Jeremiah 37:21
in Jeremiah 37So 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 the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard; and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
KJV
Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
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This verse in Jeremiah 37
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The prison - the watch (marginal reference). Piece - literally, a circle, i. e., a round cake. The bakers’ street - It is usual in oriental towns for each trade to have a special place set apart for it. Compare Act 10:6.
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
a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that each trade in an Eastern city kept to its own street. Barnes explains the loaf as a round cake. The same commentators add that the supply lasted until Jeremiah was put into the dungeon of Malchiah in chapter 38, when the bread ran out.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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 commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
court of the prison-- (Jer 32:2; 38:13, 28). bakers' street--Persons in the same business in cities in the East commonly reside in the same street. all the bread . . . spent--Jeremiah had bread supplied to him until he was thrown into the dungeon of Malchiah, at which time the bread in the city was spent.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Then Zedekiah - the court of the prison - Was contiguous to the king’s house, where the prisoners could readily see their friends. Give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street - From the public stores; which he received till all the provisions were spent.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְצַוֶּ֞ה | vaytzaveh | and he commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֗הוּ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | 63 times |
| וַיַּפְקִ֣דוּ | vaiyafkidu | and they deposited | H6485 → | 303 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִרְמְיָהוּ֮ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| בַּחֲצַ֣ר | bachatzar | in [the] courtyard of | H2691 → | 191 times |
| הַמַּטָּרָה֒ | hamatarah | the guard | H4307 → | 16 times |
| וְנָתֹן֩ | venaton | and they gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֨וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| כִכַּר־ | khikar- | a round loaf of | H3603 → | |
| לֶ֤חֶם | lechem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| לַיּוֹם֙ | laiyom | to the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מִח֣וּץ | michutz | from [the] street of | H2351 → | 164 times |
| הָאֹפִ֔ים | haofim | the bakers | H644 → | |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| תֹּ֥ם | tom | was finished | H8552 → | 63 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַלֶּ֖חֶם | halechem | the bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָעִ֑יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he remained | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| בַּחֲצַ֖ר | bachatzar | in [the] courtyard of | H2691 → | 191 times |
| הַמַּטָּרָֽה׃ | hamatarah | the guard | H4307 → | 16 times |
וַיְצַוֶּ֞הand he commanded
vaytzavehH6680 →494 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
צִדְקִיָּ֗הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →63 times
וַיַּפְקִ֣דוּand they deposited
vaiyafkiduH6485 →303 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִרְמְיָהוּ֮Jeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
בַּחֲצַ֣רin [the] courtyard of
bachatzarH2691 →191 times
הַמַּטָּרָה֒the guard
hamatarahH4307 →16 times
וְנָתֹן֩and they gave
venatonH5414 →2011 times
ל֨וֹto <the> him
lo
כִכַּר־a round loaf of
khikar-H3603 →
לֶ֤חֶםbread
lechemH3899 →298 times
לַיּוֹם֙to the day
laiyomH3117 →2304 times
מִח֣וּץfrom [the] street of
michutzH2351 →164 times
הָאֹפִ֔יםthe bakers
haofimH644 →
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
תֹּ֥םwas finished
tomH8552 →63 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַלֶּ֖חֶםthe bread
halechemH3899 →298 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָעִ֑ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וַיֵּ֣שֶׁבand he remained
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
יִרְמְיָ֔הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
בַּחֲצַ֖רin [the] courtyard of
bachatzarH2691 →191 times
הַמַּטָּרָֽה׃the guard
hamatarahH4307 →16 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 32:2At 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…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 3:25
and Palal son of Uzai made repairs opposite the angle and the tower that juts out from the upper palace of the king near the courtyard of the guard. Next to him, Pedaiah son…
- Jeremiah 38:6
So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no…
- 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:
- Nehemiah 3:25
Through
Jeremiah 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:1
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
- Jeremiah 39:2
And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.
- Isaiah 3:1
Through
Jeremiah 38:28And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 39:14
had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.
- 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 15:20–21
Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver…
- Jeremiah 39:14
About Jeremiah

Who and where
2 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…
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
