Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 37:20

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 37:20. Cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan — He had been ill used in this man's custody, so as to endanger his life, the place being cold, and probably unhealthy.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Jeremiah imprisoned (37:1-21)

Having dealt with events in the reign of Jehoiakim in the previous two chapters, the story now returns to the reign of Zedekiah. As in the case of Jehoiakim, Zedekiah ignored the warnings of God’s prophets (37:1-2).
During Babylon’s final great siege of Jerusalem, Egypt sent an army to help the Jerusalemites. When the Egyptians approached, the Babylonians lifted the siege and went to deal with the new threat elsewhere. Zedekiah sent a message to Jeremiah, asking him to pray that the Babylonians’ withdrawal would be permanent. Jerusalem would then be able to live in peace (3-5).
Jeremiah replied that the Egyptians would retreat and the Babylonians would return. After laying siege to Jerusalem again, they would then conquer and burn it (6-8). Jerusalem’s defeat was certain. Even if the Babylonians suffered heavy losses and were left with only wounded men lying in tents, they would still take Jerusalem (9-10).
The temporary lift of the siege gave Jeremiah the opportunity to go into the country to attend to some business concerning his family’s property. But a guard at the city gate, suspecting that Jeremiah was going to see the Babylonians, arrested him and charged him with being a traitor (11-13). Jeremiah denied the charge, but it made no difference. He was flogged, then thrown into a temporary prison that had been set up in the house of a government official (14-15).
When the Babylonian army returned (contrary to the predictions of the false prophets) the king sent again to ask Jeremiah what hope there was for Jerusalem. The prophet’s reply was the same as before: the city would be conquered (16-19). Though disappointed at Jeremiah’s reply, Zedekiah at least respected the prophet’s honesty. In response to Jeremiah’s request, Zedekiah gave him better prison accommodation and a better provision of food (20-21).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And now hear, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication be presented before thee, that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe lest I die there. 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."

"Lest I die there" This was no remote possibility but a practical certainty if Jeremiah had been returned to that evil dungeon in the house of Jonathan.

"The king commanded" Jeremiah had not asked to be released, recognizing the practical impossibility of it, due to the murderous hatred of Zedekiah's ministers and advisers; and to the credit of the king he honored Jeremiah's request for a less intolerable confinement.

"The bakers' street" "This is the only place in Scripture where the name of a street in Jerusalem appears. It was a Near Eastern custom to name streets after those who worked in them."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 614. We see the same phenomenon in New York City and other large cities where industries and professions tend to proliferate on certain streets. The garment district, the floral district, and the millinery streets, and the financial district are the result.

This change for Jeremiah, placing him in the house of the guard, was fortunate indeed for mankind, because, as Payne Smith pointed out, "That was the place and the time during which Jeremiah wrote the cheerful prophecies contained in Jeremiah 30-33."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 504. These included the magnificent prophecy of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

This verse shews that Jeremiah was not destitute of human feelings, for he, as other men, dreaded death. But yet he could so control himself, that no fear made him to turn aside from his duty. Fear, then, did not dishearten him, as the boldness which we have noticed was a manifest proof of his constancy. The Prophet therefore overcame, as to his work, every anxiety and the fear of death; and yet he did not disregard his life, but sought, as far as he could, deliverance from his evils. He asked for some alleviation from the king. We hence see that the Prophets were not logs of wood, nor had iron hearts; but though subject to human feelings, yet they elevated themselves to an invincible courage as to their work, so as to fulfill their office.

As to the words, Let my prayer fall before thee, they mean a humble supplication; it is a mode of expression derived, as we have before seen, from what was done by men in prostrating themselves in prayer, and is transferred here from God to mortals. The Prophet then humbly asked, that he might not be cast again into that horrid prison where he had been confined — and why? that he might not die We see that he shunned death, for this was natural; and yet he was prepared to die, whenever necessary, rather than to turn aside in the least from discharging the duty imposed on him by God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 37

Now we come to the third part of the book of Jeremiah and this covers the period of Zedekiah the king. These particular prophecies, thirty-seven through thirty-nine, cover from the time that Zedekiah ascended to the throne unto his captivity in Babylon. So he again gives us the time of the prophecy.

And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah ( Jeremiah 37:1 ).

