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Atomic Bible
Jeremiah

Chapter 37

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah and Jeremiah Imprisoned

Jeremiah 37 shows how little political change alters Judah's spiritual condition. Though Zedekiah replaces Jehoiachin as king and even asks Jeremiah for prayer, neither he nor his officials listen to the LORD's word; when Babylon briefly withdraws because of Egypt's advance, Jeremiah warns that the Chaldeans will certainly return, and his attempt to leave the city leads instead to false accusation, beating, imprisonment, and only a partial, fearful relief granted by the same king who still refuses to obey.

This chapter advances Jeremiah's conflict narrative by exposing the gap between wanting prophetic help and submitting to prophetic truth. It makes clear that hopeful military signs cannot overturn the LORD's decree, and it portrays Jeremiah himself as embodying the rejected word: restrained, abused, yet still preserved to speak the same unwelcome message to a wavering king.

2 sections·523 words·~2 min read

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Jeremiah 37

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vv. 1-10

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

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N1ebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim. 2But he and his officers and the people of the land refused to obey the words that the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet. 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!” 4Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7“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. 8Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down. 9This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will go away for good,’ for they will not! 10Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”

vv. 11-21

Jeremiah Imprisoned

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W11hen the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people. 13But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” 14“That is a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” 15The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.

16So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon and remained there a long time. 17Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” 18Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison? 19Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’? 20But now please listen, O my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.” 21So 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.

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  1. 01vv. 1-10Jeremiah Warns ZedekiahZedekiah reigns in place of Jeconiah, but he and his servants still refuse the LORD's word. Even after sending for Jeremiah's prayers, the king receives a firm oracle that Egypt's intervention will fail, the Babylonians will return, and the city will burn, because the LORD's judgment is not suspended by temporary military movements.
  2. 02vv. 11-21Jeremiah ImprisonedAs the Chaldeans withdraw temporarily, Jeremiah tries to go from Jerusalem to Benjamin, but he is seized at the Benjamin Gate by Irijah, accused of defecting to Babylon, and handed over to hostile officials. They beat and imprison him in Jonathan's house, then after many days Zedekiah secretly summons him, hears again that he will be delivered into Babylon's hand, and orders Jeremiah transferred to the court of the guard with a daily ration of bread while any remains in the city.
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