About Jeremiah

Jeremiah warned Judah of coming judgment for 40 years, yet proclaimed the hope of a new covenant.

Author: JeremiahWritten: c. 627-580 BCReading time: ~2 minVerses: 18
JudgmentNew CovenantRepentanceSufferingFaithfulnessHope

King James Version

Jeremiah 39

18 verses with commentary

The Fall of Jerusalem

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.</strong> This verse opens the climactic account of Jerusalem's fall, the catastrophic event Jeremiah prophesied for over forty years. The precise chronological notation (ninth year, tenth month—January 588 BCE) emphasizes historical ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

XXXIX. (1) **In the ninth year of Zedekiah . . .**—The great crisis came at last, as Jeremiah had long ago predicted. A fuller narrative of the siege and capture is given in Jeremiah 52. The two verses which open the chapter seem to have been inserted here by the editor of the prophecies in their present form, as explaining the fact with which Jeremiah 38 had closed. The siege had lasted eighteen ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**27. Therefore--**rather, "Though thou speak ... yet they will not hearken" [Maurer], (Eze 2:7), a trial to the prophet's faith; though he knew his warnings would be unheeded, still he was to give them in obedience to God.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up</strong> (הָעִיר הָבְקָעָה, ha'ir hovqe'ah)—The precise dating (July 18, 586 BC) underscores the historical reliability of Scripture and the exactness of God's prophetic timetable. The verb <em>baqa</em> (בָּקַע) means 'to split, breach, cleave'—Jerusalem's walls were literally ripped ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**28. unto them--**that is, in reference to them. **a nation--**The word usually applied to the Gentile nations is here applied to the Jews, as being east off and classed by God among the Gentiles. **nor receiveth correction--**(Jr 5:3). **truth ... perished--**(Jr 9:3).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>All the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate</strong> (שַׁעַר הַתָּוֶךְ, sha'ar hatavekh)—The 'middle gate' (likely between the upper and lower city) became the seat of Babylonian judgment, symbolizing foreign dominion in the holy city. The act of 'sitting' (יָשַׁב, yashav) denotes taking authority—these conquerors held court where David's throne once reigned....
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(3) **In the middle gate.**—The term indicates a position in the line of walls between the citadel of Zion—the “upper city” of Josephus (*Ant. v.* 20. 2), which as yet was not surrendered (Jeremiah 39:4)—and the lower city, in the walls of which a breach had been effected. Here an open space, originally used as a *forum, *or place of judgment, now gave the Chaldæan generals a central encampment, f...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

29. Jeremiah addresses Jerusalem under the figure of a woman, who, in grief for her lost children, deprives her head of its chief ornament and goes up to the hills to weep (Jud 11:37, 38; Is 15:2). **hair--**flowing locks, like those of a Nazarite. **high places--**The scene of her idolatries is to be the scene of her mourning (Jr 3:21). **generation of his wrath--**the generation with which...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>When Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them... then they fled</strong> (וַיִּבְרָח, vayyivrach)—After 18 months of defiant resistance, Zedekiah's courage collapsed at the crucial moment. The verb <em>barach</em> (בָּרַח) denotes panicked flight, not strategic retreat. He escaped <strong>by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls</strong>—a secretive escape ro...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **When Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them . . .**—The hasty flight is narrated again in Jeremiah 52:7. The gate between the two walls was one apparently that opened from the park-like garden of the palace, near the pool of Siloah (Nehemiah 3:15); probably identical with the garden of Uzza, which was used as a burial-place for Manasseh and Amon (2Kings 21:18-26); and led to the *Arabah, *the p...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**30. set their abominations in the house--**(Jr 32:34; 2Ki 21:4, 7; 23:4; Eze 8:5-14).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. gave: Heb. spake with him judgments

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho</strong> (בְּעַרְבוֹת יְרֵחוֹ, be'arvot yericho)—How bitterly ironic: Zedekiah was captured near Jericho, where Joshua's obedience once brought miraculous victory (Joshua 6), while Zedekiah's disobedience brought catastrophic defeat. The verb <em>nasag</em> (נָשַׂג, 'overtook') suggests the inevitability...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) **In the plains of Jericho.**—Here again we have the distinctive word, the *Araboth *of the Jordan, the enlargement of the Jordan valley, three miles wide, near Jericho. The intention of the king was apparently to make his way to the ford near Jericho, cross the river, and escape to the open country of Gilead. **Riblah in the land of Hamath.**—The city of Hamath stood on the Orontes, about hal...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**31. high places of Tophet--**the altars [Horsley] of Tophet; erected to Moloch, on the heights along the south of the valley facing Zion. **burn ... sons--**(Psa 106:38). **commanded ... not--**put for, "I forbade expressly" (De 17:3; 12:31). See on Jr 2:23; Is 30:33.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes</strong> (לְעֵינָיו, le'eynav)—This brutal act fulfilled both Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's prophecies with horrifying precision. Zedekiah 'saw' (רָאָה, ra'ah) his dynasty destroyed before him—the last sight his eyes would register. His sons, the heirs of David's throne, were executed as traitors.<br><br><strong>Also the ki...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(6) **The sons** **of Zedekiah.**—The history of Eastern monarchies presents us with many examples of this refinement of cruelty, notably in the case of (Eobazus under Darius (Herod. Iv. 84), and Pythius under Xerxes (Herod, vii. 39). The slaughter of the “nobles” probably included most of those whom we have seen in Jeremiah 36:12, and elsewhere.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**32. valley of slaughter--**so named because of the great slaughter of the Jews about to take place at Jerusalem: a just retribution of their sin in slaying their children to Moloch in Tophet. **no place--**no room, namely, to bury in, so many shall be those slain by the Chaldeans (Jr 19:11; Eze 6:5).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. with: Heb. with two brasen chains, or, fetters

