Jeremiah 38:14

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — King Zedekiah summons Jeremiah the prophet and meets him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. The king announces an impending question and commands Jeremiah not to conceal any part of his answer.

The words — וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֞ח (va/i.yish.Lach) literally means "and he sent," denoting the king's formal summons, while אֶֽת\־ ('et-) serves as the direct object marker introducing Jeremiah.

The thread — This dynamic of a ruler demanding unfiltered truth from a prophet aligns with 1 Kings 22:16 and echoes Zedekiah’s prior secret inquiries recorded in Jeremiah 37:17 and 21:1.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize how political power often approaches divine truth as a transaction rather than a surrender, demanding honest evaluation of whether authority seeks guidance or merely validation.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיִּשְׁלַ֞חva/i.yish.Lachand/ he sent הַמֶּ֣לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king צִדְקִיָּ֗הוּtzid.ki.Ya.huZedekiah וַיִּקַּ֞חva/i.yi.Kachand/ he brought אֶֽת־'et-<obj.>יִרְמְיָ֤הוּyir.me.Ya.huJeremiah הַנָּבִיא֙ha./na.Vi'the/ prophet אֵלָ֔יו'e.La/vto/ him אֶל־'el-to מָבוֹא֙ma.Vo'an entrance הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔יha./she.li.Shi<the>/ third אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.Sherwhich בְּבֵ֣יתbe./Veit[was] in/ [the] house of יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahweh וַיֹּ֨אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said הַמֶּ֜לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king אֶֽל־'el-to יִרְמְיָ֗הוּyir.me.Ya.huJeremiah שֹׁאֵ֨לsho.'El[am] about to ask אֲנִ֤י'a.NiI אֹֽתְךָ֙'o.te./Kha<obj.>/ you דָּבָ֔רda.Vara matter אַל־'al-may not תְּכַחֵ֥דte.kha.Chedyou hide מִמֶּ֖נִּיmi.Me./nifrom/ me דָּבָֽר׃da.Varanything

King James Version

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.

Cross-references

1 Kings 22:16 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
Jeremiah 21:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
Jeremiah 37:17 Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”
1 Samuel 3:17 “What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”
Jeremiah 42:2 Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.
Jeremiah 42:20 For you have deceived yourselves by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell it to us and we will do it.’
1 Kings 10:5 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
2 Kings 16:18 And on account of the king of Assyria, he removed the Sabbath canopy they had built in the temple and closed the royal entryway outside the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 18:15 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

People named

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