Jeremiah 38:5

THE MESSAGE

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

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.

Easy-to-Read Version
So King Zedekiah said to the officials, "Jeremiah is in your control. I cannot do anything to stop 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.'

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 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

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
So Judah stepped in and told his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow at home with your father until my son Shelah grows up." He was worried that Shelah would also end up dead, just like his brothers. So Tamar went to live with her father.

Genesis 38:26
Judah saw they were his. He said, "She's in the right; I'm in the wrong—I wouldn't let her marry my son Shelah." He never slept with her again.

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.

1 Chronicles 4:21
The sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah and the family of linen workers at Beth Ashbea, Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (These records are from very old traditions.) They were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah, resident potters who worked for the king.

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!