Jeremiah 38:14

PRIVATE MEETING OF ZEDEKIAH AND JEREMIAH

"Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of Jehovah: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. Then Jeremiah said, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me. So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, as Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life."

"The third entry into the house of Jehovah ..." (Jeremiah 38:14). Nothing is definitely known about this entry into the temple. "It was probably an entry from the palace into the temple; and it must have been a private place, else it would not have been chosen for this interview."[13]

"As Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul ..." (Jeremiah 38:16). "This very unusual addition to the formula of a oath was no doubt intended to strengthen it ... For the usual formula, see 1 Samuel 20:3; 25:16."[14] By his acknowledgment here that God had made his soul, Zedekiah also implied his belief that God continued to have power over it.