Jeremiah 38 narrates the prophet's lowest physical point and his final exchange with Zedekiah. Four officials hear Jeremiah's continued message that only surrender to Babylon will save lives, and they petition the king to have him executed for undermining military morale. Zedekiah capitulates, handing Jeremiah over to the officials, who lower him into the cistern of Malkijah son of the king, where he sinks into the mud. Ebed-Melech, a Cushite official in the royal palace, intervenes — he appeals directly to Zedekiah, who authorizes a rescue. Ebed-Melech lowers rags and worn cloth for Jeremiah to pad the ropes, then pulls him out. In the chapter's second half, Zedekiah summons Jeremiah one final time, swearing a secret oath not to kill him. Jeremiah delivers his last counsel: surrender to the officers of Babylon and you will live; refuse, and the city will burn and you will not escape. Zedekiah confesses his real fear — not the Babylonians, but the Judeans who have already deserted, who might abuse him. Jeremiah assures him this will not happen if he surrenders. The king swears Jeremiah to secrecy about their conversation, and Jeremiah remains in the court of the guard until Jerusalem falls.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
This chapter contains one of the most vivid rescue scenes in the Hebrew Bible. The detail of Ebed-Melech lowering worn rags and old cloth (selavot beloyei secharavot, v. 11-12) for Jeremiah to pad under his arms before being pulled up is extraordinarily specific — it reflects both physical compassion and practical wisdom. Ebed-Melech is a Cushite (Ethiopian), a foreign official who shows more moral courage than any Judean in the narrative. His name means 'servant of the king,' but he serves the true King by rescuing the true prophet. God rewards his faith explicitly in 39:15-18. The chapter also reveals the full tragedy of Zedekiah: a man who privately agrees with the prophet, who even tries to protect him, but who is controlled by his own officials and paralyzed by fear. His confession in verse 19, 'I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans,' is devastating — the king of Judah fears his own defectors more than he fears God.
Translation Friction
The phrase 'the king cannot do anything against you' (v. 5) uses the Hebrew eyn ha-melekh yukhal etkhem davar, which is difficult — it could mean 'the king is unable to oppose you' (political weakness) or 'the king will not refuse you anything' (passive consent). We rendered it to capture Zedekiah's abdication of authority. The word selavot (v. 11) is rare and its exact meaning debated — possibly 'rags,' 'worn-out cloths,' or 'tattered garments.' Paired with beloyei ('worn out'), the phrase emphasizes the threadbare, discarded nature of the material. The verb tava (v. 6, 'he sank') describes sinking into the tit ('mud, mire') at the bottom of the cistern — we preserved the visceral quality of the image. Zedekiah's final instruction to Jeremiah to mislead the officials (vv. 25-26) raises an ethical question about deception that we document without resolving.
Connections
Ebed-Melech's rescue of Jeremiah from the cistern contrasts with the brothers who threw Joseph into a bor (Genesis 37:24) — both are pits, but Ebed-Melech reverses the crime of Joseph's brothers. God's explicit promise of safety to Ebed-Melech (39:15-18) echoes the reward given to Rahab the Canaanite (Joshua 6:25) — both are foreigners who protect God's people and are saved from the destruction that follows. Zedekiah's fear of the Judean deserters (v. 19) connects to the broader theme of nafal ('to fall/desert') that runs through chapters 37-39. The final counsel to surrender connects directly to 21:8-10, where Jeremiah first publicly offered the choice between the way of life and the way of death. Jeremiah's continued confinement in the court of the guard until the city's fall (v. 28) sets up the narrative of chapter 39.
Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people:
KJV Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Four officials are named — a formal accusation requires multiple witnesses. Jehucal (Jucal) is the same man Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah in 37:3 as a supplicant; he now turns accuser. Pashhur son of Malkijah appeared in 21:1 in a similar diplomatic role. The verb medabber (participle, 'was speaking') indicates continuous, ongoing public preaching — Jeremiah had not stopped despite his recent imprisonment.
