Jeremiah 38:26

26 then you shall say to them, "I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.' "

Jeremiah 38:26 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 38:26

Then thou shalt say unto them
Here the king puts words into the prophet's mouth, what he should say to the princes, to put them off from inquiring further, and so keep the matter a secret: I presented my supplication before the king;
or "caused [it] to fall" {d}; delivered it in an humble and submissive manner: that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there;
this he had entreated of the king before, ( Jeremiah 37:20 ) ; and now, no doubt, renewed his request, having this fair opportunity with the king alone to do it; or, however, it is highly probable he did it upon this hint of the king. This shows how much the king stood in fear of his princes in this time of his distress; and that he had only the name of a king, and had not courage and resolution enough to act of himself, according to the dictates of his mind; yea, that he feared men more than he feared the Lord.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (ytnxt yna lypm) "cadere feci deprecationem meam", Pagninus; "cadere faciens fui" Schmidt.

Jeremiah 38:26 In-Context

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone else know of this conversation, or you will die.

25 If the officials should hear that I have spoken with you, and they should come and say to you, "Just tell us what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you to death. What did the king say to you?'

26 then you shall say to them, "I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.' "

27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him; and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard.

28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.