So Zedekiah was king under the order of Nebuchadnezzar. When Jehoiakim died, you remember Jeremiah said, "There won't be any of your family sitting upon the throne." Well, one of his sons, Jehoiachin, sought for a time to sit upon the throne. He lasted for three months and Nebuchadnezzar came back and deposed him and Nebuchadnezzar set up Zedekiah as the king over Judah so that Jehoiakim was not succeeded by his own children. And the Word of the Lord was fulfilled. "Who Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon made king over the land of Judah."

But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, would hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 37:2 ).

People had closed their ears to the warning of God. Zedekiah refused to listen. He would listen privately. He would call Jeremiah and talk to him privately, but then publicly he would denounce him.

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 the LORD our God for us. Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not yet put him into prison. Then Pharaoh's army had come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem ( Jeremiah 37:3-5 ).

Now the Babylonian army was there, but when they heard that the Egyptian army was coming the Babylonian army withdrew. They withdrew their men from Jerusalem.

Then came the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, 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, will return to Egypt into their own land. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. Thus saith the LORD; Don't deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart ( Jeremiah 37:6-9 ).

Now the people thought, "Oh, we're free, you know, from the Chaldeans. The Egyptian army has frightened them off. They've gone. Now we can do our own thing. Now we can be independent of Babylon. Now we won't have to pay tribute." And they rebelled against the Babylonian authority. But Jeremiah warned them against this. He said, "Don't think that you're free of them, they're going to return again."

For though you had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans ( Jeremiah 37:10 )

Even if you had wiped out the whole army.

and there were only a few wounded men left ( Jeremiah 37:10 ),

God has determined to deliver you unto the Chaldeans. And just a few wounded men would be able to take you and they'll burn this city with fire.

So it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself from the midst of the people ( Jeremiah 37:11-12 ).

So Jeremiah started to take off and go up to Benjamin but,

As he was in the gate of Benjamin ( Jeremiah 37:13 ),

One of the gates of Jerusalem at that time.

a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, You're going over [to the Babylonians] to the Chaldeans. Then said Jeremiah, That is not true; I am not going over to the Chaldeans. But this captain would not listen to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him before the princes. When the princes were angry with Jeremiah, they smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that a prison. When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there for many days ( Jeremiah 37:13-16 );

So they imprisoned Jeremiah thinking that he was going to go over to the Babylonians. Jeremiah declared that wasn't his intention, but yet they made him a prisoner anyhow to keep him from that.

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out; and the king asked him secretly in the 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. Moreover 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? Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come against you, nor against this land? ( Jeremiah 37:17-19 )

There were prophets that said, "The Babylonians will never come into this land." He said, "Where are those prophets now that gave you that story?"

Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my prayer, 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 ( Jeremiah 37:20 ).

Please don't send me back to that prison. I'll die there if you do. He was put there in the prison at the house of Jonathan the scribe.

Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison ( Jeremiah 37:21 ),

Let us not put him back in the dungeon.

and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison ( Jeremiah 37:21 ).

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Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Jeremiah’s arrest and imprisonment 37:11-21

The text records five steps in Jeremiah’s prison experiences. First, he was arrested in the gate and committed to a dungeon on a false charge of treason (Jeremiah 37:11-15). Second, he was released from the dungeon but restricted to the courtyard of the prison (Jeremiah 37:16-21). Third, he was imprisoned in Malchijah’s miry dungeon in the prison courtyard (Jeremiah 38:6). Fourth, he was released from this dungeon but restricted to the prison courtyard again until Jerusalem fell (Jeremiah 38:17-28). Fifth, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the Babylonian guard, took him in chains to Ramah, where he released Jeremiah (Jeremiah 40:1-4). [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 812.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The consequences of his arrest and imprisonment 37:17-21

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Jeremiah begged the king not to send him back to prison because he would die there.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Therefore hear now, one pray thee, O my lord the king,.... When the prophet spoke in the name of the Lord, and the words of the Lord, it was with great boldness and majesty; but when he spoke for himself, and on his own behalf, it was with great submission, as it became a subject to his king; and whom he owns as his sovereign lord, though a wicked prince, and whose destruction he knew was at hand:

let my supplication be accepted before thee; or, "fall before thee": see Jeremiah 36:7; which was as follows:

that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe; but that he might be discharged from his confinement; or however be removed into another prison, not so uncomfortable and disagreeable as this man's house or prison was; and which perhaps was still the worse through his cruel and ill natured carriage to him; and which all together endangered his life: wherefore he adds,

lest I die there; for though he had continued there many days, yet the place was so exceedingly noisome, that he thought he could not long continue there, was he remanded back to it.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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 separate himself thence in the midst of the people.   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 took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.   14 Then 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.   15 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.   16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;   17 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.   18 Moreover 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?   19 Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?   20 Therefore 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.   21 Then 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.

