Bible Strands
Jeremiah 38:26
then tell them, ‘I was presenting to the king my petition that he not return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah instructs the officials on what to report about his private audience with King Zedekiah, shielding himself from their threat of execution. He provides a prepared statement to replace the actual content of his royal petition.
The words — מַפִּיל (ma.pil) translates literally as "making fall," paired with תְּחִנָּתִי (te.chi.na.Ti) to mean "presenting my petition," while לְבִלְתִּי (le.vil.Ti) signifies "in order not to."
The thread — The plea to avoid the "house of Jonathan" echoes Jeremiah 37:20, where the prophet first requested Zedekiah spare him from that same prison. The pattern of officials demanding answers about royal conversations also parallels Esther 4:8.
Why it lands — The verse demands a reader recognize how prophetic truth is sometimes mediated through tactical deception to preserve the messenger's life. It requires acknowledging that divine instruction can operate within human survival strategies without endorsing the lie.
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 thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 37:20 But now please listen, O my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”
- Jeremiah 37:15 The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
- Esther 4:8 Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people.
- 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.