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Jeremiah 37

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Zedekiah Seeks Jeremiah's Counsel 1–5

1
And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. ​
2
But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah. ​
3
And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. ​
4
Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.
5
Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. ​

The Prophecy of Babylon's Return 6–10

6
Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
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Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. ​
8
And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. ​
9
Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
10
For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire. ​

Jeremiah Arrested as a Deserter 11–16

11
And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12
Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. ​
13
And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. ​
14
Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
15
Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. ​
16
When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; ​

Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Secretly 17–21

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Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. ​
18
Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
19
Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? ​
20
Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
21
Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 37

Verse 1

Zedekiah… instead of Coniah — Coniah is Jehoiachin. Nebuchadrezzar made Mattaniah, 'his father's brother', king in his stead and 'changed his name to Zedekiah' (2 Kings 24:17). Chapters 37–39 follow this last king of Judah through the final siege of Jerusalem.

Verse 2

neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land — All three are named: king, court and people. Of Zedekiah the chronicler says he 'humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD' (2 Chr 36:12). Messengers come for prayer in v.3, but not to obey the word.

Verse 3

Pray now unto the LORD our God for us — The same king had sent before, by Pashur and 'Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest', 'Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us' (21:1–2). Jucal the son of Shelemiah, here Jehucal, is among those who heard Jeremiah's words (38:1); the princes then ask for his death (38:4).

Verse 5

Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt — Pharaoh's approach makes the Chaldeans leave the city (v.11). The LORD had said, 'I will command… and cause them to return to this city' (34:22). Ezek 17:15 records the king's embassy to Egypt, sent 'that they might give him horses and much people'.

Verse 7

shall return to Egypt — The help Judah sought from Egypt is declared empty. Isa 31:3 says, 'Now the Egyptians are men, and not God'; Lam 4:17 looks back on it: 'our eyes as yet failed for our vain help'. The word of the LORD is addressed to 'the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire'.

Verse 8

take it, and burn it with fire — The lifted siege is only a pause: the Chaldeans 'shall come again'. The same words were given in 34:22, and the burning is recorded when the city falls: 'the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire' (39:8).

Verse 10

wounded men among them — Even a beaten army would be enough, because the war is the LORD's: 'I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm' (21:5). Nebuchadrezzar is called the LORD's 'servant' in his bringing against the land (25:9).

Verse 12

the land of Benjamin — Jeremiah's own town, Anathoth, was 'in the land of Benjamin' (1:1), and there he had bought a field from his cousin Hanameel (32:8–9). With the Chaldeans gone from the city (v.11), the way out was open for a time.

Verse 13

Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans — Naphal, to fall: the verb of Jeremiah's own counsel, 'he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans… shall live' (21:9). Irijah, 'a captain of the ward' at the gate of Benjamin, turns the word into a charge; Jeremiah answers, 'It is false; I fall not away' (v.14).

Verse 15

smote him, and put him in prison — The princes had once said of him, 'This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God' (26:16). Now they strike him, as Pashur had (20:2), and confine him in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which 'they had made' the prison.

Verse 16

the dungeon, and into the cabins — 'Dungeon' is the house of the pit (bor, a cistern), and 'cabins' (chanuth, vaulted cells) occurs only here. Later he is let down by cords into another dungeon where 'there was no water, but mire' (38:6). Here he 'remained… many days'.

Verse 17

Is there any word from the LORD? — The king asks in secret, and the answer is the one already given: 'thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.' He sends again in secret in 38:14–16, again fearing others (38:19, 25).

Verse 19

Where are now your prophets — Moses gave the test: 'if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken' (Deut 18:22). Those prophets had said, 'The king of Babylon shall not come against you.' Jeremiah's word of v.8 stood, and the city 'was broken up' (39:2).

Verse 21

a piece of bread out of the bakers' street — The king moves Jeremiah to the court of the prison, with a daily loaf (kikkar, a round loaf) 'until all the bread in the city were spent'. He remained there 'until the day that Jerusalem was taken' (38:28); the famine is recorded in 52:6.