Chapter Thirty-Eight

1–13. An attempt on the life of Jeremiah. 14–28. A secret conversation of Jeremiah with King Zedekiah.

Jer 38:1-13. Although Jeremiah had found some favor with the king (chapter XXXI), nevertheless his enemies did not sleep and began to persuade the king that the prophet, depriving the defenders of Jerusalem of all courage by his predictions, deserved death. The weak-willed king gave Jeremiah into their hands and they put him in a pit where he could die of hunger. However, among the king’s servants there was one, namely the eunuch Ebed-melech, who managed to convince the king of the necessity of saving Jeremiah from starvation, and Jeremiah was pulled out of the pit and was placed under guard in the king’s court again.

Jeremiah 38:1. And Shephatiah son of Mattan, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words which Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying: “Jucal” is the same as Jehucal; see Jer 37:3. “Pashhur” – see Jer 20:1. – Jeremiah, probably sitting in the king’s court, had conversations with people coming to the king.

Jeremiah 38:4. Then the princes said to the king, “This man should be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the warriors who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm. From an ordinary civil and state point of view, Jeremiah was guilty. But the princes, as believers in Yehova – the Supreme Ruler of Israel – should have viewed Jeremiah’s “treason” differently. From a theocratic point of view, it was not treason, but an announcement of God’s will and an indication to the people of the only means of salvation.

Jeremiah 38:5. And King Zedekiah said, “Here he is in your hands; for the king cannot do anything against you. Zedekiah here clearly expresses his displeasure at the persistence of the courtiers and cannot but follow their advice.

Jeremiah 38:6. So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, and they lowered Jeremiah by ropes. Now there was no water in the pit, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. The king’s son – see Jer 36:26.

Jeremiah 38:7. Now Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs in the king’s house, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the pit; and the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate. “Ethiopian.” Eunuchs were usually taken from foreigners for the king’s harem. The law did not permit castration operations on Hebrews, to which eunuchs were subjected (Deut 23:1). Jer 38:14-28. The king again calls the prophet to him for a conversation, but Jeremiah points out to him the danger that threatens him if he gives the king advice in the old direction. However, when the king assures him that he will not deliver him to death no matter what the prophet says, Jeremiah again suggests that he surrender to the Chaldeans. The king expresses his fear that in captivity the Hebrew deserters will mock him, but Jeremiah says that in case of disobedience to the word of the prophet, the women of the king’s harem will mock him as a weak-willed man who succumbed to the foolish advice of his courtiers. The king, however, does not decide to follow Jeremiah’s advice and lets him go again to the court of the guard, taking from him a word to keep his conversation with the king secret from the courtiers.

Jeremiah 38:14. Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord, and the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; do not hide anything from me. The third entrance to the temple is unknown where it was located. It is thought that it was a special royal entrance from the palace to the outer court of the temple.

Jeremiah 38:22. All the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be given over to the princes of the king of Babylon, and they will say: “Your trusted friends have misled you and have overcome you; now that your feet have sunk in the mud, they have turned away from you. Only a few of the king’s wives remained in the harem. The others, because of the desperate situation – at that time there was not even enough bread in the capital – could have been sent somewhere out of Jerusalem beforehand.

Jeremiah 38:27. And all the princes came to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded, and they left him alone, for the matter had not been heard. Jeremiah permits here an intentional silence about the true course of the conversation with the king, but does this not so much in his own interest as in order to protect the king from the displeasure of the courtiers.