Jeremiah 38:17-18

Then said Jeremiah, Thus saith the Lord Here we have the good advice which Jeremiah gave him, with the reasons why the king ought to take it; reasons drawn, not from any prudence or politics of his own, but in the name of the Lord, the God of hosts, and God of Israel. If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes Those mentioned Jeremiah 39:3, and submit thyself to them; then thy soul shall live That is, thou shalt live; and this city shall not be burned, &c. Thou shalt save the city from destruction by fire, and thy wives and children from suffering a violent death. It must be observed that Nebuchadnezzar was not now in person at the siege of Jerusalem, but at Riblah in Syria, Jeremiah 39:5; Jeremiah 39:9. His army was commanded by his generals; and it is to them, here termed princes, that Jeremiah counsels Zedekiah to go forth, and through them to submit himself to the king, by whom he had been established on the throne. But if thou wilt not go forth, &c. As he had before used exhortations and promises, so here he uses warnings and threatenings to prevail with the king to take that course by which alone he could preserve Jerusalem, and himself, and family from ruin.