This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, or by plague. But whoever goes out to the Chaldeans will live — his life will be his plunder, and he will survive.
KJV Thus saith the LORD, 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; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
נַפְשׁוֹ לְשָׁלָלnafsho le-shalal
"his life will be his plunder"—his soul/life as spoil/plunder/booty
A vivid metaphor: in the ruin of the city, the only 'loot' the survivor will carry away is his own life. The phrase acknowledges total material loss while affirming survival.
Translator Notes
The triad cherev, ra'av, dever ('sword, famine, plague') is one of Jeremiah's most characteristic formulas, appearing over a dozen times in the book as covenant-curse language. The striking phrase nafsho le-shalal ('his life will be his plunder') means that the deserter's only spoil of war will be his own survival — he will escape with nothing but his life, as though he had plundered it from the wreckage. This is the same message as 21:9.
This is what the LORD says: This city will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.
KJV Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, which shall take it.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The infinitive absolute hinnaton tinnaten ('being given it will be given') creates emphatic certainty — the construction doubles the verb to remove all doubt. The outcome is not conditional or negotiable. The verb lakad ('capture, seize') is a military term for the fall of a fortified position.
The officials said to the king, "Let this man be put to death, because he is weakening the resolve of the soldiers who remain in this city and the resolve of all the people by speaking these words to them. This man does not seek the welfare of this people but their ruin."
KJV Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
מְרַפֵּא אֶת־יְדֵיmerappeh et yedei
"weakening the resolve of"—weakening the hands of, causing hands to go slack, demoralizing
A military idiom attested in both biblical and extrabiblical sources. The Lachish Letters, contemporary with Jeremiah, use the same phrase in a military complaint, providing extraordinary archaeological corroboration of the social dynamics described here.
Translator Notes
The idiom merappeh et yedei ('weakening the hands of') is a military expression for undermining morale — literally making the warriors' hands go slack so they cannot grip their weapons. Remarkably, this exact phrase appears in the Lachish Letters (Letter VI, c. 588 BCE), a contemporary military correspondence complaining that officials in Jerusalem were 'weakening the hands' of the people — possibly a direct reference to Jeremiah's preaching. The officials frame their accusation in patriotic terms: Jeremiah seeks ra'ah ('ruin, disaster') rather than shalom ('welfare') for the people.
King Zedekiah answered, "He is in your hands. The king can do nothing to oppose you."
KJV Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Zedekiah's capitulation is staggering. The statement eyn ha-melekh yukhal etkhem davar ('the king cannot do anything against you') is an open admission of royal impotence. The king refers to himself in the third person, as if distancing himself from his own powerlessness. He does not condemn Jeremiah or endorse the death sentence — he simply abandons the prophet to the officials' will. This is the portrait of a king who has lost all authority over his own court.
They took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malkijah, a son of the king, which was in the court of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah down with ropes. There was no water in the cistern — only mud. And Jeremiah sank into the mud.
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.
Notes & Key Terms
2 terms
Key Terms
בּוֹרbor
"cistern"—pit, cistern, well, dungeon
A water-storage cistern carved into bedrock. When empty, these became makeshift prisons — dark, cold, and often filled with mud at the bottom. The same word describes Joseph's pit in Genesis 37:24.
טִיטtiyt
"mud"—mud, mire, clay, silt
The accumulated sediment at the bottom of an empty cistern. Thick enough to trap a person, this detail makes the cistern a death trap, not merely a prison.
Translator Notes
The bor ('cistern, pit') was a bell-shaped water-storage chamber cut into rock, common in Judean architecture. When empty of water, thick mud collected at the bottom. The phrase vayyitba Yirmeyahu battiyt ('and Jeremiah sank into the mud') is viscerally descriptive — the verb tava ('to sink, to be swallowed') conveys slow submersion. Without rescue, Jeremiah would have suffocated or died of exposure in the mud. The phrase ben ha-melekh ('son of the king') may mean a literal prince or a royal official bearing that title.
