Jeremiah 38:16

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

sware: Jeremiah 37:17, John 3:2

that made: Numbers 16:22, Numbers 27:16, Ecclesiastes 12:7, Isaiah 57:16, Zechariah 12:1, Hebrews 12:9

of these: Jeremiah 38:1-6, Jeremiah 34:20

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 20:3 - as thy soul Job 31:34 - Did I Jeremiah 22:25 - I

Cross-References

Deuteronomy 23:18
You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.

2 Samuel 13:11
And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said, "Come, lie with me, my sister!"

Ezekiel 16:33
Men give gifts to all their prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.

Matthew 26:15
and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?" And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly unto Jeremiah,.... The king not only gave the prophet his word, but also annexed to it his oath, that his life should be in no danger, either from him or his princes; this oath was made secretly, both for the honour of the king, he swearing to a subject, and that it might not be known by the princes, and for fear of them:

saying, [as] the Lord liveth, that made us this soul; or "these souls", as the Targum: here a superfluous word, את, is used; which, as the Jews observe, is one of the eight words which are written, but not read: he swears by the living God, by whom only men should swear, whenever it is necessary; this is the proper form of an oath; the appeal is to be made to the eternal God, that knows all things, the Father of spirits, the Maker of souls, and giver of the lives of all men, and who can take them away when he pleases. The sense is, may the living God, who has made my soul and yours, and given life to us both, may he take away my soul, my life, from me, if ever I make any attempt upon yours;

I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of those that seek thy life; he not only promises and swears to it, that he would not take awake his life with his own hands, or give orders to take it away; but he would not deliver him into the hands of his princes, who he knew were implacable enemies, and sought all opportunities and advantages against him; but then he makes no promise that he will take any counsel or advice that should be given him; as to this, he would lay himself under no obligation to observe, resolving to take his own way; if he liked it, to follow it; if not, to reject it; he would not be bound by it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That made us this soul - This very unusual addition to the formula of an oath 1 Samuel 20:3 was intended to strengthen it. By acknowledging that his soul was God’s workmanship Zedekiah also implied his belief in God’s power over it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 38:16. As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul — He is the living God, and he is the Author of that life which each of us possesses; and as sure as he lives, and we live by him, I will not put thee to death, nor give thee into the hands of those men who seek thy life. A very solemn oath; and the first instance on record of the profane custom of swearing by the soul.