Jeremiah 38:14-26
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 38
14Then King Zedekiah sent word and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, 'I am going to ask you something; do not hide anything from me.' 15And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, 'If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.' 16But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, 'As the Lord lives, who made this life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking your life.'
17So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, 'This is what the Lord God of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘If you will indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive.
18But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hands.’?'
19Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, 'I am in fear of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will abuse me.'
20But Jeremiah said, 'They will not turn you over. Please obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, so that it may go well for you and you may live.
21But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the Lord has shown me:
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, 'Let no one know about these words, and you will not die.
25But if the officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’
26then you are to say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’?'
King James Version
Chapter 38
14Then 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. 15Then 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? 16So 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. 17Then 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: 18But 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. 19And 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. 20But 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. 21But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me: 22And, 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 friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. 23So 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. 24Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. 25But 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: 26Then 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.Christian Standard Bible
17Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, "This is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive.
18But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.' "
20"They will not hand you over," Jeremiah replied. "Obey the Lord in what I am telling you, so it may go well for you and you can live.
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is the verdict that the Lord has shown me:
24Then Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about this conversation or you will die.
25The officials may hear that I have spoken with you and come and demand of you, 'Tell us what you said to the king; don't hide anything from us and we won't kill you. Also, what did the king say to you? '
26If they do, tell them, 'I was bringing before the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.' "
New Living Translation
17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, 'This is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the Babylonian officers, you and your family will live, and the city will not be burned down.
18But if you refuse to surrender, you will not escape! This city will be handed over to the Babylonians, and they will burn it to the ground.’'
20Jeremiah replied, 'You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me:
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, 'Don’t tell anyone you told me this, or you will die!
25My officials may hear that I spoke to you, and they may say, ‘Tell us what you and the king were talking about. If you don’t tell us, we will kill you.’
26If this happens, just tell them you begged me not to send you back to Jonathan’s dungeon, for fear you would die there.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 38
14King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
18But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.”
19King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.”
20Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared.
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the LORD has shown to me:
22Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying, “‘Your trusted friends have deceived you and prevailed against you; now that your feet are sunk in the mud, they turn away from you.’
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
25If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’
26then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”
New International Version
17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, 'This is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.
18But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from them.''
20They will not hand you over,' Jeremiah replied. 'Obey the LORD by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared.
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has revealed to me:
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, 'Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die.
25If the officials hear that I talked 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 or we will kill you,'
26then tell them, 'I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.''
New King James Version
17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.
18But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’ ”
20But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.
21But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me:
24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.
25But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’
26then you shall say to them, ‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ”