Jeremiahchapter 37

A.Pharaoh's Army Departs, but the Chaldeans Will Returnvv. 1-10

1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim. 2 But he and his officers and the people of the land refused to obey the words that the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet. 3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!” 4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt. 8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down. 9 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not! 10 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”

B.Seized at the Gate of Benjamin; a Loaf of Bread Each Dayvv. 11-21

11 When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people. 13 But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” 14 “That is a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and took him to the officials. 15 The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. 16 So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time. 17 Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’? 20 But now please listen, O my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

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Chapter summary

Pharaoh's army marches out and the Chaldeans lift the siege; Jerusalem exhales.

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Pharaoh's army marches out and the Chaldeans lift the siege; Jerusalem exhales. Jeremiah punctures it: the Egyptians will go home, the Chaldeans will return and burn this city, do not deceive yourselves. Leaving town to claim a portion in Benjamin, he is seized at the gate of Benjamin by Irijah, charged with defecting, beaten by the princes, and put in the dungeon cells of Jonathan's house for many days. Zedekiah sends for him secretly and asks, Is there any word from Jehovah? The answer is unchanged: thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. Jeremiah pleads not to be sent back to die there, and is moved to the court of the guard with a daily loaf while bread lasts.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Jeremiah — Jeremiah overview

A. 1–10 Pharaoh's Army Departs, but the Chaldeans Will Return
B. 11–21 Seized at the Gate of Benjamin; a Loaf of Bread Each Day

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Jeremiah 388 verses
- Jeremiah 38:6So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
- Jeremiah 38:7Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
- Jeremiah 38:10So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
- Jeremiah 38:13and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
- Jeremiah 38:14Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance to the house of the LORD. “I am going to ask you something,” said the king to Jeremiah. “Do not hide anything from me.”
- Jeremiah 38:23All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.”
- Read Jeremiah 38: 2 more there →
Jeremiah 374 verses
- Jeremiah 37:3Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
- Jeremiah 37:5Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 37:11When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
- Jeremiah 37:15The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
- Read Jeremiah 37 →
2 Kings 242 verses
- 2 Kings 24:12Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.
- 2 Kings 24:17Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
- Read 2 Kings 24 →
Jeremiah 212 verses
- Jeremiah 21:1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
- Jeremiah 21:7‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’
- Read Jeremiah 21 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Ezekiel 172 verses
- Ezekiel 17:15But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’
- Ezekiel 17:17Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.
- Read Ezekiel 17 →
Jeremiah 282 verses
- Jeremiah 28:1In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people:
- Jeremiah 28:10Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
- Read Jeremiah 28 →
Jeremiah 321 verse
- Jeremiah 32:2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah.
- Read Jeremiah 32 →
Jeremiah 341 verse
- Jeremiah 34:21And I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon that had withdrawn from you.
- Read Jeremiah 34 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.