      We have here a further account concerning Jeremiah, who relates more passages concerning himself than any other of the prophets; for the histories of the lives and sufferings of God's ministers have been very serviceable to the church, as well as their preaching and writing.

      I. We are here told that Jeremiah, when he had an opportunity for it, attempted to retire out of Jerusalem into the country (Jeremiah 37:11; Jeremiah 37:12): When the Chaldeans had broken up from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, upon the notice of their advancing towards them, Jeremiah determined to go into the country, and (as the margin reads it) to slip away from Jerusalem in the midst of the people, who, in that interval of the siege, went out into the country to look after their affairs there. He endeavoured to steal away in the crowd; for, though he was a man of great eminence, he could well reconcile himself to obscurity, though he was one of a thousand, he was content to be lost in the multitude and buried alive in a corner, in a cottage. Whether he designed for Anathoth or no does not appear; his concerns might call him thither, but his neighbours there were such as (unless they had mended since Jeremiah 11:21; Jeremiah 11:21) might discourage him from coming among them; or he might intend to hide himself somewhere where he was not known, and fulfil his own wish (Jeremiah 9:2; Jeremiah 9:2), Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place! Jeremiah found he could do no good in Jerusalem; he laboured in vain among them, and therefore determined to leave them. Note, there are times when it is the wisdom of good men to retire into privacy, to enter into the chamber and shut the doors about them,Isaiah 26:20.

      II. That in this attempt he was seized as a deserter and committed to prison (Jeremiah 37:13-15; Jeremiah 37:13-15): He was in the gate of Benjamin, so far he had gained his point, when a captain of the ward, who probably had the charge of that gate, discovered him and took him into custody. He was the grandson of Hananiah, who, the Jews say, was Hananiah the false prophet, who contested with Jeremiah (Jeremiah 28:10; Jeremiah 28:10), and they add that this young captain had a spite to Jeremiah upon that account. He could not arrest him without some pretence, and that which he charges upon his is, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans--an unlikely story, for the Chaldeans had now gone off, Jeremiah could not reach them; or, if he could, who would go over to a baffled army? Jeremiah therefore with good reason, and with both the confidence and the mildness of an innocent man, denies the charge: "It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans; I am going upon my own lawful occasions." Note, it is no new thing for the church's best friends to be represented as in the interest of her worst enemies. Thus have the blackest characters been put upon the fairest purest minds, and, in such a malicious world as this is, innocency, nay, excellency itself, is no fence against the basest calumny. When at any time we are thus falsely accused we may do as Jeremiah did, boldly deny the charge and then commit our cause to him that judges righteously. Jeremiah's protestation of his integrity, though he is a prophet, a man of God, a man of honour and sincerity, though he is a priest, and is ready to say it in verbo sacerdotis--on the word of a priest, is not regarded; but he is brought before the privy-council, who without examining him and the proofs against him, but upon the base malicious insinuation of the captain, fell into a passion with him: they were wroth; and what justice could be expected from men who, being in anger, would hear no reason? They beat him, without any regard had to his coat and character, and then put him in prison, in the worst prison they had, that in the house of Jonathan the scribe; either it had been his house, and he had quitted it for the inconveniences of it, but it was thought good enough for a prison, or it was now his house, and perhaps he was a rigid severe man, that made it a house of cruel bondage to his prisoners. Into this prison Jeremiah was thrust, into the dungeon, which was dark and cold, damp and dirty, the most uncomfortable unhealthy place in it; in the cells, or cabins, there he must lodge, among which there is no choice, for they are all alike miserable lodging-places. There Jeremiah remained many days, and for aught that appears, nobody came near him or enquired after him. See what a world this is. The wicked princes, who are in rebellion against God, lie at ease, lie in state in their palaces, while godly Jeremiah, who is in the service of God, lies in pain, in a loathsome dungeon. It is well that there is a world to come.

