Jeremiah 37:13
in Jeremiah 37But 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!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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 laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou art falling away to the Chaldeans.
KJV
And 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.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 37
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A captain of the ward - Captain of the watch, whose business was to examine all who went in and out. The gate of Benjamin - The northern gate, also called the gate of Ephraim. Thou fallest away ... - His well-known views made Jeremiah a suspected person, though the charge was groundless.
This site's exposition
the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem
on Jeremiah 37:11-15
With the Chaldean army withdrawn to meet Pharaoh, Jeremiah tries to leave the city for Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people, on business the text does not further specify. Irijah, a captain of the ward, arrests him at the gate on the charge thou fallest away to the Chaldeans, reading an innocent departure as treason, and Jeremiah's flat denial, it is false, changes nothing: he is beaten and shut in the house of Jonathan the scribe, made into a prison for the purpose. The commentators note the irony that the prophet who had just told the princes Babylon would surely return is arrested as Babylon's own defector.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And when he was in the gate of Benjamin,....
Thus have the blackest characters been put upon the fairest purest minds, and, in such a malicious world as this is, innocency, nay, excellency itself, is no fence against the basest calumny. When at any time we are thus falsely accused we may do as Jeremiah did, boldly deny the charge and then commit our cause to him that judges righteously.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
ward--that is, the "guard," or "watch." Hananiah--whose death Jeremiah predicted (Jer 28:16). The grandson in revenge takes Jeremiah into custody on the charge of deserting ("thou fallest away," Jer 38:19; His prophecies gave color to the charge (Jer 21:9;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans - Thou art a deserter, and a traitor to thy country. As he had always declared that the Chaldeans should take the city, etc., his enemies took occasion from this to say he was in the interest of the Chaldeans, and that he wished now to go to them, and betray the place.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and there was the captain of the guard Appointed to guard so that no man should leave the city to make peace with the Chaldeans.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
to share [land] from there among the people Jonathan [renders]: To share his inheritance among the people, and as long as the Chaldeans were besieging it, he did not leave it, for he prayed that it should not be taken.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ה֞וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בְּשַׁ֣עַר | beshaar | [was] at [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| בִּנְיָמִ֗ן | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| וְשָׁם֙ | vesham | and [was] there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| בַּ֣עַל | baal | a captain of | H1167 → | |
| פְּקִדֻ֔ת | pekidut | [the] guard | H6488 → | |
| וּשְׁמוֹ֙ | ushemo | and name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יִרְאִיָּ֔יה | yiriyaih | [was] Irijah | H3376 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֖ה | shelemyah | Shelemiah | H8018 → | 10 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חֲנַנְיָ֑ה | chananyah | Hananiah | H2608 → | 29 times |
| וַיִּתְפֹּ֞שׂ | vaiyitpos | and he arrested | H8610 → | 65 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֤הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| הַנָּבִיא֙ | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַכַּשְׂדִּ֖ים | hakasdim | the Chaldeans | H3778 → | 80 times |
| אַתָּ֥ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| נֹפֵֽל׃ | nofel | [are] falling | H5307 → | 435 times |
וַיְהִי־and it was
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
ה֞וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
בְּשַׁ֣עַר[was] at [the] gate of
beshaarH8179 →374 times
בִּנְיָמִ֗ןBenjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
וְשָׁם֙and [was] there
veshamH8033 →834 times
בַּ֣עַלa captain of
baalH1167 →
פְּקִדֻ֔ת[the] guard
pekidutH6488 →
וּשְׁמוֹ֙and name his
ushemoH8034 →864 times
יִרְאִיָּ֔יה[was] Irijah
yiriyaihH3376 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֖הShelemiah
shelemyahH8018 →10 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
חֲנַנְיָ֑הHananiah
chananyahH2608 →29 times
וַיִּתְפֹּ֞שׂand he arrested
vaiyitposH8610 →65 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִרְמְיָ֤הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
הַנָּבִיא֙the prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַכַּשְׂדִּ֖יםthe Chaldeans
hakasdimH3778 →80 times
אַתָּ֥הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
נֹפֵֽל׃[are] falling
nofelH5307 →435 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 20:10For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that…
it leads to
- Psalms 41:9
Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
- Psalms 31:13
For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
- Isaiah 29:21
those who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.
- Jeremiah 18:18
Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us…
- Psalms 41:9
Through
Luke 23:2And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”
it leads to
- Acts 17:6–7
But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
- John 19:12
From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”
- Luke 23:14
and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges…
- Acts 17:6–7
Through
Zechariah 14:10All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the…
it leads to
- Joshua 15:32
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.
- Joshua 15:32
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.