American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Jeremiah 37
1
And 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.
Reference
Kingdom
Jeremiah 22:24
2 Kings 24:17
2 Kings 24:12
Jeremiah 24:1
Jeremiah 52:31
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 22:28
2
But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did listen to the words of the LORD, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.
Reference
3
And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now to the LORD our God for us.
Reference
People
Kingdom
1 Kings 13:6
Jeremiah 29:21
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 52:24
Jeremiah 2:27
Jeremiah 38:1
Prayer
Jeremiah 42:20
Acts 8:24
Exodus 10:17
References God
Jeremiah 29:25
References Lord
Exodus 8:8
4
Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 37:15
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.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 34:21
References Egypt
Ezekiel 17:15
2 Kings 24:7
Jeremiah 37:7
References Jerusalem
Jeremiah 37:11
6
Then came the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah saying,
7
Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall you say to the king of Judah, that sent you to me to inquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
Reference
8
And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 38:23
9
Thus said the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
Reference
Parallel theme
Obadiah 1:3
Ephesians 5:6
James 1:22
Galatians 6:3
Galatians 6:7
2 Thessalonians 2:3
References Lord
Jeremiah 29:8
10
For though you 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.
Reference
11
And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army,
12
Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself there in the middle of the people.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 1:1
13
And 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, You fall away to the Chaldeans.
Reference
People
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 38:7
Zechariah 14:10
Acts 24:13
Acts 6:11
Jeremiah 21:9
Jeremiah 20:10
Jeremiah 38:1
Luke 23:2
Prophecy
Jeremiah 18:18
14
Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he listened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 27:12
15
Why 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.
Reference
People
16
When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 38:6
17
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, you shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
Reference
18
Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, What have I offended against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?
Reference
19
Where are now your prophets which prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
Reference
Kingdom
2 Kings 3:13
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 2:28
Jeremiah 8:11
Jeremiah 23:17
Jeremiah 29:31
Jeremiah 6:14
20
Therefore hear now, I pray you, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray you, be accepted before you; that you cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
Reference
References Lord
Jeremiah 36:7
21
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.
Reference
Kingdom
Jeremiah 32:2
Jeremiah 38:9
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 38:13
Jeremiah 38:28
Jeremiah 52:6
Isaiah 33:16
2 Kings 25:3
Job 5:20
Summary of Jeremiah 37
Jeremiah 37 takes place during the final years of King Zedekiah's reign, when Babylon is besieging Jerusalem and Judah is approaching national destruction. Although Zedekiah occasionally seeks Jeremiah's advice, neither the king nor his officials are willing to follow the prophet's warnings.
The chapter begins with Zedekiah asking Jeremiah to pray for the nation. This request is revealing because the king recognizes that Jeremiah has access to God, yet he still refuses to accept the message God gives through him.
Then something happens that briefly appears to change everything: the Egyptian army comes out of Egypt, causing the Babylonian army to withdraw from Jerusalem temporarily.
For the people inside the city, this probably looked like an answer to prayer. Perhaps Egypt would rescue Judah. Perhaps Babylon had finally given up. Perhaps Jeremiah's warnings had been wrong.
God tells Jeremiah otherwise.
The Babylonian withdrawal is only temporary. Egypt will return home, Babylon will return to Jerusalem, and the city will eventually be captured and burned. Even if the Judeans managed to defeat some of the Babylonian soldiers who remained behind, the surviving army would recover and complete the attack.
This is an important theme in Jeremiah: temporary relief does not necessarily mean that the underlying problem has disappeared.
While the Babylonian army has withdrawn, Jeremiah attempts to leave Jerusalem and travel toward Benjamin. At the Benjamin Gate, however, an official named Irijah accuses him of defecting to the Babylonians.
The accusation makes sense within the political atmosphere of the time. Jeremiah has repeatedly told Judah that Babylon will win and that resistance is futile. From the perspective of frightened officials, such preaching could sound like betrayal.
Jeremiah denies the accusation, but the officials refuse to believe him. They beat him and place him in prison.
Eventually, Zedekiah secretly meets with Jeremiah and asks whether he has received another word from the Lord. Jeremiah does not change his message simply because he is speaking privately to the king. He tells Zedekiah plainly that the king will be handed over to Babylon.
Jeremiah then asks a deeply personal question: What crime have I committed that deserves imprisonment? He points out that he has been punished simply for faithfully delivering God's message.
He also challenges the king concerning the prophets who had promised that Babylon would not attack Judah. Their reassuring predictions had been more attractive to the people, but events were increasingly proving Jeremiah's warnings correct.
