Jeremiah 37:1-10

1 And king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned for Jeconiah , the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah.

2 And he, and his servants, and his people obeyed not to the words of the Lord, which he spake in the hand of Jeremy, the prophet. (And he, and his officers, and his people did not obey the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.)

3 And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremy, the prophet, and said, Pray thou for us our Lord God. (And King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to the prophet Jeremiah, and said, Pray thou for us to the Lord our God.)

4 Forsooth Jeremy went freely in the midst of the people; for they had not (yet) sent him into the keeping of the prison.

5 Therefore the host of Pharaoh went out of Egypt, and [the] Chaldees, that besieged Jerusalem, heard such a message, and went away from Jerusalem. (And so, Pharaoh's army went forth out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard this news, they went away from Jerusalem.)

6 And the word of the Lord was made to Jeremy, the prophet, and said,

7 The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Thus ye shall say to the king of Judah, that sent you to ask me, Lo! the host of Pharaoh, which went out to you into help, shall turn again into his land, into Egypt. (The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Thus ye shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask me, Lo! Pharaoh's army, which went out to help you, shall return to their own land, yea, to Egypt.)

8 And Chaldees shall come again, and shall fight against this city, and shall take it, and shall burn it with fire. (And then the Chaldeans shall return, and shall fight against this city, and shall take it, and shall burn it down.)

9 The Lord saith these things, Do not ye deceive your souls, saying, Chaldees going shall go away, and shall depart from us; for they shall not go away. (The Lord saith these things, Do not ye deceive yourselves, by saying, The Chaldeans going away shall truly go away, and shall indeed depart from us; for they shall not go away from you.)

10 But though ye slay all the host of Chaldees, that fight against you, and some wounded men of them be left, each man shall rise from his tent, and they shall burn this city with fire. (But even if ye might kill all of the Chaldean army, who fight against you, and only some of their wounded men be left, each wounded man shall rise up out of his tent, and they shall burn down this city.)

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.