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Jeremiah 38:16

in Jeremiah 38

But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

KJV

So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

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This verse in Jeremiah 38

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

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.

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.”

This site's exposition

who has given us this life

Zedekiah swears in secret, by the LORD who gave both men their life. Albert Barnes calls the addition unusual in an oath and reads it as strengthening the pledge, with the king owning God's power over his soul. Adam Clarke calls it the first recorded oath by the soul.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly unto Jeremiah,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Zedekiah's oath on this occasion is solemn, and very observable: " As the Lord liveth, who made us this soul, who gave me my life and thee thine, I dare not take away thy life unjustly, knowing that then I should forfeit my own to him that is the Lord of life." Note, God is the Father of spirits; souls are his workmanship, and they are more fearfully and wonderfully made than bodies are.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

That made us this soul - This very unusual addition to the formula of an oath 1Sa 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.

The words behind it

26 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּשָּׁבַ֞עand he swore

    vaiyishava'H7650 →186 times

  • הַמֶּ֧לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • צִדְקִיָּ֛הוּZedekiah

    tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times

  • אֶֽל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • יִרְמְיָ֖הוּJeremiah

    yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times

  • בַּסֵּ֣תֶרin <the> secrecy

    baseterH5643 →36 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • חַי־[by] [the] life

    chai-H2416 →498 times

  • יְהוָ֞הof Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֲשֶׁר֩who

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עָשָׂה־he has made

    ʾasah-H6213 →2628 times

  • לָ֨נוּfor <the> us

    lanu

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַנֶּ֤פֶשׁthe life

    hanefeshH5315 →754 times

  • הַזֹּאת֙<the> this

    hazotH2063 →603 times

  • אִם־if

    ʾim-H518 →1069 times

  • אֲמִיתֶ֔ךָI will put to death you

    ʾamitekhaH4191 →839 times

  • וְאִם־and if

    veim-H518 →1069 times

  • אֶתֶּנְךָ֗I will give you

    ʾetenkhaH5414 →2011 times

  • בְּיַד֙in [the] hand of

    beyadH3027 →1618 times

  • הָאֲנָשִׁ֣יםthe men

    haanashimH582 →566 times

  • הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these

    haelehH428 →746 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • מְבַקְשִׁ֖ים[are] seeking

    mevakshimH1245 →225 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ סlife your

    nafshekhaH5315 →754 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

14 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ecclesiastes 12:7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.7 worksJeremiah 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 hand of the king of Babylon.”6 worksJeremiah 38:1–6Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard that Jeremiah had been telling all the people:5 worksZechariah 12:1This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him:4 worksJohn 3:2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”4 worksIsaiah 57:16For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me, with the breath of those I have made.4 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
Numbers 27:16“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation3 worksJeremiah 34:20I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.3 worksNumbers 16:22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”3 worksHebrews 12:9Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?2 worksIsaiah 42:5This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:2 worksJob 31:34because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—2 worksJeremiah 22:25In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.2 works1 Samuel 20:3But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Isaiah 57:16

    For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me, with the breath of those I have made.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 12:9

      Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Micah 7:18

      Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?

    • Jeremiah 10:24

      Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.

    • Psalms 85:5

      Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations?

  • Through

    John 3:2

    He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were…

    it leads to

    • John 5:36

      But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me.

    • Acts 10:38

      how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

    • Acts 2:22

      Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.

  • Through

    Zechariah 12:1

    This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 42:5

      This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 38 →

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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 38 →