Jeremiah 37:17
in Jeremiah 37Later, 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from Jehovah? And Jeremiah said, There is. He said also, Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
KJV
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
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This verse in Jeremiah 37
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIs there any word from the Lord? - Is there any farther revelation? There is: - thou shalt be delivered - What bold faithfulness! And to a king, in whose hands his life now lay.
This site's exposition
So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon
on Jeremiah 37:16-21
Jeremiah stays in the dungeon “a long time” until Zedekiah sends for him. The answer is unchanged: “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” Jeremiah pleads not to be returned to Jonathan’s house, and the king moves him to “the courtyard of the guard.”
This site's exposition
he asked him privately
Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and asked him privately, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown compare the secret believers of John 12:43 and 19:38. Clarke marks the courage of the reply to a king who held the prophet's life in his hand. The word from the LORD was unchanged.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. 5 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out,....
But Jeremiah was one that had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful, and would not, to obtain mercy of man, be unfaithful either to God or to his prince; he therefore tells him the truth, the whole truth.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
secretly--Zedekiah was ashamed to be seen by his courtiers consulting Jeremiah (Joh 12:43; 19:38). thou shalt be delivered--Had Jeremiah consulted his earthly interests, he would have answered very differently.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and to the cells Jonathan renders: within the cells. There were cells before that prison.
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
21 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 |
| וַיִּקָּחֵ֗הוּ | vaiyikachehu | and he took him | H3947 → | 966 times |
| וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֨הוּ | vaiyishalehu | and he asked him | H7592 → | 171 times |
| הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בְּבֵיתוֹ֙ | beveito | in house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| בַּסֵּ֔תֶר | baseter | in <the> secrecy | H5643 → | 36 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲיֵ֥שׁ | hayesh | ¿ [is] there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| דָּבָ֖ר | davar | a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| יֵ֔שׁ | yesh | there is | H3426 → | 140 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בְּיַ֥ד | beyad | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶ֖ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| תִּנָּתֵֽן׃ ס | tinaten | you will be given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַח֩and he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
צִדְקִיָּ֜הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
וַיִּקָּחֵ֗הוּand he took him
vaiyikachehuH3947 →966 times
וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֨הוּand he asked him
vaiyishalehuH7592 →171 times
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
בְּבֵיתוֹ֙in house his
beveitoH1004 →2046 times
בַּסֵּ֔תֶרin <the> secrecy
baseterH5643 →36 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֲיֵ֥שׁ¿ [is] there
hayeshH3426 →140 times
דָּבָ֖רa word
davarH1697 →1440 times
מֵאֵ֣תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙Jeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
יֵ֔שׁthere is
yeshH3426 →140 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
בְּיַ֥דin [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶ֖לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
תִּנָּתֵֽן׃ סyou will be given
tinatenH5414 →2011 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 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!”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:1–2
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,
- Jeremiah 42:20
For you have deceived yourselves by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell…
- Jeremiah 29:25
this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah,…
- Jeremiah 52:24
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Jeremiah 42:2–4
Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can…
- Jeremiah 21:1–2
Through
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…
it leads to
- Habakkuk 1:6–10
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.
- 2 Kings 25:5–7
but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was separated from him.
- Ezekiel 7:9
I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that it is…
- Habakkuk 1:6–10
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…
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.