Jeremiah 38:14
in Jeremiah 38Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of Jehovah: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
KJV
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
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This verse in Jeremiah 38
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThen Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him,.... When the prophet was taken out of the dungeon, and brought to the court of the prison, of which the king had knowledge, he sent some person or persons to bring him to him, to have some private conversation with him: into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord; what place is meant Jarchi confesses his ignorance of, but conjectures it was the court of the Israelites; the outward court, and the court of the women, being before it.
This site's exposition
“Do not hide anything from me.”
on Jeremiah 38:14-18
Zedekiah meets Jeremiah and asks him to hide nothing, and Jeremiah answers, “you will surely put me to death.” The king swears secretly to spare him. The word sets two outcomes: if he surrenders, “you will live,” and if he refuses, he “will not escape their grasp.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Whatever word thou has for me hide it not from me; let me know the worst." He had been told plainly what things would come to in the foregoing chapter, but, like Balaam, he asks again, in hopes to get a more pleasing answer, as if God, who is in one mind, were altogether such a one as himself, who was in many minds.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The third entry - There was probably a passage from the palace to the temple at this entry, and the meeting would take place in some private chamber close by.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The third gate of the temple facing the palace; for through it the entrance lay from the palace into the temple (1Ki 10:5, 12). It was westward (1Ch 26:16, 18; But in the future temple it is eastward (Eze 46:1, 2, 8).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Into the third entry - A place to enter which two others must be passed through.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
the third entrance I do not know where it is. Perhaps it is in the Israelites’ Court. The appellation “third” is to say that the hel [the wall surrounding the Temple Court], and the Women’s Court are before it.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֞ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֗הוּ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| וַיִּקַּ֞ח | vaiyikach | and he brought | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֤הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| הַנָּבִיא֙ | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מָבוֹא֙ | mavo' | an entrance | H3996 → | |
| הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י | hashelishi | <the> third | H7992 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּבֵ֣ית | beveit | [was] in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֗הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| שֹׁאֵ֨ל | shoel | [am] about to ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֹֽתְךָ֙ | ʾotekha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דָּבָ֔ר | davar | a matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּכַחֵ֥ד | tekhached | you hide | H3582 → | 32 times |
| מִמֶּ֖נִּי | mimeni | from me | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| דָּבָֽר׃ | davar | anything | H1697 → | 1440 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֞חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
צִדְקִיָּ֗הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
וַיִּקַּ֞חand he brought
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִרְמְיָ֤הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
הַנָּבִיא֙the prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מָבוֹא֙an entrance
mavo'H3996 →
הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י<the> third
hashelishiH7992 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּבֵ֣ית[was] in [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִרְמְיָ֗הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
שֹׁאֵ֨ל[am] about to ask
shoelH7592 →171 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֹֽתְךָ֙<obj.> you
ʾotekhaH853 →10935 times
דָּבָ֔רa matter
davarH1697 →1440 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּכַחֵ֥דyou hide
tekhachedH3582 →32 times
מִמֶּ֖נִּיfrom me
mimeniH4480 →1188 times
דָּבָֽר׃anything
davarH1697 →1440 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 37:17Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:7
‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon…
- Jeremiah 38:14–16
Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do…
- Jeremiah 38:24–27
Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die.
- Jeremiah 24:8
But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land…
- Jeremiah 38:5
“Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.”
- Jeremiah 21:7
Through
Jeremiah 42:20For you have deceived yourselves by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell…
it leads to
- James 1:22
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
- Jeremiah 42:2
Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can…
- Ezekiel 14:3–4
“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way?
- James 1:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonLate monarchy / ExileJeremiahPriest of Anathoth called before birth to uproot and to plant; the weeping prophet of Jerusalem's fall who bought a field in the s…
- PersonExileZedekiahJudah's last king, who broke his oath to Babylon against Jeremiah's word; his sons slain before his eyes at Riblah, and the city a…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.