Jeremiah 38:2

¹ Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard that Jeremiah had been telling all the people:

“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.

³ This is what the LORD says: This city will surely be delivered into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”

⁴ Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: “This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.
KJV: Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
WEB: “The LORD says, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live. He will escape with his life and he will live.’
ASV: Thus saith Jehovah, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.
DARBY: Thus saith Jehovah: He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.
BLB: “Thus says YHWH: He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, and the one going forth to the Chaldeans will live, and his life will be to him for a prey, and he will live.

ÅB: Så sier Herren: Den som blir i denne by, skal dø ved sverd, ved hunger og ved pest; men den som går ut til kaldeerne, skal bli i live, han skal få sitt liv til krigsbytte og leve.
OTB: "Så sier Herren: 'Den som blir i denne byen, skal dø ved sverd, sult eller pest, men den som overgir seg til kaldeerne, skal leve. De skal slippe unna med livet og leve.'
B1930: Så sier Herren: Den som blir i denne by, skal dø ved sverd, ved hunger og ved pest; men den som går ut til kaldeerne, skal bli i live, han skal få sitt liv til krigsbytte og leve.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Jeremiah 39:18
For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’”
Read in context
Jeremiah 45:5
But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.”
Read in context
Jeremiah 34:17
Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Read in context
Ezekiel 14:21
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast?
Read in context
Jeremiah 42:17
So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.’
Read in context
Matthew 24:7–8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Read in context
Jeremiah 44:13
I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,
Read in context
Revelation 6:4–8
Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.
Read in context