Jeremias 38:2

2 Thus saith the Lord, I found him warm in the wilderness with them that were slain with the sword: go ye and destroy not Israel.

Jeremias 38:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 38:2

Thus saith the Lord, he that remaineth in this city
Of Jerusalem; that does not go out of it, and surrender himself to the Chaldeans; but continues in it fighting against them: shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence;
that is, by one or other of these: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live:
that goes out of the city, throws down his arms, delivers up himself to the Chaldean army, and submits to their mercy, shall have quarters given him, and his life shall be spared: for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live;
or, "his soul, and it shall live" ^F14; comfortably and in safety; he shall escape with his life, and that shall be preserved from the sword, famine, and pestilence; and whereas it was, as it were, lost, it shall be recovered out of the jaws of death, out of the above calamities it was exposed to; and so be like a prey taken out of the hands of the mighty, and be quite safe.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F14 (yxw llvl wvpn wl htyhw) "et erit illi anima ejus in praedam et vivet", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt.

Jeremias 38:2 In-Context

1 At that time, saith the Lord, I will be a God to the family of Israel, and they shall be to me a people.

2 Thus saith the Lord, I found him warm in the wilderness with them that were slain with the sword: go ye and destroy not Israel.

3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, , I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore have I drawn thee in compassion.

4 For I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt yet take thy timbrel, and go forth with the party of them that make merry.

5 For ye have planted vineyards on the mountains of Samaria: plant ye, and praise.