Jeremiah 32:2
in Jeremiah 32At 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house.
KJV
For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.
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This verse in Jeremiah 32
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThen the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem - The siege had commenced the year before, and continued a year after ending in the fifth month of the following year; consequently, the siege must have lasted about eighteen months and twenty-seven days. See 2Ki 25:18.
This site's exposition
in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah
on Jeremiah 32:1-5
The date is exact, “the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.” His offense is the message that the city will fall, and the king confines the messenger. The chapter's sign of hope takes place in this same prison yard.
This site's exposition
was besieging Jerusalem
Barnes places the courtyard of the guard inside the palace, where the royal guard had its quarters. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown trace the way Jeremiah came there. When an Egyptian army lifted the siege, he was put in a dungeon and later moved to this freer custody (Jeremiah 37:12-21).
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter XXXII, verse 1 and following). The word that was spoken to Jeremiah by the Lord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, was the eighteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the prison, which was in the palace of the king of Judah. For King Zedekiah of Judah had locked him up, saying, 'Why do you prophesy, saying, "Thus says the Lord"?
The Reformation1 voice
For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He prays with admiration of God's majesty and works; and represents his own conflict, ver. 16-25. God confirms the captivity for their sins, ver. 26-35. but promises a gracious return, ver. 36-44.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-26/36-anchored-1-15
So far was he from humbling himself before Jeremiah, as he ought to have done ( 2 Chron. xxxvi. 12 ), that he hardened himself against him. Though he had formerly so far owned him to be a prophet as to desire him to enquire of the Lord for them ( ch. xxi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He was at that time put into free custody in the court of the prison. At the raising of the siege by Pharaoh-hophra, Jeremiah was on the point of repairing to Benjamin, when he was cast into "the dungeon," but obtained leave to be removed again to the court of the prison (Jer 37:12-21).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The prison - Or, the guard, a part of the king’s palace, probably where the royal guard had its quarters.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָ֗ז | veaz | and then | H227 → | 141 times |
| חֵ֚יל | cheil | [the] army of | H2428 → | 246 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶ֔ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| צָרִ֖ים | tzarim | [were] laying siege | H6696 → | 38 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְיִרְמְיָ֣הוּ | veyirmeyahu | and Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| הַנָּבִ֗יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הָיָ֤ה | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כָלוּא֙ | khalu' | shut up | H3607 → | |
| בַּחֲצַ֣ר | bachatzar | in [the] courtyard of | H2691 → | 191 times |
| הַמַּטָּרָ֔ה | hamatarah | the guard | H4307 → | 16 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בֵּֽית־ | beit- | [was] [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָֽה׃ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וְאָ֗זand then
veazH227 →141 times
חֵ֚יל[the] army of
cheilH2428 →246 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶ֔לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
צָרִ֖ים[were] laying siege
tzarimH6696 →38 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
וְיִרְמְיָ֣הוּand Jeremiah
veyirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
הַנָּבִ֗יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
הָיָ֤הhe was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
כָלוּא֙shut up
khalu'H3607 →
בַּחֲצַ֣רin [the] courtyard of
bachatzarH2691 →191 times
הַמַּטָּרָ֔הthe guard
hamatarahH4307 →16 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בֵּֽית־[was] [the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָֽה׃Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 33:1While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:
it leads to
- Jeremiah 37:21
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…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 32:2–3
At 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…
- Jeremiah 37:21
Through
Jeremiah 37:21So 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…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 38:28
And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 38:13
and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
- Jeremiah 52:6
By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
- Jeremiah 38:9
“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there…
- Jeremiah 38:28
Through
Jeremiah 32:8Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 33:1
While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 32:7
Behold! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’
- Jeremiah 33:1
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah

Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonLate monarchy / ExileJeremiahPriest of Anathoth called before birth to uproot and to plant; the weeping prophet of Jerusalem's fall who bought a field in the s…
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
