ירמיהו, פרק ל״ח, פסוק ט״ו

Jeremiah finds himself caught in a dangerous and frustrating double bind when standing before King Zedekiah. Speaking the truth puts his own life at risk, while offering practical guidance is completely pointless because it will ultimately be ignored.

The prophet draws a clear distinction between delivering a divine message and offering counsel. If he simply shares the prophecy and reveals the terrible disaster that is about to happen, he faces a direct threat [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. He expresses a real fear that delivering such harsh news will provoke the king to execute him. This statement is framed as a hypothetical situation: if he speaks the truth, death is the expected result [מצודת דוד].

Beyond just sharing the prophecy, there is the separate matter of giving advice. This involves offering a strategy on how to survive the coming disaster [מלבי״ם], or sharing guidance based on the prophet's own personal understanding of the situation [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Yet, Jeremiah points out that even taking this step is entirely useless. He knows the king will simply refuse to listen and will ignore the word of God. Because the king will reject any counsel offered to him, providing a way out will not bring about any positive result [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].