Jeremiah 38:24
in Jeremiah 38Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you will die.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
KJV
Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
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This verse in Jeremiah 38
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans
on Jeremiah 38:19-28
Zedekiah names his fear: “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans.” Jeremiah answers, “They will not hand you over,” and describes the palace women mocking the king: “Your feet sank into the mire.” He remains in the courtyard “until the day Jerusalem was captured.”
This site's exposition
Do not let anyone know about this conversation
Zedekiah's only answer to the word is a demand for secrecy. Matthew Henry notes that he makes no promise even to consider God's counsel. His fear of the officials, the fear that gave Jeremiah up in verse 5, still governs him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): Let no man know of these words. he does not at all incline to take God's counsel, nor so much as promise to consider of it; for so obstinate has he been to the calls of God, and so wilful in the ways of sin, that though he has good counsel given him he seems to be given up to walk in his own counsels.
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 said Zedekiah to Jeremiah,....
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֜הוּ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֗הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יֵדַ֥ע | yeda' | he know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| בַּדְּבָֽרִים־ | badevarim- | in the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָמֽוּת׃ | tamut | you will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
צִדְקִיָּ֜הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִרְמְיָ֗הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
אִ֛ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יֵדַ֥עhe know
yeda'H3045 →945 times
בַּדְּבָֽרִים־in the words
badevarim-H1697 →1440 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תָמֽוּת׃you will die
tamutH4191 →839 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
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 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.