New Life Bible
"The Lord says, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by hunger and by disease. But he who goes over to the Babylonians will live. He will get away with his life and live.'

New Revised Standard
Thus says the Lord , Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war, and live.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thus saith Yahweh, He that remaineth in this city shall die, by sword by famine, or by pestilence, - whereas, he that goeth forth unto the Chaldeans, shall live, so shall he have his life for a spoil, and shall live.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thus saith the Lord: Whosoever shall remain in this city, shall die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence: but he that shall go forth to the Chaldeans, shall live, and his life shall be safe, and he shall live.

Revised Standard Version
"Thus says the LORD, He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out to the Chalde'ans shall live; he shall have his life as a prize of war, and live.

Young's Literal Translation
`Thus said Jehovah: He who is remaining in this city dieth, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and he who is going forth unto the Chaldeans liveth, and his soul hath been to him for a prey, and he liveth.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Thus says the LORD, 'He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as booty and stay alive.'

Contextual Overview

¹ Shaphatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling the people, namely: ² "This is God 's Message: ‘Whoever stays in this town will die—will be killed or starve to death or get sick and die. But those who go over to the Babylonians will save their necks and live.' ³ "And, God 's sure Word: ‘This city is destined to fall to the army of the king of Babylon. He's going to take it over.'" ⁴ These officials told the king, "Please, kill this man. He's got to go! He's ruining the resolve of the soldiers who are still left in the city, as well as the people themselves, by spreading these words. This man isn't looking after the good of this people. He's trying to ruin us!" ⁵ King Zedekiah caved in: "If you say so. Go ahead, handle it your way. You're too much for me." ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah the king's son that was in the courtyard of the palace guard. They lowered him down with ropes. There wasn't any water in the cistern, only mud. Jeremiah sank into the mud. ⁷Ebed-melek the Ethiopian, a court official assigned to the royal palace, heard that they had thrown Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was holding court in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-melek went immediately from the palace to the king and said, "My master, O king—these men are committing a great crime in what they're doing, throwing Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern and leaving him there to starve. He's as good as dead. There isn't a scrap of bread left in the city." ¹⁰ So the king ordered Ebed-melek the Ethiopian, "Get three men and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies." ¹¹Ebed-melek got three men and went to the palace wardrobe and got some scraps of old clothing, which they tied together and lowered down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-melek the Ethiopian called down to Jeremiah, "Put these scraps of old clothing under your armpits and around the ropes." Jeremiah did what he said. ¹³ And so they pulled Jeremiah up out of the cistern by the ropes. But he was still confined in the courtyard of the palace guard.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

He: Jeremiah 38:17-23, Jeremiah 21:8, Jeremiah 21:9, Jeremiah 24:8, Jeremiah 27:13, Jeremiah 29:18, Jeremiah 34:17, Jeremiah 42:17, Jeremiah 42:22, Jeremiah 44:13, Ezekiel 5:12-17, Ezekiel 6:11, Ezekiel 7:15, Ezekiel 14:21, Matthew 24:7, Matthew 24:8, Revelation 6:4-8

shall have: Jeremiah 21:9, Jeremiah 39:18, Jeremiah 45:5

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 25:3 - there was no Isaiah 22:2 - thy slain Jeremiah 1:18 - against Jeremiah 21:4 - Behold Jeremiah 25:2 - General Jeremiah 27:11 - those Jeremiah 29:16 - General Ezekiel 5:2 - shalt burn Acts 17:6 - These

Cross-References

Genesis 3:6
When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

Genesis 6:4
This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.

Genesis 46:12
Judah's sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (Er and Onan had already died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

Judges 16:1
Samson went to Gaza and saw a prostitute. He went to her. The news got around: "Samson's here." They gathered around in hiding, waiting all night for him at the city gate, quiet as mice, thinking, "At sunrise we'll kill him."

2 Samuel 11:2
One late afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace. From his vantage point on the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was stunningly beautiful. David sent to ask about her, and was told, "Isn't this Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite?" David sent his agents to get her. After she arrived, he went to bed with her. (This occurred during the time of "purification" following her period.) Then she returned home. Before long she realized she was pregnant. Later she sent word to David: "I'm pregnant."

1 Chronicles 2:3
Judah had Er, Onan, and Shelah; their mother was Bathshua the Canaanite. Er, Judah's firstborn, was so bad before God that God killed him. Judah also had Perez and Zerah by his daughter-in-law Tamar—a total of five sons. Perez had Hezron and Hamul; Zerah had Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda—five sons. Carmi had Achar, who brought doom on Israel when he violated a holy ban. Ethan's son was Azariah. And Hezron had Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai.

2 Corinthians 6:14
Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: "I'll live in them, move into them; I'll be their God and they'll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good," says God. "Don't link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself. I'll be a Father to you; you'll be sons and daughters to me." The Word of the Master, God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thus saith the Lord, he that remaineth in this city,.... Of Jerusalem; that does not go out of it, and surrender himself to the Chaldeans; but continues in it fighting against them:

shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; that is, by one or other of these:

but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live: that goes out of the city, throws down his arms, delivers up himself to the Chaldean army, and submits to their mercy, shall have quarters given him, and his life shall be spared:

for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live; or, "his soul, and it shall live" n; comfortably and in safety; he shall escape with his life, and that shall be preserved from the sword, famine, and pestilence; and whereas it was, as it were, lost, it shall be recovered out of the jaws of death, out of the above calamities it was exposed to; and so be like a prey taken out of the hands of the mighty, and be quite safe.

n והיתה לו נפשו לשלל וחי "et erit illi anima ejus in praedam et vivet", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt.