Then said Zedekiah to Jeremiah,.... Not a word signifying his approbation of the counsel given him, or that he intended to take it; his silence showed the reverse:let no man know of these words: that had passed between them; of the conference and conversation they had had together, at least not the particulars of it; the thing itself was known, as appears by what follows, that the king and prophet had been discoursing together; but what they talked of, he desires might be concealed, pretending the prophet's good, though it was his own honour and safety he sought:and thou shall not die; as he had promised he should not, and had sworn to it; but suggests by this, that if he disclosed the conversation, he should took upon himself free from his word and oath; so that this carried something menacing in it: or it may be rendered "that thou die not" ; intimating, that if the princes should come to the knowledge of what he had said, of the advice he had given, they would surely put him to death; and therefore, for his own safety, he desires the whole may be kept a secret.
Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 38:24
Jeremiah 38:24
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible · John Gill (1697–1771) · Public Domain
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Jeremiah 38 — OverviewJeremiah 38 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleIn this chapter, just as in the former, we have Jeremiah greatly
debased under the frowns of the princes, and yet greatly honoured by
the favour of the king. They used him as a criminal; he used him as a…Jeremiah 38 — OverviewJeremiah 38 · Treasury of Scripture KnowledgeJeremiah 38:1, Jeremiah, by a false suggestion, is put into the dungeon of Malchiah; Jeremiah 38:7, Edeb-melech, by suit, gets him some enlargement; Jeremiah 38:14, Upon secret conference, he counsels the king by…Jeremiah 38 — OverviewJeremiah 38 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThis chapter is taken up in giving an account of Jeremiah's being cast into a dungeon; his deliverance from it; and private conversation with King Zedekiah. The occasion of the prophet's being cast into a dungeon was…Jeremiah 38:1-28Jeremiah 38:1-28 · The Pulpit CommentaryCONTINUATION.
EXPOSITION
The object of the princes being frustrated (for in the "court of the guard" Jeremiah had perfect freedom and opportunity of speech), the princes resolve upon a more effectual means of stopping…Jeremiah 38:14-28Jeremiah 38:14-28 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleIn the foregoing chapter we had the king in close conference with
Jeremiah, and here again, though (v. 5) he had given him up into the
hands of his enemies; such a struggle there was in the breast of this…Jeremiah 38:24Jeremiah 38:24 · The Pulpit CommentaryTrying to serve two masters.
Zedekiah was seeking to do this. He wanted to be on the prophet's side, and yet not to break with the princes who were the prophet's foes. We see the shifts to which he was driven, and we…