Jeremiah 37
The full text of Jeremiah 37 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Zedekiah son of Josiah was made king by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim.
2 Neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 King Zedekiah, however, sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to say to Jeremiah the prophet, 'Please pray to the LORD our God for us.'
4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.
5 Pharaoh's army had marched out of Egypt, and when the Babylonians who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet:
7 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me: Pharaoh's army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.
8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.
9 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, 'The Babylonians will surely leave us.' They will not!
10 Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down.
11 After the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,
12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property among the people there.
13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard named Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, 'You are deserting to the Babylonians!'
14 'That's not true!' Jeremiah said. 'I am not deserting to the Babylonians.' But Irijah would not listen to him; instead he arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.
15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.
16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time.
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked him privately, 'Is there any word from the LORD?' 'Yes,' Jeremiah answered, 'you will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.'
18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, 'What crime have I committed against you or your officials 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 attack you or this land?
20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let my petition come before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.
21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the bakers' street each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Translation notes (7)
- Jeremiah 37:3a This verse shows that despite not truly listening, King Zedekiah privately seeks prophetic intercession. This reveals a pattern of superstitious consultation without genuine repentance.
- Jeremiah 37:5a The Egyptian relief force, probably Pharaoh Hophra's army around 588 BC, caused the Babylonians to temporarily lift their siege. This event explains the optimism that led to the re-enslavement of slaves described in chapter 34.
- Jeremiah 37:10a The Hebrew text uses hyperbole, an exaggeration for emphasis, to state that even a force of wounded soldiers would still accomplish God's judgment. The main point is not the strength of the Babylonians but the certainty of God's decree.
- Jeremiah 37:12a The Hebrew phrase lāḥalēq miššām bᵉtôk hāʿām means 'to receive his portion there among the people.' This could be related to the field purchase mentioned in chapter 32, or it might refer to a family inheritance matter.
- Jeremiah 37:15a This verse describes the house of Jonathan the scribe being converted into a prison, specifically into pit-cells (verse 16). Harsh conditions followed this conversion.
- Jeremiah 37:16a The Hebrew phrase bêt habôr wᵉʾel-hahᵃnûyôt means 'cistern-house and the vaulted cells,' referring to extremely harsh confinement conditions that suggest a long duration.
- Jeremiah 37:21a The Hebrew text indicates that the courtyard of the guard offered a much better situation than the dungeon, providing air, movement, and daily bread until the famine of the siege consumed all supplies.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Jeremiah, is free to read here on the web.
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