Jeremiah 38:15
in Jeremiah 38“If I tell you,” Jeremiah replied, “you will surely put me to death. And even if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me.
KJV
Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
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This verse in Jeremiah 38
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis 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.”
This site's exposition
you will surely put me to death
Jeremiah asks for a pledge of his life first. Matthew Henry says a prophet ready to die for his word may still seek to preserve his life by lawful means, as the apostles did. Albert Barnes takes the second clause as a plain statement that the king will not listen.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I am afraid thou wilt " (so some take it); "what else can I expect when thou art led blindfold by the princes?" Not that Jeremiah was backward to seal the doctrine he preached with his blood, when he was called to do so; but, in doing our duty, we ought to use all lawful means for our own preservation; even the apostles of Christ did so.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Wilt thou not hearken ...! - Rather, Thou wilt not hearken.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֔הוּ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַגִּ֣יד | ʾagid | I will tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| הֲל֖וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָמֵ֣ת | hamet | certainly <to put to death> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| תְּמִיתֵ֑נִי | temiteni | will you put to death me | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וְכִי֙ | vekhi | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִיעָ֣צְךָ֔ | ʾiatzekha | I will counsel you | H3289 → | 79 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁמַ֖ע | tishma' | you will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵלָֽי׃ | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙Jeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
צִדְקִיָּ֔הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
כִּ֚יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
אַגִּ֣ידI will tell
ʾagidH5046 →370 times
לְךָ֔to <the> you
lekha
הֲל֖וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
הָמֵ֣תcertainly <to put to death>
hametH4191 →839 times
תְּמִיתֵ֑נִיwill you put to death me
temiteniH4191 →839 times
וְכִי֙and if
vekhiH3588 →4482 times
אִיעָ֣צְךָ֔I will counsel you
ʾiatzekhaH3289 →79 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁמַ֖עyou will listen
tishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֵלָֽי׃to me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.