Chapter Thirty-Seven

1–10. Jeremiah’s prophecy about the second invasion of Judah by the Chaldeans, who had left the walls of Jerusalem. 11–16. The arrest of the prophet. 17–21. His conversation with King Zedekiah.

Jer 37:1-10. At a time when, thanks to the approach of the Egyptian army coming to help the Judeans, the Chaldeans had to temporarily lift the siege of Jerusalem, Zedekiah, in the hope that the prophet Jeremiah would now say nothing unpleasant for the Judeans, sent messengers to him with a request to pray for the Judeans to the Lord and then of course to tell them something comforting. But Jeremiah as before announced to Jerusalem its destruction by the Chaldeans.

Jeremiah 37:3. And King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God. Zedekiah was a man of weak character. He sometimes followed the advice of Jeremiah (Jer 23:14 and following), then he yielded to the suggestions of his courtiers who said the opposite of what Jeremiah advised (Jer 38:4 and following). – “Jehucal” in Jer 38:1 verse is numbered among the princes. “Zephaniah” was a person of rather high standing among the priests (Jer 21:1).

Jeremiah 37:5. Meanwhile the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they lifted the siege of Jerusalem. The Pharaoh mentioned here is Hophra, the fourth ruler of the 26th dynasty. From the book of Ezekiel it is evident that he suffered defeat when he met the Chaldeans (Ezek 30:21). Jer 37:11-16. At a time when it was again possible for the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem to go out to the surrounding cities, Jeremiah wanted to go to his native city Anathoth, probably on some property matters. But at the Benjamin Gate he was stopped by the chief of the guard and, despite all the evidence by which Jeremiah proved his innocence, he was thrown into prison as a deserter to the Chaldeans, and was even beaten.

Jeremiah 37:12. Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people. “To claim his property among the people” – more correctly from the Hebrew: “to take his inheritance share among his kinfolk.”

Jeremiah 37:15. And the princes were angry with Jeremiah and beat him and put him in prison, in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it a prison. “The princes were angry with Jeremiah” for his constant speeches about the necessity of surrendering to the Chaldeans. The old princes who had been favorably disposed toward Jeremiah (Jer 26:3-6) were no longer there. – Near the house of the chief of the chancellery there was apparently a convenient room that could serve as a prison. Jer 37:17-21. When the Chaldeans approached Jerusalem again, Zedekiah secretly called Jeremiah to him and asked him about the fate awaiting the city. Jeremiah again foretold him captivity and asked the king at the same time for more gentle treatment, pointing out that his prophecy about the return of the Chaldeans had been fulfilled. The king then placed him in the court of the guard.

Jeremiah 37:21. And King Zedekiah gave the command that Jeremiah be confined in the court of the guard, and that he be given a piece of bread from the street of the bakers each day, until all the bread in the city was gone; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. Jeremiah was given one small loaf a day, which, however, in the midst of the famine that prevailed in the city, was a kindness to the prophet.