Jeremiah 37:7

7 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.

Jeremiah 37:7 in Other Translations

7 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.

7 "Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, 'Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land.

7 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what is going to happen. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you.

7 "I, the God of Israel, want you to give this Message to the king of Judah, who has just sent you to me to find out what he should do. Tell him, 'Get this: Pharaoh's army, which is on its way to help you, isn't going to stick it out. No sooner will they get here than they'll leave and go home to Egypt.

7 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah's king, who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh's army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt.

Jeremiah 37:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 37:7

Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel
Which are the usual titles and characters the Lord takes to himself, when he spake by the prophet; see ( Jeremiah 34:2 Jeremiah 34:13 ) ; thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me, to
inquire of me;
in an oracular way; for by this it seems that they were not only sent to desire the prophet to pray for them, but to obtain an oracle from the Lord, confirming it to them, that the Chaldean army which was gone would not return any more; this they were willing to believe, but wanted to have a confirmation of it from the Lord; and so the Targum,

``to seek an oracle from me;''

or to ask instruction or doctrine from me: now these messengers are bid to go back and tell the king, his nobles, and all the people of the land, what follows: behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return
to Egypt, into their own land;
being afraid to face the Chaldean army; or being defeated and driven back by it. Josephus ^F1 says there was a battle fought between the Egyptians and Chaldeans, in which the latter were conquerors, and put the former to flight, and drove them out of all Syria. Jarchi relates a fable, how that the Egyptian army came by ships, and that at sea they saw strange appearances, upon which they said one to another, what means this? they replied, these are our fathers, whom the fathers of those we are going to help drowned in the sea; and immediately returned to their own land.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Anitqu. l. 10. c. 7. sect. 3.

Jeremiah 37:7 In-Context

5 Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt, and when the Babylonians who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet:

7 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.

8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.’

9 “This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not!

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 25:22; S 2 Kings 22:18
• 2. ver 5
• 3. S 2 Kings 18:21; S Jeremiah 2:36; Lamentations 1:7; Lamentations 4:17