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The Prophets · Old Testament

Jeremiah 37

Jeremiah 37: Zedekiah's secret question and Jeremiah's arrest

General context

Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigns in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, made king by Nebuchadrezzar, and neither he nor his servants nor the people listen to the Lord's words through Jeremiah. Zedekiah sends Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest to ask Jeremiah to pray for them. Jeremiah still moves freely among the people. Pharaoh's army comes out of Egypt and the Chaldeans besieging Jerusalem withdraw at the news. The Lord answers the king's request: Pharaoh's army will go back to Egypt, the Chaldeans will return, take the city and burn it, and even if only wounded men remained they would rise and burn it. While the army is away, Jeremiah leaves for the land of Benjamin to separate himself there among the people. At the gate of Benjamin the captain of the ward, Irijah the son of Shelemiah, arrests him, saying he is deserting to the Chaldeans. Jeremiah calls this false, but Irijah takes him to the princes, who are angry, beat him and imprison him in the house of Jonathan the scribe, in the dungeon and the cabins, for many days. Zedekiah then sends for him and asks secretly whether there is any word from the Lord. Jeremiah says there is: the king will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. He asks what offence he has committed, where the prophets are who said Babylon would not come, and pleads not to be returned to Jonathan's house lest he die there. Zedekiah orders him kept in the court of the prison with a daily piece of bread from the bakers' street until the city's bread runs out, and Jeremiah remains there.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 37:1, Jeremiah 37:2, Jeremiah 37:3, Jeremiah 37:4, Jeremiah 37:5, Jeremiah 37:7, Jeremiah 37:8, Jeremiah 37:10, Jeremiah 37:12, Jeremiah 37:13, Jeremiah 37:14, Jeremiah 37:15, Jeremiah 37:16, Jeremiah 37:17, Jeremiah 37:18, Jeremiah 37:19, Jeremiah 37:20, Jeremiah 37:21

Jeremiah 37 (KJV)

1And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

2But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the Lord, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.

3And 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.

4Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.

5Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

6Then came the word of the Lord unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

7Thus 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.

8And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.

9Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.

10For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

11And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people.

13And 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.

14Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

15Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.

16When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;

17Then 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.

18Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?

19Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

20Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

21Then 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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Historical context

Jehoiakim's son is called Coniah here, Jeconiah in chapters 27 to 29; the book uses both forms for the king Zedekiah replaced. The narrator states that Nebuchadrezzar made Zedekiah king. Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest has already carried a request from Zedekiah in chapter 21 and received Shemaiah's letter in chapter 29. Jehucal the son of Shelemiah here and Jucal the son of Shelemiah in the next chapter carry the same father's name and act for the king, and the text does not remark on the spelling; Irijah is also a son of a Shelemiah, and the text does not say whether these men are related. The chapter explains the Chaldean withdrawal that chapter 34 mentioned without explanation: they left at news of Pharaoh's army. Two places of confinement are distinguished, the house of Jonathan the scribe with its dungeon and cells, and the court of the prison. Jeremiah's reason for leaving the city is given as separating himself in Benjamin among the people; the charge of desertion is Irijah's, and Jeremiah denies it. The daily bread provision is tied to the city's supply and anticipates the shortage stated in the next chapter.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 37:1, Jeremiah 28:4, Jeremiah 21:1, Jeremiah 29:29, Jeremiah 37:3, Jeremiah 38:1, Jeremiah 37:13, Jeremiah 34:21, Jeremiah 37:11, Jeremiah 37:15, Jeremiah 37:21, Jeremiah 37:12, Jeremiah 38:9

Literary context

The chapter opens with a summary verdict, that no one listened, and then shows it. Zedekiah approaches Jeremiah twice, once through a public delegation asking for prayer and once in secret asking for a word, and the secret question receives a one-sentence answer that repeats what the king already refused. Jeremiah's reply turns into two questions of his own, the second about the absence of the prophets who promised Babylon would not come, and then a plea. The image of wounded men rising from their tents to burn the city makes the Lord's word independent of military odds. The arrest at the gate is narrated as accusation and flat denial, with the officer refusing to listen. Jeremiah's plea not to die in Jonathan's house is granted, but only as a lesser confinement, and the chapter ends with him settled in the court of the prison with bread measured against the city's supply. The next chapter opens by disturbing that settlement.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 37:2, Jeremiah 37:3, Jeremiah 37:17, Jeremiah 37:18, Jeremiah 37:19, Jeremiah 37:10, Jeremiah 37:14, Jeremiah 37:20, Jeremiah 37:21, Jeremiah 38:6

Key moments

  1. Pray for us (Jeremiah 37:3). Zedekiah sends two men to ask Jeremiah for prayer.
  2. The Chaldeans withdraw (Jeremiah 37:5). News of Pharaoh's army lifts the siege for a time.
  3. They will come again (Jeremiah 37:8). The Lord says the Chaldeans will return, take and burn the city.
  4. Arrested at the gate (Jeremiah 37:13). Irijah seizes Jeremiah and accuses him of deserting to the Chaldeans.
  5. Beaten and imprisoned (Jeremiah 37:15). The princes strike Jeremiah and confine him in Jonathan's house.
  6. Is there any word? (Jeremiah 37:17). Zedekiah asks secretly and is told he will be delivered to Babylon.
  7. Bread from the bakers' street (Jeremiah 37:21). Jeremiah is moved to the prison court with a daily ration.

For reflection

Zedekiah asks in secret whether there is any word from the Lord and hears the same message he has already refused. What does a person want when they ask for a word they do not intend to obey?

People in this chapter

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