Jeremiah 37:3
in Jeremiah 37Yet 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!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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 Jehovah our God for us.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 37
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest,.... That is, Zephaniah the priest, as the accents shaw; though his father Maaseiah was doubtless a priest too; according to the Syriac version, both Jehucal, called Jucal, Jer 38:1; and Zephaniah, were priests; since it reads in the plural number, "priests": these the king sent as messengers to the Prophet Jeremiah, saying, pray now unto the Lord our God for us.
This site's exposition
whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king
on Jeremiah 37:1-5
Zedekiah reigns as Nebuchadnezzar's own appointment in Coniah's place, and the chapter states the verdict on him before any scene begins: neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the Lord. Yet this same king sends Jehucal and Zephaniah to ask Jeremiah, pray now unto the Lord our God for us, wanting the prophet's intercession while refusing the prophet's word, a contradiction the bench reads as the whole character of the reign. Jeremiah still moves freely among the people at this point, not yet imprisoned, and the lifting of the siege by Pharaoh's advancing army supplies the false hope the next oracle will correct.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, When we are in distress we ought to desire the prayers of our ministers and Christian friends, for thereby we put an honour upon prayer, and an esteem upon our brethren.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This embassy is not to be confounded with that Jer 21:1 which took place when Nebuchadnezzar was just marching upon Jerusalem; this was in the brief interval of hope occasioned by the approach of an Egyptian army to raise the siege. The Jews were elated by this temporary relief, and miserably abused it Jer 34:11. Zedekiah seems to some extent to have shared their hopes, and to have expected that the prophet would intercede for the city as successfully as Isaiah had done Isa 37:
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But, as Pashur and Jehucal are both mentioned in Jer 38:1, 2, as hearing Jeremiah's reply, which is identical with that in Jer 21:9, it is probable the two messages followed one another at a short interval; that in this Jer 37:3, and the answer, Jer 37:7-10, being the earlier of the two.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֜הוּ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוּכַ֣ל | yehukhal | Jehucal | H3081 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֗ה | shelemyah | Shelemiah | H8018 → | 10 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צְפַנְיָ֤הוּ | tzefanyahu | Zephaniah | H6846 → | 10 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙ | maaseyah | Maaseiah | H4641 → | 23 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֔ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֥הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| הַנָּבִ֖יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִתְפַּלֶּל־ | hitpalel- | pray | H6419 → | 84 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| בַעֲדֵ֔נוּ | vaadenu | for us | H1157 → | 105 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַח֩and he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
צִדְקִיָּ֜הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוּכַ֣לJehucal
yehukhalH3081 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֗הShelemiah
shelemyahH8018 →10 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
צְפַנְיָ֤הוּZephaniah
tzefanyahuH6846 →10 times
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙Maaseiah
maaseyahH4641 →23 times
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִרְמְיָ֥הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
הַנָּבִ֖יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הִתְפַּלֶּל־pray
hitpalel-H6419 →84 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
בַעֲדֵ֔נוּfor us
vaadenuH1157 →105 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 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 52:24The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 25:18
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Jeremiah 21:1
This 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,
- 2 Kings 25:18
Through
1 Kings 13:6Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the…
it leads to
- Exodus 10:17
Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
- Exodus 9:28
Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”
- Acts 8:24
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
- Exodus 8:8
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the…
- Luke 6:27–28
But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
- Exodus 10:17
Through
Jeremiah 2:27say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces, yet in the time of trouble…
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:16
O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
- Isaiah 26:16
What the record shows
1 entry- Shelemiah — attested in contemporary inscriptionwell-supported
City of David bulla (2005, E. Mazar)
Biblical figure (Father of the official Jehucal, late 7th c. BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: Shelemiah is not named on his own account here. He appears only as a father's name inside his son's seal, with no title, so everything rests on the identification of the son; if that match fails, this one falls with it.
About Jeremiah
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- 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…
- PersonExileZedekiahJudah's last king, who broke his oath to Babylon against Jeremiah's word; his sons slain before his eyes at Riblah, and the city a…
- PersonJosiah's reign (c. 630s BC)ZephaniahProphet with the Twelve's longest pedigree (Zeph 1:1, four generations to Hizkiah); his book sweeps the Day of the LORD across the…
This page draws on 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.