Jeremiah 38:27-28

F. Questioned by the Princes Jeremiah 38:27-28

TRANSLATION

(27) And all the princes came unto Jeremiah and questioned him; and he told them according to all the words which the king commanded. Then they dropped the matter, for the conversation had not been overheard. (28) And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured; and he was there when Jerusalem was captured.

COMMENTS

The interview with Jeremiah closed, not with the king accepting and acting upon the word of the prophet, but with a request that the princes not be told of the conversation. Let no man know of these words and you shall not die (Jeremiah 38:24). The king carefully instructed Jeremiah as to what he should say if the princes interrogate him. Jeremiah should tell them that he had petitioned the king not to cause him to return to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan to die there (Jeremiah 38:25-26). The precautions of the king were well taken for shortly the princes pounced upon Jeremiah, probing him with questions about the interview with the king. Jeremiah calmly answered them as he had promised the king. It was the truth as far as it went. Jeremiah did not tell the inquisitive princes the whole truth nor was he obligated to do so. Those princes did not have a right to know the full contents of the privileged conversation between the king and his spiritual counselor. To withhold information from those not entitled to it cannot by any stretch of the imagination be construed as falsehood. By speaking this half-truth Jeremiah protected not only himself but the monarch as well. Jeremiah's answer seemed to satisfy the princes and they did not broach the subject to him any more for the conversation had not been overheard (Jeremiah 38:27). Without further harassment Jeremiah was permitted to remain in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured by the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 38:28).[332] The last clause of Jeremiah 38:28 as it is rendered in the King James Version is an impossible translation of the Hebrew. Actually this clause should be the introductory clause of chapter 39. At several places in the English versions bad chapter divisions have been made. The student should remember that the Scriptures were not originally written in Chapter s and verses.

[332] The intention of this verse is merely to account for the whereabouts of Jeremiah up to the date of the capture of the city without making any assertion beyond that date. Actually it was some four weeks after the fall of the lower city of Jerusalem before Nebuzaradan arrived with instructions to free Jeremiah. Perhaps Nebuzaradan was present to direct the final assault on the upper city. This cannot be ascertained for certain.