Jeremias 44:18

18 And Jeremias said to the king, Wherein have I wronged thee, or thy servants, or this people, that thou puttest me in prison?

Jeremias 44:18 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 44:18

But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven,
&c.] Or were restrained from it, as the Targum, through the force of the prophet's sermons, or by the authority of their governors: this Abarbinel thinks was in the times of Jehoiakim, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah; but perhaps it only regards some space of time in the latter part of Zedekiah's reign, a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, when they refrained from their idolatry; fearing the wrath of God, and what was coming upon them; though Kimchi is of opinion that they never ceased; but they would say, when any evil came upon them, it was because they ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven, of were not so ready to it as at first: and to pour out drink offerings to her:
another part of worship they performed to her but for a while left off: and from that time they say, we have wanted all [things], and have been consumed by the sword, and
by the famine;
wanted all the necessaries of life, meat and drink, and clothing and a habitation to dwell in; and multitudes were destroyed by the sword of the king of Babylon; and others perished with famine during the siege; these evils they imputed to their cessation from idolatry, when it was the very thing that brought them on them.

Jeremias 44:18 In-Context

16 So Jeremias came into the dungeon, and into the cells, and he remained there many days.

17 Then Sedekias sent, and called him; and the king asked him secretly, saying, Is there a word from the Lord? and he said, There is: thou shalt be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.

18 And Jeremias said to the king, Wherein have I wronged thee, or thy servants, or this people, that thou puttest me in prison?

19 And where are your prophets who prophesied to you saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against this land?

20 Now therefore, my lord the king, let my supplication come before thy face: and why dost thou send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe? and let me not on any account die there.