Jeremias 37:2-12

2 Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write all the words which I have spoken to thee in a book.

3 For, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel and Juda, said the Lord: and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall be lords of it.

4 AND THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD SPOKE CONCERNING ISRAEL AND JUDA;

5 Thus said the Lord: Ye shall hear a sound of fear, fear, and there is not peace.

6 Enquire, and see if a male has born a child? and concerning the fear, wherein they shall hold their loins, and safety: for I have seen every man, and his hands are on his loins; faces are turned to paleness.

7 For that day is great, and there is not such ; and it is a time of straitness to Jacob; but he shall be saved out of it.

8 In that day, said the Lord, I will break the yoke off their neck, and will burst their bonds, and they shall no longer serve strangers:

9 but they shall serve the Lord their God; and I will raise up to them David their king.

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12 Thus saith the Lord; I have brought on destruction; thy stroke is painful.

Jeremias 37:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 37

This chapter makes mention of the reign of Zedekiah, and what happened in it; of his message to Jeremiah, to pray for the kingdom; of the king of Babylonian's raising the siege of Jerusalem, on hearing the king of Egypt was coming to its relief; of the assurance the prophet gave that the Chaldean army would return again, and destroy the city; of the prophet's attempt to depart the city, his imprisonment, conversation with Zedekiah, and his clemency to him. A short account is given of Zedekiah, and of the disobedience of him and his people to the word of the Lord, Jer 37:1,2; of the message sent by him to the prophet to pray for them, Jer 37:3; the time, when Jeremiah was at liberty, and the siege of Jerusalem was raised, Jer 37:4,5; the prophet's answer to them from the Lord, assuring them the Chaldeans would return and burn the city, Jer 37:6-10; the prophet attempting to go out of the city is stopped, and charged as a deserter to the Chaldeans; is had before the princes, and beat and imprisoned, Jer 37:11-15; but the king sending for him out of prison, and having some private discourse with him, upon the prophet's expostulation and intercession, his confinement was mitigated, and bread allowed him, Jer 37:16-21.