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes</strong> (עֵינֵי צִדְקִיָּהוּ עִוֵּר, einei tzidqiyyahu iwwer)—After forcing Zedekiah to witness his sons' execution, Nebuchadnezzar blinded him, making that horror his final visual memory. This fulfilled Ezekiel's prophecy: 'he shall not see it with his eyes' (Ezekiel 12:13)—Zedekiah would go to Babylon but never see it. The verb <em>iwwer</em> (עִוֵּר)...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(7) **Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes.**—The special form of punishment is noticeable as fulfilling the two prophecies—(1) that Zedekiah should see the king of Babylon and be taken to that city (Jeremiah 32:4); and (2) that though he was to die in Babylon, he should never see it (Ezekiel 12:13). Beyond this, the fate of the last king of Judah is buried in darkness. His brother Jehoiachin was a...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**33. fray--**scare or frighten (De 28:26). Typical of the last great battle between the Lord's host and the apostasy (Re 19:17, 18, 21).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire</strong> (בָּאֵשׁ שָׂרָפוּ, ba'esh sarafu)—The verb <em>saraph</em> (שָׂרַף) means to burn completely, consume with fire. This was not mere conquest but systematic destruction, fulfilling prophecies that Jerusalem would burn (21:10, 32:29, 34:2, 38:18). Solomon's palace complex, built over 13 years (1 Kings 7:1)...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house.**—In the fuller account of Jeremiah 52:12, we find that this was the work of Nebuzar-adan, who had been sent by Nebuchadnezzar, on hearing of the capture of the city, and that it included the destruction of the Temple as well as the palace.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

34. Referring to the joyous songs and music with which the bride and bridegroom were escorted in the procession to the home of the latter from that of the former; a custom still prevalent in the East (Jr 16:9; Is 24:7, 8; Re 18:23).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. captain: or, chief marshal: Heb. chief of the executioners, or, slaughtermen

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained.</strong> Nebuzar-adan appears as God's appointed instrument for executing judgment and exile. The Hebrew title <em>rav-tabachim</em> ("captain of the guard," literally "chief ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard.**—Here again the title in the Hebrew—*Bab-tab-bachim*—takes a form like that of Rab-saris and Rab-shaken, and means literally, “chief of the slaughterers” The title is given to Potiphar in Genesis 37:36, and probably answered to our “commander of the king’s body-guard.” The name has been interpreted as “the prince-lord, or the worshipper, of Nebo,”...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. at the: Heb. in that day

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.</strong> This verse reveals divine mercy within judgment. The poorest citizens—those owning no property and most vulnerable—alone escape exile. The reversal is complete: the wealthy, powerful, and propertied are deported whi...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 8 Jr 8:1-22. The Jew's Coming Punishment; Their Universal and Incurable Impenitence. 1. The victorious Babylonians were about to violate the sanctuaries of the dead in search of plunder; for ornaments, treasures, and insignia of royalty were usually buried with kings. Or rather, their purpose was to do the greatest dishonor to the dead (Is 14:19).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, to: Heb. by the hand of

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah</strong> (צִוָּה, tzivvah)—The verb <em>tzavah</em> means to command, give orders. The pagan emperor issued protective orders for God's prophet while the covenant king languished in chains—stunning reversal. God had promised Jeremiah, 'I will make you... a fortified city, an iron pillar' (1:18), and even Babylon's king became u...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(11) **Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. . . .***—*It is clear that Nebuchadrezzar had been well informed of the part which Jeremiah had taken from first to last in counselling submission. This he may have heard from the deserters named in Jeremiah 39:9, or even from the lips of Zedekiah. Possibly the journey to Euphrates, of which we read in Jeremiah 13:5, may, at even an earlier period, have broug...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**2. spread ... before the sun, &amp;c.--**retribution in kind. The very objects which received their idolatries shall unconcernedly witness their dishonor. **loved ... served ... after ... walked ... sought ... worshipped--**Words are accumulated, as if enough could not be said fully to express the mad fervor of their idolatry to the heavenly host (2Ki 23:5). **nor ... buried--**(Jr 22:19). ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm ; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. look: Heb. set thine eyes upon him

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Take him, and look well to him</strong> (עֵינֶךָ שִׂים עָלָיו, eynekha sim alav)—Literally 'set your eye upon him,' meaning to watch carefully, attend to his needs. The phrase <em>sim ayin</em> denotes protective oversight. Nebuchadnezzar commands what Zedekiah refused—careful attention to Jeremiah's words and welfare.<br><br><strong>And do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. The survivors shall be still worse off than the dead (Job 3:21, 22; Re 9:6). **which remain in all the places--**"in all places of them that remain, whither I ... that is, in all places whither I have driven them that remain [Maurer].

