Jeremiah 38:6
in Jeremiah 38So 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 water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
KJV
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. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
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This verse in Jeremiah 38
Commentary
4 notes on this verseon Jeremiah 38:5-6
Why am I making such a point of all this? Because a monk should not look at the crowd of sinners but reflect on the way of life and the fewness of the saints. The whole of Judea was led into captivity. Nebuchadnezzar had come, and thousands of people were displaced into Babylonia as prisoners. Jeremiah alone was left praising God, and they threw him into a muddy cistern; nevertheless, the soul of this one man was more precious than that of all the people. Would you know what one person can do?
This site's exposition
heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people
on Jeremiah 38:1-6
Four princes report Jeremiah's public message, he that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and demand his execution on the ground that he weakeneth the hands of the men of war, treating the prophecy of doom as itself the cause of the coming doom rather than its accurate forecast. Zedekiah's answer, behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you, is the king's own confession of powerlessness before his court, the same weak man who had privately asked for a word from the Lord now surrendering the messenger to men who want him dead. Jeremiah is let down by cords into Malchiah's dungeon where there was no water, but mire, so that Jeremiah sunk in the mire, a slower death than the sword the princes did not formally order but plainly intended, as the bench reads their choice of method.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The dungeon - The cistern. Every house in Jerusalem was supplied with a subterranean cistern, so well constructed that the city never suffered in a siege from want of water. So large were they that when dry they seem to have been used for prisons Zec 9:11. Hammelech - See Jer 36:26 note. The prison - The guard. They threw Jeremiah into the nearest cistern, intending that he should die of starvation. Some have thought that Ps. 69 was composed by Jeremiah when in this cistern.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Hammelech-- (Jer 36:26). His son followed in the father's steps, a ready tool for evil. sunk in the mire--Jeremiah herein was a type of Messiah (Ps 69:2, 14). "I sink in deep mire," &c.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְח֣וּ | vaiyikchu | and they took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֗הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| וַיַּשְׁלִ֨כוּ | vaiyashlikhu | and they threw | H7993 → | 125 times |
| אֹת֜וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַבּ֣וֹר׀ | habor | the cistern of | H953 → | 66 times |
| מַלְכִּיָּ֣הוּ | malkiyahu | Malkijah | H4441 → | 16 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּחֲצַ֣ר | bachatzar | [was] in [the] courtyard of | H2691 → | 191 times |
| הַמַּטָּרָ֔ה | hamatarah | the guard | H4307 → | 16 times |
| וַיְשַׁלְּח֥וּ | vayshalechu | and they let down | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| בַּחֲבָלִ֑ים | bachavalim | with ropes | H2256 → | 62 times |
| וּבַבּ֤וֹר | uvabor | and in the cistern | H953 → | 66 times |
| אֵֽין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַ֙יִם֙ | mayim | [was] water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| טִ֔יט | tit | mud | H2916 → | |
| וַיִּטְבַּ֥ע | vaiyitba' | and he sank | H2883 → | |
| יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| בַּטִּֽיט׃ ס | batit | in the mud | H2916 → |
וַיִּקְח֣וּand they took
vaiyikchuH3947 →966 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִרְמְיָ֗הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
וַיַּשְׁלִ֨כוּand they threw
vaiyashlikhuH7993 →125 times
אֹת֜וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַבּ֣וֹר׀the cistern of
haborH953 →66 times
מַלְכִּיָּ֣הוּMalkijah
malkiyahuH4441 →16 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
הַמֶּ֗לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בַּחֲצַ֣ר[was] in [the] courtyard of
bachatzarH2691 →191 times
הַמַּטָּרָ֔הthe guard
hamatarahH4307 →16 times
וַיְשַׁלְּח֥וּand they let down
vayshalechuH7971 →845 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִרְמְיָ֖הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
בַּחֲבָלִ֑יםwith ropes
bachavalimH2256 →62 times
וּבַבּ֤וֹרand in the cistern
uvaborH953 →66 times
אֵֽין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
מַ֙יִם֙[was] water
mayimH4325 →581 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
טִ֔יטmud
titH2916 →
וַיִּטְבַּ֥עand he sank
vaiyitba'H2883 →
יִרְמְיָ֖הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
בַּטִּֽיט׃ סin the mud
batitH2916 →
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 69:2I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me.
it leads to
- Psalms 40:2
He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.
- Matthew 7:25
The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.
- Psalms 32:6
Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.
- Psalms 88:6–7
You have laid me in the lowest Pit, in the darkest of the depths.
- Psalms 40:2
Through
Jeremiah 37:21So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 38:13
and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
- Jeremiah 38:28
And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
- Jeremiah 38:9
“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there…
- Jeremiah 52:6
By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
- Jeremiah 38:13
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 54 (PS 143) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.