Jeremiah 37:11-21

Jeremiah Imprisoned

11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because * of Pharaoh's army,

12 that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ¹take possession of some property there * among the people.

13 While he was at the ²Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ³arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are going over to the Chaldeans!"

14 But Jeremiah said, "⁴A lie! I am not going over to the Chaldeans "; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

15 Then the officials were ⁵angry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they ⁶put him in jail * in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison *.

16 For Jeremiah had come into the ⁷dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

17 Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king ⁸secretly asked him and said, "Is there a ⁹word from the LORD?" And Jeremiah said, "There is!" Then he said, "You will be ¹⁰given into the hand of the king of Babylon!"

18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "¹¹In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison *?

19 "¹²Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The ¹³king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land '?

20 "But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my ¹⁴petition come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there."

21 Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the ¹⁵court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of ¹⁶bread daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was ¹⁷gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah 37:11-21 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.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 32:8
• 2. Jeremiah 38:7; Zechariah 14:10
• 3. Jeremiah 18:18; Jeremiah 20:10; Luke 23:2; Acts 6:11; Acts 24:5-9, 13
• 4. Psalms 27:12; Psalms 52:1, 2; Jeremiah 40:4-6; Matthew 5:11, 12
• 5. Jeremiah 18:23; Jeremiah 20:1-3; Jeremiah 26:16; Matthew 21:35
• 6. Genesis 39:20; 2 Chronicles 16:10; 2 Chronicles 18:26; Jeremiah 38:26; Acts 5:18
• 7. Jeremiah 38:6
• 8. 1 Kings 14:1-4; Jer 38:5, 14-16, 24-27
• 9. 1 Kings 22:15, 16; 2 Kings 3:11, 12; Jeremiah 15:11; Jeremiah 21:1, 2; Jeremiah 37:3
• 10. Jeremiah 21:7; Jeremiah 24:8; Ezekiel 12:12, 13; Ezekiel 17:19, 20
• 11. 1 Samuel 24:9; 1 Samuel 26:18; Daniel 6:22; John 10:32; Acts 25:8, 11, 25
• 12. Deuteronomy 32:37, 38; 2 Kings 3:13; Jeremiah 2:28
• 13. Jeremiah 27:14; Jeremiah 28:1-4, 10-17
• 14. Jeremiah 36:7; Jeremiah 38:26
• 15. Jeremiah 32:2; Jeremiah 38:13, 28
• 16. 1 Kings 17:6; Job 5:20; Psalms 33:18, 19; Isaiah 33:16
• 17. 2 Kings 25:3; Jeremiah 38:9; Jeremiah 52:6

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "part in a dividing"
• [b]. Lit "falling"
• [c]. Lit "falling"
• [d]. Lit "house of the cistern-pit"
• [e]. Lit "fall"