Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
Take from, hence ... with thee - Hebrew, 'in thine hand, i:e., at 'thy disposal,' (1 Samuel 16:2, margin.) From hence - i:e., from the gate of Benjamin, where the king was sitting (Jeremiah 38:7).
Thirty men - not merely to draw up Jeremiah, but to guard Ebed- melech against any opposition on the part of the princes (Jeremiah 38:1-4), in executing the king's command. Ebed-melech was rewarded for his faith, love, and courage, exhibited at a time when he might well fear the wrath of the princes, to which even the king had to yield (Jeremiah 39:16-18)