Jeremiah 37:2

2 And he, and his servants, and his people obeyed not to the words of the Lord, which he spake in the hand of Jeremy, the prophet. (And he, and his officers, and his people did not obey the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.)

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 And king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned for Jeconiah , the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah.

2 And he, and his servants, and his people obeyed not to the words of the Lord, which he spake in the hand of Jeremy, the prophet. (And he, and his officers, and his people did not obey the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.)

3 And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremy, the prophet, and said, Pray thou for us our Lord God. (And King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to the prophet Jeremiah, and said, Pray thou for us to the Lord our God.)

4 Forsooth Jeremy went freely in the midst of the people; for they had not (yet) sent him into the keeping of the prison.

5 Therefore the host of Pharaoh went out of Egypt, and [the] Chaldees, that besieged Jerusalem, heard such a message, and went away from Jerusalem. (And so, Pharaoh's army went forth out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard this news, they went away from Jerusalem.)