Jeremiah 37:16

16 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon^[a] and stayed there many days.

Jeremiah 37:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 37:16

When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon
Or, "into the house of the pit" ^F12; a dungeon, like a pit or ditch, dark, dirty, or dismal: and into the cabins;
or "cells" ^F13; into a place more inward than the cells, as the Targum; into the innermost and worst part in all the prison, where a man could not well lie, sit, nor stand: and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
in this very uncomfortable condition; very probably till the Chaldean army returned to Jerusalem, as he foretold it should.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (rwbh tyb la) "in, [vel] ad domum laci", Pagninus, Montanus; "in domum foveae", Schmidt.
F13 (twynxh law) "et in cellulas illius", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "et ad cellas", Schmidt.

Jeremiah 37:16 In-Context

14 "[That's] a lie," Jeremiah replied. "I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!" Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials.

15 The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.

16 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and stayed there many days.

17 King Zedekiah later sent [for him] and received him, and in his house privately asked him, "Is there a word from the Lord?" "There is," Jeremiah responded, and he continued, "You will be handed over to the king of Babylon."

18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison?

Footnotes

• [a]. Gn 40:15; Isa 24:22; Zch 9:11