Jeremiah 38:10

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard the words Jeremiah was telling all the people: ²"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. ³This is what the LORD says: This city will surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it." ⁴Then the officials said to the king, "This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin." ⁵"Here he is," replied King Zedekiah. "He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you." ⁶So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. ⁷Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, ⁸Ebed-melech went out from the king's palace and said to the king, ⁹"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there is no more bread in the city." ¹⁰So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the king: Esther 5:2, Esther 8:7, Psalms 75:10, Proverbs 21:1

with thee: Heb. in thine hand

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 37:13 - Hananiah Jeremiah 37:16 - into the dungeon

Cross-References

Genesis 46:12
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

Numbers 11:1
Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.

Numbers 22:34
"I have sinned," Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, "for I did not realize that you were standing in the road to confront me. And now, if this is displeasing in Your sight, I will go back home."

Numbers 26:19
The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but they died in the land of Canaan.

2 Samuel 11:27
And when the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD.

1 Chronicles 21:7
This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel.

Proverbs 14:32
The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge when he dies.

Proverbs 24:18
or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.

Jeremiah 44:4
Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying: 'Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.'

Haggai 1:13
Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the LORD's message to the people, saying: "I am with you," declares the LORD.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian,.... Being affected with the case of the prophet; and repenting of the leave he had given the princes to do with him as they pleased, gave orders as follows:

saying, take from hence thirty men with thee; from the place where the king was, the gate of Benjamin; where very probably at this time was a garrison of soldiers, thirty of which were ordered to be taken; or these were to be taken out of the king's bodyguard, he had here with him. Josephus w calls them thirty of the king's servants, such as were about the king's person, or belonged to his household; and so the Syriac version of Jeremiah 38:11 says that Ebedmelech took with him men of the king's household; but why thirty of them, when three or four might be thought sufficient to take up a single man out of a dungeon? Abarbinel thinks the dungeon was very deep, and Jeremiah, ah old man, could not be got out but with great labour and difficulty. Jarchi and Kimchi say, the men were so weakened with the famine, that so many were necessary to draw out one man; but the true reason seems rather to be, that should the princes, whom the king might suspect, or any other, attempt to hinder this order being put in execution, there might be a sufficient force to assist in it, and repel those that might oppose it:

and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he die; the king speaks honourably of Jeremiah, giving him his title as a prophet, and expresses great concern for him; and orders them to hasten the taking him up, lest he should die before, which he suggests would give him great concern.

w Antiqu. l. 10. c. 7. sect. 5.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thirty men - So large a number suggests that Zedekiah expected some resistance. (Some read “three” men.)

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 38:10. Take from hence thirty men — The king was determined that he should be rescued by force, if the princes opposed.