Bible Strands
Jeremiah 38:17
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah addresses King Zedekiah immediately after the king secretly swears not to hand the prophet over to his officials. The dialogue occurs during the Babylonian siege when Zedekiah is deciding whether to resist or submit to the attacking army.
The words — The verse begins with וַ/יֹּ֣אמֶר (va/i.Yo.mer), meaning "and he said," marking the prophetic utterance. It follows with כֹּֽה\־ (koh-), rendered as "thus," to introduce the divine declaration before naming Yahweh as the speaker.
The thread — This conditional promise of survival through surrender runs directly through Jeremiah 27:12 and Jeremiah 27:17, where the prophet commands Judah to submit to Babylon to avoid destruction. It also mirrors Jeremiah 38:2, which contrasts the death of those who remain in the city with the life granted to those who surrender.
Why it lands — The text requires a direct decision between resisting the Babylonian officers and accepting surrender to preserve physical life. It presents obedience to the stated warning as the sole mechanism for the survival of the king and his household.
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
King James Version
Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 27:12 And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!
- Jeremiah 27:17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?
- Jeremiah 38:2 “This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.
- Jeremiah 21:8 Furthermore, you are to tell this people that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
- Jeremiah 39:3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
- 2 Kings 24:12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.
- Jeremiah 7:6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
- 1 Chronicles 17:24 so that Your name will be established and magnified forever when it is said, ‘The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, is God over Israel.’ And may the house of Your servant David be established before You.
- Psalms 80:7 Restore us, O God of Hosts, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Psalms 80:14 Return, O God of Hosts, we pray! Look down from heaven and see! Attend to this vine—