Jeremiah 37:2

2 Zedekiah and his attendants didn't pay any attention to what the LORD had said through me. And the people of the land didn't pay any attention either.

Jeremiah 37:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 37:2

But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land,
&c.] The king, his courtiers and subjects the royal family, nobility, and common people; they were all degenerate and corrupt. Jarchi observes, that Jehoiakim was wicked, and his people righteous; and that Zedekiah was righteous, and his people wicked but he seems to found his character on that single action of taking Jeremiah out of prison; whereas, according to this account, king and people were all wicked: for neither one or other did hearken unto the words of the Lord, which he spake by Jeremiah the
prophet;
neither those which were spoken in the former nor in the latter part of his reign, concerning the destruction of the city by the Chaldeans. This short count is given to show how just it was to give up such a prince and people to ruin.

Jeremiah 37:2 In-Context

1 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, appointed Zedekiah to be king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. Zedekiah ruled in place of Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim.

2 Zedekiah and his attendants didn't pay any attention to what the LORD had said through me. And the people of the land didn't pay any attention either.

3 But King Zedekiah sent Jehucal to me. He sent the priest Zephaniah along with him. Jehucal was the son of Shelemiah. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah. Jehucal and Zephaniah brought the king's message to me. It said, "Please pray to the LORD our God for us."

4 At that time I was free to come and go among the people. I had not yet been put in prison.

5 The armies of Babylonia were attacking Jerusalem. They received a report that Pharaoh's army had marched out of Egypt to help Zedekiah. So they pulled back from Jerusalem.