For thus ... - Because he makes the men of war dispirited. No doubt this was true. Jeremiah, however, did not speak as a private person, but as the representative of the government; the temporal ruler in a theocracy being responsible directly to God. read more
Jeremiah 38:1. Then Shephaliah, &c. Here are four of the great men, counsellors or chief officers to Zedekiah, named, of whom we have no further mention in holy writ; nor do they deserve to have much inquiry made after them. Some of them were sent by Zedekiah to Jeremiah to inquire concerning the event of the siege, Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 21:1-9. “The answer which Jeremiah returned by them to the king, he afterward published to the people; which was the occasion of the new troubles... read more
Jeremiah 38:2-5. Thus saith the Lord, He that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live This had been the constant tenor of this prophet’s prophecies. The crime of which he was now accused, seems to lie in this, that in such a time of danger he should repeat this prophecy, and also advise the people to leave the city, and go out to the Chaldeans, telling them that if they did so, though the city would be lost, yet they should save their lives, which might induce some to desert their posts.... read more
Jeremiah’s escape from death (38:1-28)The chief officials in Jerusalem were a powerful group. They hated Jeremiah for his unchanging message of ‘submit to Babylon or perish’, and they managed to force the king to hand over Jeremiah to them for execution (38:1-5). They dropped him into a filthy disused well and left him there to die (6).There was, however, in Zedekiah’s court an African who had risen to a position of responsibility and who was favourable to Jeremiah. In an action that showed... read more
Pashur. See note on Jeremiah 20:1 . read more
goeth forth. Some codices add "and falleth". life = soul. read more
JEREMIAH 38JEREMIAH'S THIRD IMPRISONMENTThere are some similarities between the imprisonment mentioned in the preceding chapter and the one recounted here; but there is absolutely nothing that can justify the critical nonsense about these two chapters giving variable accounts of the same imprisonment. This was the third imprisonment of Jeremiah. The first was by Pashur (Jeremiah 21); the second is recorded in the preceding chapter, and the third imprisonment is the one recounted in this... read more
Jeremiah 38:2. He shall have his life for a prey— As a spoil gained from the enemy; snatched out of the flames, and saved from the carnage. The beginning of the next verse should be rendered, For thus saith the Lord; which keeps up the connection. read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 38:1
Had spoken - Spake; or, was speaking. read more