Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to himself into the third entry that is in Yahweh’s house. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
Parallel translations
- KJV Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
- BSB Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”
- NKJV Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”
- NASB Then King Zedekiah sent word and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; do not hide anything from me.”
- NLT One day King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to the third entrance of the Lord’s Temple. “I want to ask you something,” the king said. “And don’t try to hide the truth.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zedekiah secretly summons Jeremiah and asks him to hold nothing back.
Overview
The king arranges a private meeting and demands the full truth from the prophet. His secrecy reveals his fear of the officials and his lingering desire to hear from God. The encounter shows a divided king drawn to the truth yet unwilling to bear its cost publicly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Kgs 22:16The king said to him, “How many times do I have to adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in Yahweh’s name?”
- Jer 21:1–2The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,
- Jer 37:17then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from Yahweh?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” He said also, “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”
- Jer 42:20For you have dealt deceitfully against your own souls; for you sent me to Yahweh your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to Yahweh our God; and according to all that Yahweh our God shall say, so declare to us, and we will do it:’
- 1 Sam 3:17–18He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”
- Jer 42:2–5and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do see us;
- 2 Chr 18:15The king said to him, “How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in Yahweh’s name?”
- 1 Kgs 10:5the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house; there was no more spirit in her.
- 2 Kgs 16:18He removed the covered way for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry outside to Yahweh’s house, because of the king of Assyria.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 38:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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