Yirmeyah 38:20

20 But Yirmeyah said, They shall not deliver thee. Now obey the voice of Hashem, which I speak unto thee; so it shall be well unto thee, and thy nefesh shall live.

Yirmeyah 38:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 38:20

But Jeremiah said, they shall not deliver [thee]
To take off the above excuse, or remove that objection, the prophet assures the king that the Chaldeans would never deliver him into the hands of the Jews; he might depend upon it, it would never be done: obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee;
the counsel he had given him, to surrender to the Chaldeans, was not from himself, but from the Lord: and though he had no express order to give it at that time, yet it was what was agreeable to the will of God, and what he had exhorted the people to in the beginning of this chapter; and therefore, since it came from the Lord, as it ought to be attended to, so he might be assured of the divine protection, should he act according to it: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live;
that is, it would not only be much better with him than he feared, but than it would be with him should he obstinately stand out to the last; he should have more respect and honour from the king of Babylon; and not only have his life spared, but enjoy more of the comforts of life; particularly the sight of his eyes, which he lost when taken.

Yirmeyah 38:20 In-Context

18 But if thou wilt not surrender unto the sarim of Melech Bavel, then shall this city be given into the yad of the Kasdim, and they shall burn it down with eish, and thou shalt not escape out of their yad.
19 And Tzidkiyah HaMelech said unto Yirmeyah, I am afraid of the Yehudim that are fallen as defectors to the Kasdim (Chaldeans), lest they deliver me into their yad, and they abuse me.
20 But Yirmeyah said, They shall not deliver thee. Now obey the voice of Hashem, which I speak unto thee; so it shall be well unto thee, and thy nefesh shall live.
21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the davar that Hashem hath showed me:
22 And, hinei, all the nashim that are left in the Bais Melech Yehudah shall be brought forth to the sarim of Melech Bavel, and those nashim shall say, Thy close friends misled thee, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mud, and they desert thee.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.