When Ebed-Melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern — the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate at the time —
KJV Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
כּוּשִׁיKushi
"Cushite"—Cushite, Ethiopian, person from Cush (Upper Nile region)
Cush was the region south of Egypt, encompassing modern Sudan and parts of Ethiopia. Cushites served in various capacities in the ancient Near East. Ebed-Melech's foreign origin makes his moral courage more striking — a foreigner rescues the prophet whom Judah's own leaders tried to kill.
Translator Notes
Ebed-Melech ('servant of the king') is identified as a Kushi ('Cushite'), meaning he was from the region of Cush (modern Sudan/Ethiopia). The word saris can mean 'eunuch' or simply 'court official' — the term had evolved by this period to designate high-ranking officials regardless of physical status. We rendered it 'court official' as the narrative emphasizes his role and access rather than physical condition. The detail of the king sitting at the Benjamin Gate places Zedekiah in a public judicial setting where Ebed-Melech can approach him.
Ebed-Melech left the royal palace and spoke to the king:
KJV Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vayyetse ('he went out') indicates urgency — Ebed-Melech left the palace compound to find the king at the city gate. He acts immediately, without waiting for a convenient moment or seeking permission through intermediaries.
"My lord the king, these men have done a terrible thing in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have thrown him into the cistern, and he will die there from starvation, for there is no more bread in the city."
KJV My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Ebed-Melech uses the formal court address adoni ha-melekh ('my lord the king') and frames his appeal in moral terms: here'u ('they have done evil, acted wickedly'). He does not merely report the situation but passes judgment on the officials' actions. The phrase vayyamot tachtav ('he will die in his place,' literally 'beneath him') may refer to Jeremiah dying where he is, stuck in the mud. The famine detail — 'there is no more bread in the city' — explains why the daily ration from the Bakers' Street (37:21) has ceased.
Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here under your authority and pull the prophet Jeremiah up out of the cistern before he dies."
KJV Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The number thirty is surprisingly large for a rescue operation — it may indicate the depth of the cistern or the difficulty of extracting a man from thick mud, or it may serve as a royal guard escort to prevent the officials from interfering. The phrase beterem yamut ('before he dies') reveals that Zedekiah acts under the threat of Jeremiah's imminent death — he does not initiate the rescue but responds to Ebed-Melech's moral pressure. The phrase be-yadekha ('under your hand/authority') gives Ebed-Melech command over the operation.
Ebed-Melech took the men under his command and went into the royal palace, to a storeroom beneath the treasury. From there he took worn-out rags and tattered scraps of cloth, and lowered them down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes.
KJV So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts, and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The detailed description of Ebed-Melech gathering beloyei sechabot u-beloyei melachim ('worn-out rags and tattered scraps') from a palace storeroom is one of the most humanizing moments in the prophetic literature. He thinks ahead to the practical problem: ropes alone under the armpits of a weakened man stuck in mud would cut into the flesh. The storeroom 'beneath the treasury' (tachat ha-otsar) suggests a basement or cellar area where discarded materials were kept.
Ebed-Melech the Cushite called down to Jeremiah, "Put the worn rags and scraps of cloth under your arms, beneath the ropes." And Jeremiah did so.
KJV And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase tachat atsilot yadekha ('under the hollows of your arms,' i.e., your armpits) is anatomically precise. Ebed-Melech's instruction reveals practical compassion — he understands that Jeremiah, weakened and possibly injured, would be further hurt by rough ropes cutting into bare skin. The rags serve as padding. The simple conclusion vayyaas Yirmeyahu ken ('and Jeremiah did so') conveys the prophet's trust and compliance without embellishment.
They pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
KJV So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The rescue is described with understated brevity — vayyimshekhu ('they pulled') and vayyaalu ('they brought up'). After the detailed preparation, the actual extraction is narrated without drama. Jeremiah is returned to the court of the guard (chatsar ha-mattarah), the same relatively favorable confinement he occupied before (37:21). He is not freed but his conditions are significantly improved.