      III. That Zedekiah at length sent for him, and showed him some favour; but probably not till the Chaldean army had returned and had laid fresh siege to the city. When their vain hopes, with which they fed themselves (an in confidence of which they had re-enslaved their servants, Jeremiah 34:11; Jeremiah 34:11), had all vanished, then they were in a greater confusion and consternation then ever. "O then" (says Zedekiah) "send in all haste for the prophet; let me have some talk with him." When the Chaldeans had withdrawn, he only sent to the prophet to pray for him; but now that they had again invested the city, he sent for him to consult him. Thus gracious will men be when pangs come upon them. 1. The king sent for him to give him private audience as an ambassador from God. He asked him secretly in his house, being ashamed to be seen in his company, "Is there any word from the Lord? (Jeremiah 37:17; Jeremiah 37:17)-- any word of comfort? Canst thou give us any hopes that the Chaldeans shall again retire?" Note, Those that will not hearken to God's admonitions when they are in prosperity would be glad of his consolations when they are in adversity and expect that his ministers should then speak words of peace to them; but how can they expect it? What have they to do with peace? Jeremiah's life and comfort are in Zedekiah's hand, and he has now a petition to present to him for his favour, and yet, having this opportunity, he tells him plainly that there is a word from the Lord, but no word of comfort for him or his people: Thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. If Jeremiah had consulted with flesh and blood, he would have given him a plausible answer, and, though he would not have told him a lie, yet he might have chosen whether he would tell him the worst at this time; what occasion was there for it, when he had so often told it him before? But Jeremiah was one that had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful, and would not, to obtain mercy of man, be unfaithful either to God or to his prince; he therefore tells him the truth, the whole truth. And, since there was no remedy, it would be a kindness to the king to know his doom, that, being no surprise to him, it might be the less a terror, and he might provide to make the best of bad. Jeremiah takes this occasion to upbraid him and his people with the credit they gave to the false prophets, who told them that the king of Babylon should not come at all, or, when he had withdrawn, should not come again against them, Jeremiah 37:19; Jeremiah 37:19. "Where are now your prophets, who told you that you should have peace?" Note, Those who deceive themselves with groundless hopes of mercy will justly be upbraided with their folly when the event has undeceived them. 2. He improved this opportunity for the presenting of a private petition, as a poor prisoner, Jeremiah 37:18; Jeremiah 37:20. It was not in Jeremiah's power to reverse the sentence God had passed upon Zedekiah, but it was in Zedekiah's power to reverse the sentence which the princes had given against him; and therefore, since he thought him fit to be used as a prophet, he would not think him fit to be abused as the worst of malefactors. He humbly expostulates with the king: "What have I offended against thee, or thy servants, or this people, what law have I broken, what injury have I done to the common welfare, that you have put me in prison?" And many a one that has been very hardly dealt with has been able to make the same appeal and to make it good. He likewise earnestly begs, and very pathetically (Jeremiah 37:20; Jeremiah 37:20), Cause me to return to yonder noisome gaol, to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. This was the language of innocent nature, sensible of its own grievances and solicitous for its own preservation. Though he was not at all unwilling to die God's martyr, yet, having so fair an opportunity to get relief, he would not let it slip, lest he should die his own murderer. When Jeremiah delivered God's message he spoke as one having authority, with the greatest boldness; but, when he presented his own request, he spoke as one under authority, with the greatest submissiveness: Near me, I pray thee, O my Lord the king! let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee. Here is not a word of complaint of the princes that unjustly committed him, no offer to bring an action of false imprisonment against them, but all in a way of modest supplication to the king, to teach us that even when we act with the courage that becomes the faithful servants of God, yet we must conduct ourselves with the humility and modesty that become dutiful subjects to the government God hath set over us. A lion in God's cause must be a lamb in his own. And we find that God gave Jeremiah favour in the eyes of the king. (1.) He gave him his request, took care that he should not die in the dungeon, but ordered that he should have the liberty of the court of the prison, where he might have a pleasant walk and breathe a free air. (2.) He gave him more than his request, took care that he should not die for want, as many did that had their liberty, by reason of the straitness of the siege; he ordered him his daily bread out of the public stock (for the prison was within the verge of the court), till all the bread was spent. Zedekiah ought to have released him, to have made him a privy-counsellor, as Joseph was taken from prison to be the second man in the kingdom. But he had not courage to do that; it was well he did as he did, and it is an instance of the care God takes of his suffering servants that are faithful to him. He can make even their confinement turn to their advantage and the court of the of their prison to become as green pastures to them, and raise up such friends to provide for them that in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh.