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Texts -- Jeremiah 37:15-21 (NET)

Context
37:15 The officials were very angry at Jeremiah . They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan , the royal secretary , which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners . 37:16 So Jeremiah was put in prison in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan’s house. He was kept there for a long time . 37:17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace . There he questioned him privately and asked him, “Is there any message from the Lord ?” Jeremiah answered , “Yes, there is .” Then he announced , “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon .” 37:18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah , “What crime have I committed against you, or the officials who serve you, or the people of Judah? What have I done to make you people throw me into prison ? 37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land ? 37:20 But now please listen , your royal Majesty , and grant my plea for mercy . Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan , the royal secretary . If you do, I will die there .” 37:21 Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse . He also ordered that a loaf of bread be given to him every day from the baker’s street until all the bread in the city was gone . So Jeremiah was kept in the courtyard of the guardhouse .

Pericope

NET
  • Jer 37:11-21 -- Jeremiah is Charged with Deserting, Arrested, and Imprisoned

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Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Zedekiah (Mattaniah) was Josiah's third son to rule over Judah. He rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (v. 20) by making a treaty with Pharaoh Hophra (589-570 B.C.) under pressure from nationalists in Judah (cf. Jer. 37-38)."Clea...
  • Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1965.Bromiley, Geoffrey W. God and Marriage. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980.Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Poe...
  • The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21-25 and 2 Chronicles 33-36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.King Manas...
  • Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
  • I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
  • 1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
  • "The sermon ends (if these verses, still in prose, should be taken with ch. 7) on a note which takes away the last shreds of comfort for those whose hopes or memories are bound up with Jerusalem."1838:1 When the invasion from...
  • This passage probably dates from the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 588-586 B.C. (vv. 2, 4; cf. 2 Kings 25). King Zedekiah sought advice from Jeremiah more than once (cf. 37:3-10, 17-21; 38:14-28). This passage consists of ...
  • This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
  • The Book of Consolation contained messages of future hope for Judah (chs. 30-33). Now Jeremiah returned to document her present judgment. Chapters 34-45 continue the theme of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem from chapters 2-29...
  • "While ch. 36 is, in a sense, an independent unit, it is at the same time the last segment in a tradition complex' which begins at ch. 26, where Jeremiah is vindicated as a true prophet of Yahweh by Jerusalem's highest court ...
  • 37:11-12 During the lifting of the siege of Jerusalem just described (v. 5), Jeremiah left the city to conduct some personal business concerning the purchase of some property in the territory of Benjamin. This may have been t...
  • 37:17 Zedekiah secretly sent for Jeremiah and brought him into the palace. The king feared his nobles who were "hawks"militarily and hostile to Jeremiah. Zedekiah asked the prophet if the Lord had given him any message in res...
  • Some scholars regard chapter 38 as a retelling of the event just narrated in chapter 37. There is some precedent for such a practice in this book. There are two accounts of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (chs. 7 and 26) and perhaps...
  • 38:1-3 Four prominent men in Jerusalem heard Jeremiah preaching that anyone who remained in Jerusalem would die but those who surrendered to the Chaldeans would live. He prophesied, apparently at this time from the court of t...
  • 38:7-8 A courtier in the palace, Ebed-melech (lit. "servant of the king"), heard about Jeremiah's plight. He happened to be an Ethiopian or Cushite (from modern-day southern Egypt, northeastern Sudan, and northern Ethiopia).4...
  • 38:14 Shortly after this event Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to him at one of the temple entrances, possibly the king's private entrance (cf. 2 Kings 16:18). He told the prophet that he was going to ask him a question and he ...
  • This chapter records an incident late in Jeremiah's ministry. How much later than chapter 43 is unknown. Many commentators suppose it dates from about 580 B.C. because it would have taken some time for the Judean refugees to ...
  • This chapter belongs after chapter 36 chronologically, either after 36:8 or 36:32. It serves as an appendix to the historical incidents recorded there. Perhaps the writer or final editor placed it here to show that Yahweh exe...
  • This is one of four accounts of the fall of Jerusalem in the Old Testament (cf. 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36:11-21; Jer. 39:1-14). The repetition underlines the importance of the event.52:1 Zedekiah (Mattaniah, 2 Kings 24:17) was ...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
  • In 605 B.C. Prince Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army of his father Nabopolassar against the allied forces of Assyria and Egypt. He defeated them at Carchemish near the top of the Fertile Crescent. This victory gave Babyl...
  • Jesus proceeded immediately to tell another parable. Luke wrote that Jesus addressed it to the crowds in the temple courtyard (Luke 20:9). The chief priests and elders continued to listen (vv. 45-46).21:33-34 Jesus alluded to...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • 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 thence in th...
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