King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and had him brought to the third entrance of the house of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something. Do not hide anything from me."
KJV Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The mavo ha-shelishi ('third entrance') of the temple is an architectural detail mentioned only here — it was apparently a private or restricted entry point suitable for a secret meeting. Zedekiah chooses the temple rather than the palace, perhaps seeking sacred ground for this consultation. His demand al tekhached mimmenni davar ('do not conceal anything from me') echoes his earlier secret consultation in 37:17 but is more insistent, using the verb kachad ('to hide, conceal').
Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to 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?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Jeremiah's response reveals the impossible position of the prophet: speaking truth risks execution, but the king will not follow advice anyway. The infinitive absolute hamot temiteni ('killing you will kill me') expresses certainty — Jeremiah expects death if he speaks plainly. The second clause is not a question but a bitter statement of fact: 'you will not listen to me.' Jeremiah has learned from experience that Zedekiah wants reassurance, not truth.
King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, "As the LORD lives — the one who gave us this life — I will not put you to death, and I will not hand you over to those men who are seeking your 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Zedekiah swears by the LORD — invoking the very God whose word he refuses to obey. The oath formula chay YHWH ('as the LORD lives') is the strongest available, and the qualifying phrase asher asah lanu et ha-nefesh ha-zot ('who made us this life/soul') adds theological weight by acknowledging God as creator. The irony is acute: the king invokes God's authority to protect the prophet while simultaneously defying God's counsel through that same prophet. The basseter ('in secret') again marks this as a private meeting hidden from the officials.
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: If you will go out and surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, you will live. This city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive.
KJV Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
צְבָאוֹתTsevaot
"Armies"—armies, hosts, heavenly forces, military array
The divine title 'God of Armies' (often rendered 'LORD of Hosts') signifies God's sovereignty over all powers — both heavenly and earthly. In this context, it is bitterly pointed: the God of Armies is commanding surrender.
Translator Notes
The full divine title YHWH Elohei Tsevaot Elohei Yisrael ('the LORD, God of Armies, God of Israel') is deployed at this critical moment — the most extended form of the divine name, conveying maximum authority. The verb yatso tetse ('going out you will go out') uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis. 'Going out' to the enemy officers is the euphemism for formal surrender. The promise is conditional and comprehensive: personal survival, the city spared from burning, and the household preserved.
But if you do not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hands."
KJV But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The conditional structure creates a stark binary: surrender and live, or resist and lose everything. The verb lo timmalet ('you will not escape') uses the niphal of malat, emphasizing the futility of any attempt at flight. The direct address ve-attah ('and you yourself') makes the consequence personal — Zedekiah individually will be captured.
King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans — they might hand me over to them, and they will abuse me."
KJV And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Zedekiah's confession reveals his deepest fear: not the Babylonians themselves, but his own people who have already defected. The word do'eg ('afraid, anxious') expresses genuine dread. The verb hit'alelu ('mock, abuse, mistreat') is the same root used for the Philistines' abuse of Samson (Judges 16:25) — it implies public humiliation, mockery, and physical mistreatment. The Judean deserters would regard Zedekiah as a traitor who prolonged the war unnecessarily, costing lives. The king fears retribution from those who followed Jeremiah's counsel before he did.
Jeremiah answered, "They will not hand you over. Please listen to the voice of the LORD in what I am telling you, and it will go well for you, and you will live.
KJV But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Jeremiah's lo yittenu ('they will not hand you over') is a direct prophetic assurance — not speculation but divine guarantee. The plea shema na ('please listen') uses the same verb shama that dominates the book's vocabulary — the fundamental call to obey. The phrase veyitav lekha ('and it will go well for you') echoes the Deuteronomic promise formulas (Deuteronomy 4:40, 5:16, 6:3).
