The Meaning of Jeremiah 38:17 Explained

Jeremiah 38:17

KJV: 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:

YLT: And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: If thou dost certainly go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath thy soul lived, and this city is not burned with fire, yea, thou hast lived, thou and thy house.

Darby: And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt freely go forth to 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 thy house.

ASV: Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt 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 thy house.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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: 

What does Jeremiah 38:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

We do not know what Zedekiah"s question was, but it must have been: "Has the Lord changed His mind?" No, He had not, but Zedekiah needed to change his. Jeremiah promised the king on the authority of Almighty Yahweh, Israel"s God, that if he surrendered to the Babylonian military officers, he would live. Furthermore, they would not burn down the city, and his whole household would survive. This must have seemed like a very unlikely possibility to Zedekiah since he had proved to be a rebellious vassal of Nebuchadnezzar. Suzerains usually mutilated and killed rebel kings who surrendered to them. [1] Ironically, Chaldean officials would have spared Zedekiah"s life, but Judean officials were seeking to snuff out Jeremiah"s life.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 38

1  Jeremiah, by a false suggestion, is put into the dungeon of Malchiah
7  Ebed-Melech, by suit, gets him some enlargement
14  Upon secret conference, he counsels the king by yielding to save his life
24  By the king's instructions he conceals the conference from the princes

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 38:17 mean?

And said Jeremiah to Zedekiah thus says Yahweh the God of hosts of Israel if surely you surrender princes the king of Babylon then shall live your soul and city this not shall be burned with fire and shall live you and your house
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יִרְמְיָ֣הוּ אֶל־ צִדְקִיָּ֡הוּ כֹּֽה־ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָה֩ אֱלֹהֵ֨י צְבָא֜וֹת יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אִם־ יָצֹ֨א תֵצֵ֜א שָׂרֵ֤י מֶֽלֶךְ־ בָּבֶל֙ וְחָיְתָ֣ה נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ וְהָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את לֹ֥א תִשָּׂרֵ֖ף בָּאֵ֑שׁ וְחָיִ֖תָה אַתָּ֥ה וּבֵיתֶֽךָ

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יִרְמְיָ֣הוּ  Jeremiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִרְמְיָה 
Sense: the major prophet, son of Hilkiah of the priestly family in Anathoth; author of the prophetic book bearing his name.
צִדְקִיָּ֡הוּ  Zedekiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִדְקִיָּה 
Sense: the last king of Judah renamed from ‘Mattaniah’ by Nebuchadnezzar; son of Josiah by wife Hamutal; placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar when he carried his nephew Jehoiakim in captivity.
כֹּֽה־  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָה֩  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵ֨י  the  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
צְבָא֜וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יָצֹ֨א  surely 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
תֵצֵ֜א  you  surrender 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
שָׂרֵ֤י  princes 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בָּבֶל֙  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
וְחָיְתָ֣ה  then  shall  live 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ  your  soul 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
וְהָעִ֣יר  and  city 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
הַזֹּ֔את  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
תִשָּׂרֵ֖ף  shall  be  burned 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׂרַף  
Sense: to burn.
בָּאֵ֑שׁ  with  fire 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
וְחָיִ֖תָה  and  shall  live 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: חָיָה  
Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
וּבֵיתֶֽךָ  and  your  house 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.