Jeremiah 37:20

20 Now therefore, my lord the king, I beseech, hear thou, my prayer be worth(y) in thy sight, and send thou not me again into the house of Jonathan, the scribe, lest I die there. (And so now, my lord the king, I beseech thee, hear thou, let my prayer be worthy in thy sight, and do not thou send me again into the house of Jonathan, the writer, lest I die there.)

Jeremiah 37:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 37:20

Therefore hear now, one pray thee, O my lord the king
When the prophet spoke in the name of the Lord, and the words of the Lord, it was with great boldness and majesty; but when he spoke for himself, and on his own behalf, it was with great submission, as it became a subject to his king; and whom he owns as his sovereign lord, though a wicked prince, and whose destruction he knew was at hand: let my supplication be accepted before thee;
or, "fall before thee": see ( Jeremiah 36:7 ) ; which was as follows: that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe;
but that he might be discharged from his confinement; or however be removed into another prison, not so uncomfortable and disagreeable as this man's house or prison was; and which perhaps was still the worse through his cruel and ill natured carriage to him; and which all together endangered his life: wherefore he adds, lest I die there;
for though he had continued there many days, yet the place was so exceedingly noisome, that he thought he could not long continue there, was he remanded back to it.

Jeremiah 37:20 In-Context

18 And Jeremy said to Zedekiah, the king, What have I sinned to thee, and to thy servants, and to thy people, for thou hast sent me into the house of [the] prison? (And Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, What have I sinned against thee, and thy officers, and thy people, so that thou hast sent me into the prison house?)

19 Where be your prophets, that prophesied to you, and said, The king of Babylon shall not come on you, and on this land? (Where be your prophets, who prophesied to you, and said, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, or against this land?)

20 Now therefore, my lord the king, I beseech, hear thou, my prayer be worth(y) in thy sight, and send thou not me again into the house of Jonathan, the scribe, lest I die there. (And so now, my lord the king, I beseech thee, hear thou, let my prayer be worthy in thy sight, and do not thou send me again into the house of Jonathan, the writer, lest I die there.)

21 Therefore Zedekiah commanded, that Jeremy should be betaken into the porch of the prison, and that a cake of bread should be given to him each day, without stew, till all the loaves of the city were wasted; and Jeremy dwelled in the porch of the prison. (And so Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah should be taken to the courtyard of the prison, and that a loaf of bread should be given to him each day, but without stew, until all the loaves of the city were gone; and so Jeremiah lived in the courtyard of the prison.)