Jeremiah 38:2

Translations

Modern

“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.

Traditional

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.

Literal

“Thus says YHWH: He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, and the one going forth to the Chaldeans will live, and his life will be to him for a prey, and he will live.

Latin

Hæc dicit Dominus: Quicumque manserit in civitate hac, morietur gladio, et fame, et peste: qui autem profugerit ad Chaldæos, vivet, et erit anima ejus sospes et vivens.

Original

Hebrew

English

“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.

Notes

Jeremiah 38:1–13

Jeremiah could talk to people while in the prison courtyard. He shared the Lord's judgments, which angered some government officials. Zedekiah showed cowardice by allowing these men to put Jeremiah in a muddy cistern. However, the king showed courage when he let a palace servant rescue Jeremiah and bring him back to the palace prison.

Jeremiah 37:1–38:28

The focus now returns to Zedekiah, who became king of Judah after his nephew Jehoiachin. These chapters describe meetings between Zedekiah and Jeremiah, highlighting Zedekiah’s struggle to fully commit to God's word (compare Deuteronomy 10:12–13). Zedekiah is a classic example of a person with divided loyalty (James 1:6–8).

Theme notes and profiles

Jeremiah David's Response to Unfriendly Leaders God Protects His Servant Persecution Preaching to a Tough Crowd The Righteous Suffer The Suffering Prophet

Events

Prophecies of Jeremiahc. 628 BC

Related verses

Jeremiah 39:18
For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’”
Jeremiah 45:5
But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.”
Jeremiah 34:17
Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Jeremiah 42:17
So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’
Ezekiel 14:21
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast?
Ezekiel 7:15
The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
Ezekiel 6:11
This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and famine and plague.
Jeremiah 27:13
Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague, as the LORD has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?
Jeremiah 44:13
I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,
Jeremiah 38:17–23
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.
Jeremiah 29:18
I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
Revelation 6:4–8
Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.

Places

Chaldea: Ancient Mesopotamian empire; known for astrology and wisdom

Glossary

Book of Jeremiah Courts and Trials Jehoiachin Jehucal Mattan

Topics

Persecution of Jeremiah Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of War and Other Judgments

Jeremiah 38:2

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