Major Prophets · Chapter 37 of 52
Jeremiah 37
Zedekiah reigns but neither he nor the people heed God's word through Jeremiah. When Egypt's approach lifts the Babylonian siege, the king asks Jeremiah to pray, but the prophet insists the Chaldeans will return and burn the city. Leaving Jerusalem, Jeremiah is arrested as a deserter, beaten, and jailed. Zedekiah secretly asks for a word from God, hears the same hard truth, and grants him slightly better confinement with a daily ration of bread.
What happens in Jeremiah 37
Zedekiah, set on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar, ignores God's word, as do his servants and the people. When Pharaoh's army marches out of Egypt, the besieging Babylonians withdraw from Jerusalem, and the king sends messengers asking Jeremiah to pray. Jeremiah answers that Egypt's army will return home and the Chaldeans will come back, take the city, and burn it, so the people should not deceive themselves. As Jeremiah tries to leave for Benjamin to attend to property, a captain named Irijah arrests him, accusing him of defecting to the Babylonians.
Though Jeremiah denies it, the angry officials beat him and imprison him in the house of Jonathan the scribe, where he remains many days. Zedekiah secretly summons him and asks for any word from the LORD; Jeremiah repeats that the king will be handed to Babylon, and pleads not to be returned to that dungeon. The king transfers him to the court of the prison with a daily loaf.
Jeremiah 37 in context
This unfolds during the final siege, around 588 BC, when Pharaoh Hophra's advance briefly relieved Jerusalem and raised false hopes. Zedekiah was a weak, divided king, fearful of both Babylon and his own hardline officials.
Jeremiah's consistent counsel to submit to Babylon made him look like a traitor, which explains the charge of desertion. The chapter portrays a prophet suffering for telling an unwelcome truth no one wanted to hear.
Main themes of Jeremiah 37
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.
Verses to carry from Jeremiah 37
“Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.”Jeremiah 37:9
“Wherefore 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.”Jeremiah 37:15
“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, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”Jeremiah 37:17
Thematic connection
How Jeremiah 37 points to Jesus
Jeremiah, falsely accused of desertion, beaten, and imprisoned for speaking God's truth, foreshadows the greater righteous sufferer. Jesus too was falsely charged, struck, and delivered up by his own leaders for words they did not want to hear, and like Jeremiah he told the truth plainly even before the authorities who held his life. The king's secret question, Is there any word from the LORD, echoes in the way rulers later interrogated Jesus while refusing to obey what they heard.
Jeremiah's steady insistence on an unwelcome message, at the cost of his own comfort and safety, thematically anticipates the faithful witness of Christ, who did not deceive with false hope but spoke the truth that saves even when it led to his own suffering.
Questions about Jeremiah 37
Why did Jeremiah keep repeating that the city would fall even when it was dangerous?
Because it was true and God had said it. Jeremiah would not adjust the message to spare himself or comfort the king. Even after being beaten and jailed, when Zedekiah secretly asked for a word, he gave the same answer. His consistency shows that a faithful messenger serves God's truth rather than the audience's wishes, no matter the personal cost of doing so.
Was Jeremiah actually deserting to the Babylonians?
No. He was leaving Jerusalem for Benjamin on personal or family business among his people, likely related to property. The charge of desertion was false, exploited by officials who resented his message. Because he had long counseled submission to Babylon as God's will, he was an easy target for accusation. The text presents his arrest as an injustice, punishing him for faithfulness rather than any real crime.
Reflection
Jeremiah suffered for telling a truth no one wanted. Sometimes faithfulness looks like losing. When telling the truth might cost you comfort, reputation, or safety, will you still say what God has made clear? Ask for the courage to give the same honest answer in the secret room that you would give in public.
A prayer from Jeremiah 37
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