John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 38:16

"So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life." — Jeremiah 38:16 (ASV)

The king, desiring a new revelation, promised safety to the Prophet by an oath. He then swore that he would not take revenge, though he might be displeased with the Prophet’s answer. He might indeed have conjectured, though Jeremiah had not expressly said anything, that the answer would be unfavorable and in no way agreeable to his wishes.

For if some pleasant and joyful oracle had been given to the Prophet, he would not have made a preface concerning his own danger, the king's wrath, and also concerning his obstinacy. Zedekiah then could have concluded that nothing but what was sorrowful could be expected. For this reason, he made an oath that, whatever the answer might be, he would not be so offended as to cause any harm to the Prophet.

He said, I will not kill you, nor deliver you into the hand of those who seek your life, that is, who are enemies to your life; for to seek life is the same as pursuing a man to death. This is a way of speaking that often occurs, especially in the Psalms (Psalms 38:12; Psalms 40:14, 15). Then he refers to the mortal enemies of Jeremiah, and he promises at the same time that he would, with an undisturbed mind, receive whatever he might hear from the Prophet.

Let us notice the form of the oath: Live does Jehovah, who made for us this soul. He first made an oath by the life of God, that is, by the immortal God. The word חי, chi, when applied to God, denotes a life different from what is in men or in brute animals; for men live by the will of another, that is, while God gives them life.

It belongs then to God alone to live, for we do not live, nor move, nor have any being but in him, as Paul says in Acts 17:28; and hence he teaches us in another place that God alone is immortal (1 Timothy 6:16). At the same time, comprehended in this word is everything that peculiarly belongs to God; for God does not live to enjoy ease and indulge in idleness, but to govern the universe, to exercise his power throughout heaven and earth, to judge men, and to render to everyone his own just reward.

Then life in God is not an idle life, as ungodly men imagine, but includes his infinite power, justice, wisdom, and all that peculiarly belongs to him. Whenever, then, we speak of the life of God, let us know that we do not live but through him, and also that he does not sit idly and carelessly in heaven, but that he governs the whole world and is the judge of men.

According to this meaning, then, Zedekiah said, Live does Jehovah, and then he added, who made for us this soul. He expresses more clearly what I have already stated, and it is the same as though he had offered his own life before God as a pledge. He then prayed for the punishment of perjury on himself; for when he made an oath by God, the giver of life, it was the same as though he had said, “Let my life be forfeited, if I deceive you, or turn false.” Thus, we see what the purpose of an oath is: that God’s sacred name may be a pledge for us, so that our word may be relied on. It thus follows that God’s name, whenever we swear, cannot be taken with impunity: for we expose our life to his judgement, that he may revenge the wrong done to him; for his name, as is sufficiently known, is profaned by perjuries.