Jeremiah 37:2

2 But he and his officers and the people of the land refused to obey the words that the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

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 king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.

2 But he and his officers and the people of the land refused to obey the words that the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”

4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.

5 Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.