College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Jeremiah 37:16-21
B. Summoned by the King Jeremiah 37:16-21
TRANSLATION
(16) When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon vaults and had remained there several days, (17) Zedekiah the king sent and had him brought; and the king questioned him secretly in his house and said, Is there a word from the LORD? And Jeremiah responded: There is! Then he said further, you have been given into the hands of the king of Babylon! (18) Jeremiah also said unto the King Zedekiah, what sin have I committed against you, your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? (19) Where are your prophets who prophesied to you that the king of Babylon would not come against you or this land? (20) And now hear, O my lord the king; let my supplication be presented before you. Do not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe lest I die there. (21) And Zedekiah the king commanded that they commit Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And he gave him a loaf of bread each day from the street of the bakers until all the bread of the city was gone. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
COMMENTS
It is impossible to know how much time elapsed between the confinement of Jeremiah in the subterranean prison and the summons of Zedekiah recorded in Jeremiah 37:17. The text says many days Jeremiah remained in the prison of Jonathan's house. During that interval the Babylonian troops returned to besiege Jerusalem anew. Zedekiah, hoping that there might be some positive word from the Lord, sent secretly for Jeremiah and had him brought to the royal palace. This is the fourth recorded interview between Jeremiah and king Zedekiah as the following chart indicates.
INTERVIEWS BETWEEN JEREMIAH AND KING ZEDEKIAH
Passage
Date
Situation
Early in 588
Attack on Jerusalem has begun
Early in 588
Most of the military outposts of Judah have been captured.
Early summer 588
Siege of Jerusalem temporarily lifted.
Fall of 588
After Jeremiah's arrest.
Early 587
After Jeremiah's release from the dungeon.
In pathetic desperation Zedekiah asked, Is there any word from the Lord? (Jeremiah 37:17). Maybe God had changed His mind. Maybe now that Jerusalem was so close to destruction God would intervene as He had done on other occasions. Zedekiah had been reared in a godly home and though he had strayed quite a ways from the teachings of his father Josiah yet now in this hour of desperation he falls back upon the religion of his youth. Is there any word from the Lord? Indeed there was. But it was a message of doom and not deliverance as far as Zedekiah was concerned. you will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 37:17). Many days in a dark dungeon had not softened the message of the prophet. He was still standing as tall and straight as an iron pillar.
Jeremiah took the opportunity while standing before the king to plead his own case. What wrong have I done against you, your servants or this people that you have put me in prison? (Jeremiah 37:18). Zedekiah was as guilty as the wicked princes who had cast Jeremiah into the dungeon because he had failed to exercise his power to prevent this injustice. Jeremiah had only faithfully carried out his mission as a prophet of God. And had Jeremiah not been vindicated by the events of the past months? Where were the prophets who had so confidently asserted that Nebuchadnezzar would never come against Jerusalem? (Jeremiah 37:19). Those prophets were the ones who ought to be in jail for so completely deceiving the nation. Humbly Jeremiah pleaded with the king not to allow him to return to the prison at the house of Jonathan. Evidently Jeremiah was near death at the time of the interview. Jeremiah knew that if he spent many more days in that wretched and foul hole he would surely die (Jeremiah 37:20). This prophet was no self-appointed martyr. He does not ask to be released from prison; he asks only for humane treatment.
Zedekiah did not set Jeremiah free. But he did order that Jeremiah be transferred to the court of the guard. Perhaps Zedekiah was actually keeping Jeremiah in protective custody. Knowing the hatred of the princes for this man of God, he chose to keep him where the palace guard could watch out for his safety. As long as bread was to be found in the city Jeremiah was to receive his daily ration.[329]
[329] Various tradesmen seem to have had special streets either chosen by them or assigned to them. See 1 Kings 20:34. Hence the reference here to the street of the baker.