What message do the officials hear Jeremiah proclaiming?

In the previous chapter Jeremiah had to plead with king Zedekiah for his life after being accused of desertion and thrown into a dungeon cell to die. The city, its king and its people are in turmoil because the siege has started again, and the Babylonian army is threatening to breach the walls of a city weakened by hunger. King Zedekiah has also shown himself to be politically and spiritually weak. Placed on the throne by the Babylonians, he is unable to resist the pro-Egyptian party in his government, who want Jeremiah killed. Drawn to Jeremiah as a true prophet of the Lord, he is unwilling to act on what Jeremiah says. In the midst of this turmoil Jeremiah has consistently proclaimed the Lord’s word. These chaotic dynamics continue in Jeremiah 38:1–28 as the city moves ever closer to destruction at the hands of Babylon.

The chapter begins with Jeremiah still confined to the court of the guard (see Jeremiah 37:21) where he has continued his work of proclaiming the Lord’s word to all those who came to the palace. Some of the king’s officials hear what Jeremiah is saying. The two main points of Jeremiah’s message from the Lord are summarized by the writer. First, all those who resist the Babylonians will die in the city, but those who surrender will have their lives spared. Secondly, the city will be given into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. Even while under arrest, and well aware of the danger his life is in, Jeremiah continues to faithfully proclaim the Lord’s word. Jeremiah is driven by the knowledge that there is an urgent need for the people to respond in faith if they are to be spared the full consequences of the Lord’s judgment¹.