Jeremiah asks not to be returned to the underground prison because he fears that he will die there. Zedekiah responds by moving him to the courtyard of the guard, where conditions are better, and orders that he receive a daily ration of bread.
Even this small act of mercy occurs during a time when food is becoming increasingly scarce throughout Jerusalem.
The chapter therefore shows Jeremiah caught between political fear, false hope, military crisis, and God's unchanging word. Egypt's temporary appearance creates optimism, but God's warning remains unchanged. Jeremiah's imprisonment demonstrates the personal cost of speaking unpopular truth, while Zedekiah's private questions reveal a king who is curious about God's message but unwilling to obey it.
The central message is that temporary relief should not be confused with permanent deliverance, because when Egypt's army approaches and Babylon temporarily withdraws from Jerusalem, the people believe that the danger may be ending, yet God tells Jeremiah that Babylon will return and complete the destruction; Jeremiah himself then experiences the cost of delivering this unpopular truth when he is falsely accused of treason, beaten, and imprisoned, while King Zedekiah privately seeks his counsel but still refuses to follow his warning, showing that knowing what God says is not the same as obeying Him, and that faithfulness sometimes requires continuing to speak the truth even when it brings rejection, misunderstanding, suffering, and personal danger.
The chapter begins with Zedekiah asking Jeremiah to pray for the nation. This request is revealing because the king recognizes that Jeremiah has access to God, yet he still refuses to accept the message God gives through him.
Then something happens that briefly appears to change everything: the Egyptian army comes out of Egypt, causing the Babylonian army to withdraw from Jerusalem temporarily.
For the people inside the city, this probably looked like an answer to prayer. Perhaps Egypt would rescue Judah. Perhaps Babylon had finally given up. Perhaps Jeremiah's warnings had been wrong.
God tells Jeremiah otherwise.
The Babylonian withdrawal is only temporary. Egypt will return home, Babylon will return to Jerusalem, and the city will eventually be captured and burned. Even if the Judeans managed to defeat some of the Babylonian soldiers who remained behind, the surviving army would recover and complete the attack.
This is an important theme in Jeremiah: temporary relief does not necessarily mean that the underlying problem has disappeared.
While the Babylonian army has withdrawn, Jeremiah attempts to leave Jerusalem and travel toward Benjamin. At the Benjamin Gate, however, an official named Irijah accuses him of defecting to the Babylonians.
The accusation makes sense within the political atmosphere of the time. Jeremiah has repeatedly told Judah that Babylon will win and that resistance is futile. From the perspective of frightened officials, such preaching could sound like betrayal.
Jeremiah denies the accusation, but the officials refuse to believe him. They beat him and place him in prison.
Eventually, Zedekiah secretly meets with Jeremiah and asks whether he has received another word from the Lord. Jeremiah does not change his message simply because he is speaking privately to the king. He tells Zedekiah plainly that the king will be handed over to Babylon.
Jeremiah then asks a deeply personal question: What crime have I committed that deserves imprisonment? He points out that he has been punished simply for faithfully delivering God's message.
He also challenges the king concerning the prophets who had promised that Babylon would not attack Judah. Their reassuring predictions had been more attractive to the people, but events were increasingly proving Jeremiah's warnings correct.
Jeremiah asks not to be returned to the underground prison because he fears that he will die there. Zedekiah responds by moving him to the courtyard of the guard, where conditions are better, and orders that he receive a daily ration of bread.
Even this small act of mercy occurs during a time when food is becoming increasingly scarce throughout Jerusalem.
The chapter therefore shows Jeremiah caught between political fear, false hope, military crisis, and God's unchanging word. Egypt's temporary appearance creates optimism, but God's warning remains unchanged. Jeremiah's imprisonment demonstrates the personal cost of speaking unpopular truth, while Zedekiah's private questions reveal a king who is curious about God's message but unwilling to obey it.
The central message is that temporary relief should not be confused with permanent deliverance, because when Egypt's army approaches and Babylon temporarily withdraws from Jerusalem, the people believe that the danger may be ending, yet God tells Jeremiah that Babylon will return and complete the destruction; Jeremiah himself then experiences the cost of delivering this unpopular truth when he is falsely accused of treason, beaten, and imprisoned, while King Zedekiah privately seeks his counsel but still refuses to follow his warning, showing that knowing what God says is not the same as obeying Him, and that faithfulness sometimes requires continuing to speak the truth even when it brings rejection, misunderstanding, suffering, and personal danger.