Jeremiah 38

14–16 After Jeremiah’s rescue, Zedekiah arranged a secret meeting with the prophet to ask for his advice. Zedekiah swore an oath that he wouldn’t punish Jeremiah for anything he said (verse 16).

17–18 Jeremiah gave the same advice he had given earlier (verses 2–3). In addition, he assured Zedekiah that if he surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar, he and his family would live (verse 17).

19–23 Zedekiah feared that if he surren dered, the Jews who had already gone over to the Babylonians would mistreat him; Jeremiah promised that that would not happen (verses 19–20).

However, if Zedekiah did not surrender, his harem would be taken over by the Babylonians, and his former concubines would mock him for having trusted in his friends, the false prophets. Because they had given Zedekiah false advice, Zedekiah was now sunk in the mud—he was in dire straits (verse 22). Indeed, Zedekiah was about to lose not only his freedom but also his entire family (verse 23).

24–28 We know that Zedekiah did not heed Jeremiah’s advice; he was more afraid of his officials than he was of the Lord. He didn’t want anyone to know the real reason for his meeting with Jeremiah; perhaps he was afraid his officials would rise up against him if they knew he was meeting with a supposed “traitor.” So Jeremiah agreed not to reveal the subject of their discussion; instead, Jeremiah would simply say he had discussed his imprisonment with the king. That was not a falsehood; it was simply not the full truth. Jeremiah was not obligated to reveal to others what had been spoken in confidence.