Limitless Word
Now Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying,
Jeremiah 39:15 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
  • BSB And while Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD had come to him:
  • NKJV Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
  • NASB Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying,
  • NLT The Lord had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison:

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

A word from the LORD had come to Jeremiah earlier, while he was still imprisoned, concerning Ebedmelech. God remembers and rewards faithfulness, even from the margins.

Overview

This verse flashes back to a message given during Jeremiah's confinement, introducing a special promise for Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, who had rescued the prophet from the cistern (Jer 38:7-13). That the word came while Jeremiah was 'shut up' shows that nothing could silence God's revelation. It sets up a striking case of God noticing and honoring an outsider's act of mercy.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Jer 37:21Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard. They gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
  • Jer 39:14they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he lived among the people.
  • Jer 32:1–2The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
  • Jer 36:1–5In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
  • 2 Tim 2:9in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 39:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 39:15 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.