A prey unto thee - An unexpected and unlooked-for gain. He had given proof of faith in courageously delivering God's prophet.

I will surely deliver thee - Thou hast feared the Lord, and not the king, nor his princes, and thou hast taken the part of the prophet, and become his intercessor. Thou shalt not be slain. Thou hast put thy trust in me; thou shalt therefore be safe whithersoever thou goest. They that fear God need fear nothing besides.

For I will surely deliver thee,.... Or, in "delivering will deliver thee" (p); this is a repetition and confirmation of what is promised in Jeremiah 39:17, and more fully explains it:

and thou shall not fall by the sword: by the sword of the Chaldeans, when the city should be taken, as he feared he should:

but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: shall be safe; be like a prey taken out of the hand of the mighty, and be enjoyed beyond expectation, having been given up for lost; and therefore matter of the greater joy, such as is expressed at the taking of spoils:

because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. The Targum is, "in my word"; what he had done in serving the prophet, and other good actions, sprung from a principle of faith and confidence in the Lord; and this the Lord had a respect unto; without which works are not right; and without which it is impossible to please God with them; and which faith may be, and be true, where fears are.

(p) "eripiendo eripiam te", Schmidt; "eruendo eruam te", Pagninus, Montanus.

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

(g) Thus God recompensed his zeal and favour which he showed to his prophet in his troubles.

Margin trust

See Scofield Note: "Ps 2:12".

18. life . for a prey-(See on [955]Jer 21:9; [956]Jer 38:2; [957]Jer 45:5).

put . trust in me-(Jer 38:7-9). Trust in God was the root of his fearlessness of the wrath of men, in his humanity to the prophet (1Ch 5:20; Ps 37:40). The "life" he thus risked was to be his reward, being spared beyond all hope, when the lives of his enemies should be forfeited ("for a prey").

39:15-18 Here is a message to assure Ebed-melech of a recompence for his great kindness to Jeremiah. Because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. God recompenses men's services according to their principles. Those who trust God in the way of duty, as this good man did, will find that their hope shall not fail in times of the greatest danger.