Jeremiah 38:27
in Jeremiah 38When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he relayed to them the exact words the king had commanded him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had overheard the conversation.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
KJV
Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
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This verse in Jeremiah 38
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe matter was not perceived - They did not question him farther; and the king’s commandment to remove him from the house of Jonathan being well known, they took for granted that they had all the information that they sought. And he was most certainly not obliged to relate any thing that might embroil this weak king with his factious but powerful princes, or affect his own life. He related simply what was necessary, and no more.
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 Awakening3 voices
), and no doubt it was true: he would not let slip so fair an opportunity of engaging the king's favour; so that this was no lie or equivocation, but a part of the truth, which it was lawful for him to put them off with when he was under no obligation at all to tell them the whole truth.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. 6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Then came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him,....
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֨אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַשָּׂרִ֤ים | hasarim | the officials | H8269 → | 421 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| וַיִּשְׁאֲל֣וּ | vaiyishalu | and they asked | H7592 → | 171 times |
| אֹת֔וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וַיַּגֵּ֤ד | vaiyaged | and he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| כְּכָל־ | kekhol- | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֣ים | hadevarim | the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֖ה | tzivah | he had commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיַּחֲרִ֣שׁוּ | vaiyacharishu | and they kept silent | H2790 → | 74 times |
| מִמֶּ֔נּוּ | mimenu | from him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִשְׁמַ֖ע | nishma' | it had been heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| הַדָּבָֽר׃ פ | hadavar | the matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
וַיָּבֹ֨אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הַשָּׂרִ֤יםthe officials
hasarimH8269 →421 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙Jeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
וַיִּשְׁאֲל֣וּand they asked
vaiyishaluH7592 →171 times
אֹת֔וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וַיַּגֵּ֤דand he told
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
לָהֶם֙to <the> them
lahem
כְּכָל־according to all
kekhol-H3605 →5413 times
הַדְּבָרִ֣יםthe words
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֖הhe had commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיַּחֲרִ֣שׁוּand they kept silent
vaiyacharishuH2790 →74 times
מִמֶּ֔נּוּfrom him
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִשְׁמַ֖עit had been heard
nishma'H8085 →1159 times
הַדָּבָֽר׃ פthe matter
hadavarH1697 →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
Acts 23:6Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in…
it leads to
- Acts 24:15
and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
- Acts 24:21
unless it was this one thing I called out as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”
- Acts 26:5–8
They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.
- Philippians 3:5
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
- Acts 28:20
So for this reason I have called to see you and speak with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
- Acts 24:15
Through
2 Kings 6:19And Elisha told them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are seeking.” And he led them to Samaria.
it leads to
- Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- 2 Samuel 16:18–19
“Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by the people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain.
- Mark 8:34
Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- Matthew 16:24
About Jeremiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
