Jeremiah 38:22
in Jeremiah 38All 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.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed over thee: now that thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back.
KJV
And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 38
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAll the women - brought forth - I think this place speaks of a kind of defection among the women of the harem; many of whom had already gone forth privately to the principal officers of the Chaldean army, and made the report mentioned in the end of this verse. These were the concubines or women of the second rank.
This site's exposition
I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen
on Jeremiah 38:19-28
Zedekiah's real fear surfaces at last, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me, terror of his own defectors outweighing terror of Babylon or of God, and Jeremiah's answer, they shall not deliver thee, cannot move him past it. The vision of the king's own women taunting him, thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back, echoes Jeremiah's own dungeon in mire back at the king who put him there, a detail the bench reads as deliberate. Zedekiah extracts a promise of silence about the conversation, and Jeremiah keeps it exactly when the princes come asking, so that he remains in the court of the prison until the day Jerusalem falls, obedient to the letter of a secrecy the king demanded but not to the counsel the king refused.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now thy feet are sunk in the mire, thou art embarrassed, and hast noway to help thyself; thy feet cannot get forward, but are turned away back. " Thus will Zedekiah be bantered by the women, when all his wives and children shall be made a prey to the conquerors,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Not merely the Jewish deserters shall "mock" him (Jer 38:19), but the very "women" of his own palace and harem, to gratify their new lords, will taunt him. A noble king in sooth, to suffer thyself to be so imposed on! Thy friends--Hebrew, "men of thy peace" (see Jer 20:10;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
All the women that are left - Belonging to the harems of former kings (compare 1Ki 2:22), attendants, and slaves. Thy friends ... - This satirical song (compare Oba 1:7) should be translated as a distich: Thy friends have urged thee on and prevailed upon thee: Thy feet are stuck in the mire; they have turned back. Thy friends - literally “men of thy peace,” thy acquaintance Jer 20:10. They urge Zedekiah on to a hopeless struggle with the Chaldaeans, and when he gets into difficulties leave him in the lurch.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּ֣ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנָּשִׁ֗ים | hanashim | the women | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִשְׁאֲרוּ֙ | nisharu | they are left | H7604 → | 133 times |
| בְּבֵ֣ית | beveit | in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| מוּצָא֕וֹת | mutzaot | [are] about to be brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׂרֵ֖י | sarei | [the] commanders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶ֑ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְהֵ֣נָּה | vehenah | and they | H2007 → | |
| אֹמְר֗וֹת | ʾomerot | [will be] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִסִּית֜וּךָ | hisitukha | they misled you | H5496 → | |
| וְיָכְל֤וּ | veyakhelu | and they prevailed | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אַנְשֵׁ֣י | ʾanshei | [the] people of | H582 → | 566 times |
| שְׁלֹמֶ֔ךָ | shelomekha | peace your | H7965 → | 236 times |
| הָטְבְּע֥וּ | hatebeu | they are sunk | H2883 → | |
| בַבֹּ֛ץ | vabotz | in the mire | H1206 → | |
| רַגְלֶ֖ךָ | raglekha | feet your | H7272 → | 247 times |
| נָסֹ֥גוּ | nasogu | they have turned | H5472 → | |
| אָחֽוֹר׃ | ʾachor | backwards | H268 → | 41 times |
וְהִנֵּ֣הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הַנָּשִׁ֗יםthe women
hanashimH802 →781 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נִשְׁאֲרוּ֙they are left
nisharuH7604 →133 times
בְּבֵ֣יתin [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
מוּצָא֕וֹת[are] about to be brought out
mutzaotH3318 →1067 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שָׂרֵ֖י[the] commanders of
sareiH8269 →421 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶ֑לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וְהֵ֣נָּהand they
vehenahH2007 →
אֹמְר֗וֹת[will be] saying
ʾomerotH559 →5305 times
הִסִּית֜וּךָthey misled you
hisitukhaH5496 →
וְיָכְל֤וּand they prevailed
veyakheluH3201 →194 times
לְךָ֙to <the> you
lekha
אַנְשֵׁ֣י[the] people of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
שְׁלֹמֶ֔ךָpeace your
shelomekhaH7965 →236 times
הָטְבְּע֥וּthey are sunk
hatebeuH2883 →
בַבֹּ֛ץin the mire
vabotzH1206 →
רַגְלֶ֖ךָfeet your
raglekhaH7272 →247 times
נָסֹ֥גוּthey have turned
nasoguH5472 →
אָחֽוֹר׃backwards
ʾachorH268 →41 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
Psalms 69:14Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink; deliver me from my foes and out of the deep waters.
it leads to
- Psalms 144:7
Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,
- Jeremiah 38:6–13
So 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…
- Psalms 109:21
But You, O GOD, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
- Psalms 144:7
Through
Lamentations 1:2She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
it leads to
- Psalms 6:6
I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
- Micah 7:5
Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
- Psalms 6:6
Through
Lamentations 5:11Women have been ravished in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah.
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:16
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
- Isaiah 13:16
Through
Jeremiah 43:6the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 39:10
But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
- Jeremiah 40:7
When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in…
- Jeremiah 39:10
About Jeremiah

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
