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Jeremiah 37

KJV · Chapter 37/52

1And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

2But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the Lord, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.

3And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the Lord our God for us.

4Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.

5Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

6Then came the word of the Lord unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

7Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

8And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

9Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

10For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

11And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.

13And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.

14Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

15Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

16When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

17Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

18Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?

19Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

20Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

21Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

During a brief respite in the Babylonian siege (caused by the advancing Egyptian army), Jeremiah tries to leave Jerusalem and is arrested on a false charge of desertion, then thrown into a dungeon.

Explanation

The temporary withdrawal of the Babylonian army, prompted by the approach of Egyptian troops, created a false sense of relief in Jerusalem — but Jeremiah warned plainly that the Babylonians would return and finish the destruction, refusing to feed false hopes. His attempt to travel to attend to personal business in Anathoth was misread as desertion to the enemy, showing how his reputation for preaching surrender already made him an automatic suspect in the eyes of the authorities. Even while unjustly imprisoned, he continued to be consulted in secret by King Zedekiah, who seemed torn between respecting the prophetic word and fearing the political consequences of following it.

Fun facts

  • The pharaoh mentioned as advancing against the Babylonians was probably Hophra (Apries), who reigned over Egypt during this period and is mentioned again in chapter 44.
  • The 'house of Jonathan the scribe,' used as a prison, was originally a private residence converted for that purpose — a common practice whenever there were not enough formal facilities available.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremiah 37:1Marks the change of king: Zedekiah (uncle of Jehoiachin, also called Jeconiah or Coniah, the king exiled in 597 BC) was placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar himself, as a vassal ruler -- he did not come to power through normal succession.
  2. Jeremiah 37:2Sums up the pattern of Zedekiah’s entire reign: neither he, nor the court, nor the people paid any attention to Jeremiah -- the same rejection that had already come from earlier kings.
  3. Jeremiah 37:3Even without taking the message seriously, Zedekiah sends word asking Jeremiah to pray for him and for the people -- a contradictory gesture from someone who rejects the prophet but still hopes for his spiritual help.
  4. Jeremiah 37:4An important detail: at this point Jeremiah still had freedom to come and go among the people; he had not yet been arrested -- a situation that changes right after this.
  5. Jeremiah 37:5A decisive military development: the Egyptian army, under Pharaoh Hophra, advanced to relieve Jerusalem, forcing the Babylonians to lift the siege temporarily -- a break that many mistook for final deliverance.
  6. Jeremiah 37:6A transition formula: God’s answer arrives at the very moment of hope created by the Babylonian withdrawal.
  7. Jeremiah 37:7Jeremiah is told to deny the court’s hope outright: the Egyptian army will go back to Egypt without really helping -- the relief from the siege will not last.
  8. Jeremiah 37:8Confirms that the Babylonians will return, resume the siege, and this time capture and burn the city -- the military pause was only that, a pause.
  9. Jeremiah 37:9A direct warning against self-deception: believing the Chaldeans had given up for good was a fatal mistake, because they were not really going away.
  10. Jeremiah 37:10An exaggerated image to drive home the certainty of the fall: even if only wounded soldiers were left in the Babylonian camp, they would still rise up to burn Jerusalem -- the outcome is already decided.
  11. Jeremiah 37:11When the Egyptian army forces the Babylonians to withdraw temporarily from the siege, Jeremiah tries to go to Anathoth, most likely to settle personal business, such as registering the field from chapter 32, but he is mistaken for a deserter trying to flee to the enemy and is arrested.
  12. Jeremiah 37:12Taking advantage of the temporary lifting of the siege, Jeremiah tries to leave the city to go to Anathoth, his hometown, probably to attend to the field he had bought in chapter 32.
  13. Jeremiah 37:13At the city gate, a captain named Irijah recognizes Jeremiah and accuses him of desertion, thinking he was trying to flee and surrender to the Babylonians.
  14. Jeremiah 37:14Jeremiah denies the accusation, but no one listens -- he is arrested on the spot and taken by force to the officials of the court.
  15. Jeremiah 37:15The officials react in anger, beat Jeremiah, and throw him into a makeshift prison in the house of a scribe named Jonathan -- harsh treatment for a man who was only trying to leave the city.
  16. Jeremiah 37:16Jeremiah is locked in underground cells in that house for a long stretch of time, a condition far worse than the relative freedom he had before.
  17. Jeremiah 37:17Zedekiah secretly sends for him for a private conversation, asking whether there was any word from God -- and receives the same answer as always: he will be handed over to the king of Babylon.
  18. Jeremiah 37:18Jeremiah takes the moment to protest his own unjust treatment: he asks what crime he committed to deserve prison, since he was only announcing what God had commanded.
  19. Jeremiah 37:19He counterattacks by asking about the false prophets who guaranteed that Babylon would never attack -- demanding an accounting that no one was making them give.
  20. Jeremiah 37:20He asks the king a personal favor: not to be sent back to the prison in Jonathan’s house, fearing he would die there in its miserable conditions.
  21. Jeremiah 37:21Receiving one loaf of bread a day from the bakers’ street, for as long as the city’s supply lasted, shows the severe rationing already under way during the siege. And the note that this ration lasted only until the city’s bread ran out foreshadows the total famine that comes in the following chapters.

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