Did Jeremiah lie in Jeremiah 38:27 Is Jeremiah lying here? I know that Jeremiah had previously discussed not being sent back to Jonathan's house in Jeremiah 37:20, but that is not the conversation that the officials seem to be asking about in Jeremiah 38:24-27.

Jeremiah 38:24-27 (NET):


  Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about the
  conversation we have had. If you do, you will die. 25 The officials
  may hear that I have talked with you. They may come to you and say,
  ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you. Do
  not hide anything from us. If you do, we will kill you.’ 26 If they do
  this, tell them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to
  die in the dungeon of Jonathan’s house.’” 27 All the officials did
  indeed come and question Jeremiah. He told them exactly what the king
  had instructed him to say.
Yes, it appears from the description that Jeremiah was not completely honest with the officials. They probably were asking about Jeremiah's prophecies, and he did not tell them what they wanted to know. Whether this is technically lying depends on exactly what questions were asked and exactly what answers Jeremiah gave, but it's pretty clear that Jeremiah gave them a misleading impression at the least.

Now let's look at the circumstances. The 'officials' are enforcers of an occupying power (Babylon) which has conquered Israel, and they are trying to kill Jeremiah, whose only crime is speaking the word of the Lord. To insist that you must tell the truth to them at all times in those circumstances is the equivalent of insisting that a French Christian in the 1940s always tell the truth when the Nazis ask if there are Jews hidden in their house. Some would say that is exactly what they should do, but not everyone would.

We also have to remember that not everything that is done in the Bible is a perfect example. The people in the Bible are real, and they make mistakes and commit sins - even the ones that have the favour of God. Even if we conclude that Jeremiah did lie, and that the circumstances don't excuse it, that does not mean that lying is OK.