(The previous post covered historical events that occurred before the fall of Jerusalem. Chapters 37-39 covered the whole length of the reign of Zedekiah, eleven years. Chapters 37-38 covered the time during the siege of Jerusalem while Chapter 39 covered the time of the overthrow of the city.)
Jeremiah 37
1 And Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
(Zedekiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.)
2 But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of Jehovah, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.
(None of the people, including Zedekiah, heard the words of God by Jeremiah.)
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 unto Jehovah our God for us.
(Zedekiah sent men to Jeremiah requesting Jeremiah to pray to God for them.)
4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison.
5 And Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans that were besieging Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they brake up from Jerusalem.
6 Then came the word of Jehovah unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
7 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
8 And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire.
(God told Jeremiah to tell Zedekiah that the Egyptians would return to Egypt but the Chaldeans (Babylonians) would come against them.)
9 Thus saith Jehovah, Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us; for they shall not depart.
(God told the people not to deceive themselves. The Babylonians were coming.)
10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yea would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
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 receive his portion there, in the midst of the people.
(Jeremiah left for the land of Benjamin hoping to escape the persecution against him.)
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 laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou art falling away to the Chaldeans.
(Jeremiah was being accused of deserting the siege of the Babylonians.)
14 Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I am not falling away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; so Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.
15 And 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 was put in prison again.)
16 When Jeremiah was come into the dungeon-house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
(Jeremiah was put into a dungeon (pit, well, cistern) for many days.)
17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and fetched him: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from Jehovah? And Jeremiah said, There is. He said also, Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, Wherein have I sinned against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?
(Jeremiah asked Zedekiah why he was put into prison.)
19 Where now are your prophets that prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?
(Jeremiah also asked where the prophets were that said Babylon would not come against Jerusalem.)
20 And now hear, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be presented before thee, that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
(Jeremiah pleaded to Zedekiah to cause him to not return to prison. Jeremiah thought he would die in prison if he was put back.)
21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard; and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
(Jeremiah remained in prison.)
Jeremiah 38
1 And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spake unto all the people, saying,
2 Thus saith Jehovah, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.
(Jeremiah proclaimed God's Word saying any people who stayed in Jerusalem would die by the sword but those who submitted to God’s judgment through the Babylonians would live.)
3 Thus saith Jehovah, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
4 Then the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
(Jeremiah proclaiming that God stated the city would be given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (verse 3) caused the princes to want Jeremiah dead. The princes said Jeremiah sought the hurt of the people and not their welfare.)
5 And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do anything against you.
(Zedekiah gave the princes the freedom to do with Jeremiah what they would.)
6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
(The princes threw Jeremiah in the dungeon and he sank in the mire: mud and clay.)
7 Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin,)
8 Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.
(Ebed-melech, whose name meant "servant of the king," was an Ethiopian eunuch in the service of king Zedekiah. Ebed-melech interceded for Jeremiah. He told the king that the princes had done evil and that Jeremiah would die if they left him in the dungeon.)
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
12 And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these rags and worn-out garments under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.
13 So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
(In response to Ebed-melech's defense of Jeremiah, Jeremiah was taken up from the dungeon. However, he was still imprisoned in the court of the guard.)
14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of Jehovah: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
(Zedekiah initiated a meeting with Jeremiah. Zedekiah told Jeremiah that he would ask Jeremiah a question and that he did not want Jeremiah to hide anything from him. Was Jeremiah not doing this the entire time? Or was Zedekiah getting desperate?)
15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me.
(Jeremiah wanted to know: if he spoke all the information Zedekiah wanted, would he be put to death because of these words?)
16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
(Not only did Zedekiah swear that he would not put Jeremiah to death but he would not even give Jeremiah into the hands of others who sought Jeremiah's life.)
17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house.
(Jeremiah told Zedekiah that if he submitted to Babylon, he would live and Jerusalem would not be destroyed.)
18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
(Furthermore, if Zedekiah did not submit to the Babylonians, Jerusalem would be destroyed along with Zedekiah not escaping from their hands.)
19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.
20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.
(Zedekiah was worried he would be mocked if he did not attempt resistance from Babylon but Jeremiah assured him that God's Words on this matter were the only way he would live.)
21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that Jehovah hath showed me:
22 behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed over thee: now that thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back.
23 And they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans; and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
(Jeremiah further explained the ramifications of disobedience to God's Words.)
24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king; hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee:
(Zedekiah did not want Jeremiah to tell the princes about the conversation they just had.)
26 then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.
27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
(Jeremiah did as the king asked and told the princes that he declared his supplication before Zedekiah regarding Jeremiah's imprisonment. Zedekiah told Jeremiah to only share part of their conversation and it led the princes to stop speaking with Jeremiah. The princes did not perceive (were not aware) of the entire conversation between Zedekiah and Jeremiah.)
28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
(Jeremiah remained imprisoned in the court of the guard until Jerusalem was being taken.)
Jeremiah 39
1 And it came to pass when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and besieged it;
(Jerusalem was besieged.)
2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city,)
3 that all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, to wit, Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
(The princes of the king of Babylon sat in the gate of Jerusalem, where the leaders/elders of a city would sit.)
4 And it came to pass that, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate betwixt the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.
(When Zedekiah and his soldiers saw the princes of Babylon, they fled toward Arabah which meant "the desert plain.")
5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him.
(The Babylonian army pursued those who fled and were successful in capturing them.)
6 Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.
(The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons right before his eyes.)
7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
(Then Zedekiah's eyes were put out and he was carried away to Babylon.)
8 And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.
(God's Word was fulfilled. Zedekiah and his men did not obey the Word of God through Jeremiah concerning submitting to the rule of the Babylonians. Instead they resisted and fled from the Babylonians and the result was the destruction of Jerusalem.)
9 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the residue of the people that remained in the city, the deserters also that fell away to him, and the residue of the people that remained.
(The remnant of the people were carried away to Babylon.)
10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, that had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
(Poor people were left in Judah to work the land.)
11 Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
12 Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
(Nebuchadnezzar told his captain to look well to Jeremiah and do unto him as he said.)
13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushazban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon;
14 they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
(Jeremiah was released from prison and "dwelt among the people." Jeremiah was set free.)
15 Now the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying,
16 Go, and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished before thee in that day.
17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith Jehovah; and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
(Ebed-melech was blessed with deliverance because of his righteous actions towards Jeremiah.)
18 For I will surely save thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee; because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith Jehovah.
(Ebed-melech had his trust in God.)
(This post covered the exchange between Zedekiah and Jeremiah immediately before Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, as well as the release from prison for Jeremiah and the blinding of Zedekiah immediately after the invasion.)
Day 236
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