Jeremiah 38:15

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance that is in the house of the LORD. "I am going to ask you something," said the king to Jeremiah. "Do not hide anything from me." ¹⁵"If I tell you," Jeremiah replied, "will you not surely put me to death? And even if I did give you advice, you would not listen to me."¹⁶But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah secretly, "As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you or hand you over to these men who are seeking your life." ¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive. ¹⁸But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.'" ¹⁹But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may hand me over to them to abuse me." ²⁰"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. ²¹But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me: ²²All the women who remain in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon, and those women will say: 'They misled you and overcame you-those trusted friends of yours. Your feet sank into the mire, and they deserted you.'" ²³All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Luke 22:67, Luke 22:68

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 1:12 - let me Proverbs 12:15 - but John 11:53 - put Hebrews 1:8 - a sceptre

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah,.... Here follows the prophets answer, in which he tacitly desires to be excused saying any thing upon this head, since it might be attended with danger to himself, and be of no service to the king; and therefore prudently thought fit to come into some agreement with the king, to secure himself, if he insisted upon it:

if I declare [it] unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? this he might fear, from past experience of the king's conduct; for, though he might not slay him with his own hands, or give orders to others to do it; yet he might deliver him up to the will and mercy of his princes, as he had done before; not that the prophet was afraid to die, or was deterred through fear of death from delivering the word of the Lord, and doing his work; but he thought it proper to make use of prudent means to preserve his life; besides, he had no express order from the Lord to say anything concerning this matter at this time:

and if give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken to me? or, "thou wilt not hearken to me" z; so the Targum, Syriac, and Vulgate Latin versions; and therefore it was to no purpose to give him any advice; from all this the king might easily understand the prophet had nothing to say that would be agreeable to him; however, he was very desirous to know what it was, and therefore promises indemnity and security, as follows:

z לא תשמע אלי "non audies me", V. L. Schmidt; "non audies ad me", Montanus; "non auscultabis mihi", Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Wilt thou not hearken ...! - Rather, Thou wilt not hearken.