But if you refuse to go out, this is what the LORD has shown me:
KJV But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb hir'ani ('he has shown me') indicates a visionary experience — Jeremiah has been given a vision of what will happen if Zedekiah refuses to surrender. The shift from verbal oracle to visual revelation heightens the urgency. The verb ma'en ('to refuse') carries connotations of obstinate resistance, not mere hesitation.
All the women remaining in the palace of the king of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and those women will say:
'Your trusted friends misled you
and overpowered you.
Your feet are sunk in the mud —
they have turned their backs on you.'
KJV And behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The women's taunt is presented as poetry — a mocking song composed by the royal women as they are led away as captives. The phrase anshei shelomekha ('your men of peace,' i.e., 'your trusted friends, your allies') refers to the officials who gave Zedekiah bad counsel. The image hotebu babits raglekha ('your feet are sunk in the mud') creates a devastating parallel to Jeremiah's literal sinking in the cistern mud (v. 6) — the king who let the prophet sink in mud will himself be stuck in the mire of his own political situation. The verb hissitukha ('they misled you, incited you') is from the root s-w-t, the same verb used for divine testing or incitement (cf. 1 Chronicles 21:1).
All your wives and children will be led out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from their grasp but will be seized by the king of Babylon. And this city will be burned with fire."
KJV So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The consequences escalate: family captured, king seized personally, city burned. The verb tittafes ('you will be seized') is from the root t-p-s ('to seize, capture'), a military term for taking a prisoner. The phrase ve-et ha-ir ha-zot tisrof ba-esh ('and this city you will cause to be burned with fire') uses the hiphil form, potentially implying Zedekiah's refusal to surrender will be the cause of the city's burning — his inaction bears responsibility.
Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know about this conversation, and you will not die.
KJV Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Zedekiah's immediate response is not to obey the divine counsel but to demand secrecy. The conditional velo tamut ('and you will not die') is ambiguous — it could be a promise of protection or a veiled threat: keep silent or face consequences. The king's priorities are laid bare: controlling information matters more to him than responding to God's word.
If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and they come to you and say, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you — do not hide it from us, and we will not kill you' —
KJV But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Zedekiah anticipates the officials' interrogation of Jeremiah, revealing how thoroughly the officials control information at court. The demand al tekhached ('do not conceal') from the officials would mirror the king's own words in verse 14, creating a situation where Jeremiah is pressured by both sides.
then say to them, 'I was presenting my plea to the king, asking him not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.'"
KJV Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Zedekiah instructs Jeremiah to give a partial truth: Jeremiah did indeed make this plea (37:20). The king does not ask the prophet to lie outright but to reveal only a portion of the conversation. The verb mappil ('presenting, casting') combined with techinnah ('plea, supplication') means literally 'casting my plea before' — the same petition language of 37:20. The ethical complexity of this guided deception is left in the text without editorial comment.
All the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. He told them exactly what the king had commanded him to say. They stopped pressing him, because the conversation had not been overheard.
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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vayyacharishu ('they fell silent, they stopped') indicates the officials accepted Jeremiah's account and ceased their interrogation. The phrase ki lo nishma ha-davar ('because the matter was not heard') confirms that the private conversation between king and prophet remained secret. Jeremiah complies with the king's instruction — the text reports this without moral commentary, leaving the reader to assess Zedekiah's manipulation of the prophet.
Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured. He was still there when Jerusalem fell.
KJV So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison unto the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The chapter ends with a grim inclusio: Jeremiah remains confined in the court of the guard as Jerusalem falls around him. The verb nilkedah ('was captured') from lakad ('to seize, capture') is repeated twice for emphasis — the city was taken, and when it was taken, the prophet was still imprisoned. The redundancy is deliberate, bridging to the fall narrative in chapter 39. Jeremiah, who told the truth about the city's fate, experiences that fate from inside a prison. The prophet was vindicated, but the vindication came as catastrophe.