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Jeremiah 37:7

in Jeremiah 37

“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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

KJV

Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.

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This verse in Jeremiah 37

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
Jeremiah’s answer here is even more unfavorable than that which is given in Jer 21:4-7. So hopeless is resistance that the disabled men among the Chaldaeans would alone suffice to capture the city and burn it to the ground.

This site's exposition

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet

on Jeremiah 37:6-10

Pharaoh’s army “will go back to its own land of Egypt,” and the Chaldeans will return, capture the city, and burn it. The LORD names the city’s hope as self-deception: “Do not deceive yourselves.” In verse 10, even “wounded men” left in their tents would rise and burn the city.

This site's exposition

will go back to its own land of Egypt

Sources differ on how Pharaoh's army returned to Egypt. Clarke says the Chaldeans defeated it and it went back at once. Barnes thinks Pharaoh withdrew without a battle, and he calls this word to Zedekiah darker than Jeremiah 21:4-7.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Pharaoh’s army - shall return to Egypt - They were defeated by the Chaldeans; and, not being hearty in the cause, returned immediately to Egypt, leaving Nebuchadnezzar unmolested to recommence the siege.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כֹּֽה־thus

    koh-H3541 →577 times

  • אָמַ֤רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָה֙Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of

    ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • כֹּ֤הthus

    kohH3541 →577 times

  • תֹֽאמְרוּ֙you will say

    tomeruH559 →5305 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • יְהוּדָ֔הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • הַשֹּׁלֵ֧חַwho sent

    hasholeachH7971 →845 times

  • אֶתְכֶ֛ם<obj.> you

    ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times

  • אֵלַ֖יto me

    ʾelaiH413 →5510 times

  • לְדָרְשֵׁ֑נִיto consult me

    ledaresheniH1875 →164 times

  • הִנֵּ֣ה׀there!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • חֵ֣יל[the] army of

    cheilH2428 →246 times

  • פַּרְעֹ֗הPharaoh

    parohH6547 →274 times

  • הַיֹּצֵ֤אwhich was coming out

    haiyotze'H3318 →1067 times

  • לָכֶם֙to <the> you

    lakhem

  • לְעֶזְרָ֔הto help

    leezrahH5833 →

  • שָׁ֥ב[is] about to return

    shavH7725 →1056 times

  • לְאַרְצ֖וֹto own land its

    leartzoH776 →2504 times

  • מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt

    mitzrayimH4714 →641 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 1:18Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.7 worksLamentations 4:17All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.5 worksEzekiel 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.5 worksJeremiah 21:2“Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is waging war against us. Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”4 worksIsaiah 31:1–3Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.4 works2 Kings 22:18But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for the words that you heard,4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
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!”4 worksIsaiah 30:7Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.4 worksEzekiel 30:22Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.3 worksJeremiah 2:36How unstable you are, constantly changing your ways! You will be disappointed by Egypt just as you were by Assyria.3 worksJeremiah 37:5Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.3 worksIsaiah 30:1–6“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.2 worksEzekiel 29:16Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”2 worksProverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.2 worksJeremiah 17:5–6This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.2 worksEzekiel 29:6–7Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.2 worksLamentations 1:7In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands she received no help. Her enemies looked upon her, laughing at her downfall.2 works2 Kings 18:24For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Lamentations 4:17

    All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 29:16

      Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 21:2

    “Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is waging war against us. Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 37:3

      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!”

    • Ezekiel 20:1–3

      In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat down before me.

    • Jeremiah 42:4–6

      “I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will surely pray to the LORD your God as you request, and I will tell you everything that the LORD answers; I will not withhold…

    • Psalms 44:1–4

      We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.

  • Through

    Ezekiel 17:17

    Pharaoh 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.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 29:6–7

      Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.

    • Isaiah 36:6

      Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust…

    • Ezekiel 4:2

      Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 37 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

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