Jeremiah 37:1-10

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah ^[a] 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 ^[b] 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 ^[c] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, 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 that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt.

8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.

9 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not!

10 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”

Jeremiah 37:1-10 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Coniah is a variant of Jehoiachin.
• [b]. Jehucal is a variant of Jucal; see Jeremiah 38:1.
• [c]. That is, the Babylonians; also in verses 8, 9, 13, and 14