Jeremiah 38:26

26 you should say to them, ‘I was begging the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"

Jeremiah 38:26 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 38:26

Then thou shalt say unto them
Here the king puts words into the prophet's mouth, what he should say to the princes, to put them off from inquiring further, and so keep the matter a secret: I presented my supplication before the king;
or "caused [it] to fall" {d}; delivered it in an humble and submissive manner: that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there;
this he had entreated of the king before, ( Jeremiah 37:20 ) ; and now, no doubt, renewed his request, having this fair opportunity with the king alone to do it; or, however, it is highly probable he did it upon this hint of the king. This shows how much the king stood in fear of his princes in this time of his distress; and that he had only the name of a king, and had not courage and resolution enough to act of himself, according to the dictates of his mind; yea, that he feared men more than he feared the Lord.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (ytnxt yna lypm) "cadere feci deprecationem meam", Pagninus; "cadere faciens fui" Schmidt.

Jeremiah 38:26 In-Context

24 Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "No one is to know about these matters or else you will die.

25 If the officials find out that we met, and they come and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king. Don't hide anything from us; otherwise, we'll kill you. So what did the king say to you?'

26 you should say to them, ‘I was begging the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"

27 Then all the officials approached Jeremiah to question him. And he responded exactly as the king had instructed him. So they stopped interrogating him because the conversation between the king and Jeremiah hadn't been overheard.

28 Jeremiah remained in the prison quarters until Jerusalem was captured.