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon's princes;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag</strong>—The repetition of these high officials (cf. v. 3) emphasizes the extraordinary honor shown to Jeremiah. Multiple princes collaborated in his release, demonstrating that this was no minor administrative matter but a coordinated royal command. <strong>All the king of Babylon's pri...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(13) **Nebushasban.**—The name, which occurs in the *Annals *cf Assur-banipal (*Records of the Past, *i. 64), is possibly another form of the Nebo-sarsechim of Jeremiah 39:3. Rab-saris ( = chief eunuch, or chamberlain) is, as before, his title. Ashpenaz appears as holding the same position, possibly, as Nebushasban’s predecessor, in Daniel 1:3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. "Is it not a natural instinct, that if one falls, he rises again; if one turns away (that is, wanders from the way), he will return to the point from which he wandered? Why then does not Jerusalem do so?" He plays on the double sense of return; literal and metaphorical (Jr 3:12; 4:1).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison</strong> (מֵחֲצַר הַמַּטָּרָה, mechatzar hamattarah)—The 'court of the guard/prison' where Zedekiah had confined him (37:21, 38:6-13) becomes his place of liberation. Imprisoned by his own people for prophesying truth, freed by pagans who conquered because of that truth—profound irony. The verb <em>laqach</em> (לָקַח, 'took')...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(14) **Out of the court of the prison.**—There is a slight apparent discrepancy between this statement and that in Jeremiah 40:1, that the prophet was set free at Ramah. It seems likely that, at first, he was sent back to the prison where he had been found, till he could be placed under the protection of Gedaliah. **Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan.**—The reason of the choice lies alm...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**5. slidden ... backsliding--**rather, as the Hebrew is the same as in Jr 8:4, to which this verse refers, "turned away with a perpetual turning away." **perpetual--**in contrast to the "arise" ("rise again," Jr 8:4). **refuse to return--**in contrast to, "shall he ... not return" (Jr 8:4; Jr 5:3).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison</strong> (בַּעֲצֻרוֹ, ba'atzuro)—The timing marker indicates this oracle (fulfilled in vv. 16-18) was received during imprisonment before the city's fall. The verb <em>atzar</em> (עָצַר) means detained, restrained, confined. Physical confinement never restricts divine communication—God's <em>word</...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**6. spake not aright--**that is, not so as penitently to confess that they acted wrong. Compare what follows. **every one ... his course--**The Keri reads "course," but the Chetib, "courses." "They persevere in the courses whatever they have once entered on." Their wicked ways were diversified. **horse rusheth--**literally, "pours himself forth," as water that has burst its embankment. The ma...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.

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KJV Study Commentary

The Ethiopian eunuch Ebed-melech receives a personal prophecy of deliverance for his kindness to Jeremiah (38:7-13). God notices and rewards those who show mercy to His servants. While Jerusalem falls, this foreigner is saved because he 'put his trust in the LORD.' Faith, not ethnicity, determines one's standing before God - a preview of gospel inclusivity.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(16) **Go and speak to** **Ebed-melech.**—It lies in the nature of the case that the prophet, when he put this prediction, given during the progress of the siege, on record, knew that it had been fulfilled. We hear nothing more of the faithful Ethiopian, but we may believe that he was spared by the Chaldæans, probably at the prophet’s intercession. It is not without significance that the promise i...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. The instinct of the migratory birds leads them with unfailing regularity to return every spring from their winter abodes in summer climes (So 2:12); but God's people will not return to Him even when the winter of His wrath is past, and He invites them back to the spring of His favor. **in the heaven--**emphatical. The birds whose very element is the air, in which they are never at rest, yet s...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.

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KJV Study Commentary

'I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD.' This personal promise to Ebed-melech contrasts with Jerusalem's general destruction. God's particular care for individuals who show mercy reflects the Beatitude 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy' (Matt 5:7). Individual faith receives individual reward even amid corporate judgment.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**8. law ... with us--**(Ro 2:17). Possessing the law, on which they prided themselves, the Jews might have become the wisest of nations; but by their neglecting its precepts, the law became given "in vain," as far as they were concerned. **scribes--**copyists. "In vain" copies were multiplied. Maurer translates, "The false pen of the scribes hath converted it [the law] into a lie." See Margin, ...
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

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KJV Study Commentary

The reason for Ebed-melech's deliverance is stated explicitly: 'because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.' This is the heart of saving faith - trust in God Himself, not in circumstances, nationality, or religious pedigree. His life becomes 'a prey' (spoils of war retained) - he survives amid general destruction. Faith secures what nothing else can.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9. dismayed--**confounded. **what wisdom--**literally, "the wisdom of what?" that is, "wisdom in what respect?" the Word of the Lord being the only true source of wisdom (Psa 119:98-100; Pr 1:7; 9:10).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Chapter 39 This chapter is the same as II Kin. 20:12-19.

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