13 And it cometh to pass, he is at the gate of Benjamin, and there `is' a master of the ward -- and his name is Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah -- and he catcheth Jeremiah the prophet, saying, `Unto the Chaldeans thou art falling.'
Changed is all the land as a plain, From Gebo to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, And she hath been high, and hath dwelt in her place, Even from the gate of Benjamin To the place of the first gate, unto the front gate, And from the tower of Hananeel, Unto the wine-vats of the king.
And Ebed-Melech the Cushite, a eunuch who `is' in the king's house, heareth that they have put Jeremiah into the pit; and the king is sitting at the gate of Benjamin,
nor are they able to prove against me the things concerning which they now accuse me.
for having found this man a pestilence, and moving a dissension to all the Jews through the world -- a ringleader also of the sect of the Nazarenes -- who also the temple did try to profane, whom also we took, and according to our law did wish to judge, and Lysias the chief captain having come near, with much violence, out of our hands did take away, having commanded his accusers to come to thee, from whom thou mayest be able, thyself having examined, to know concerning all these things of which we accuse him;' and the Jews also agreed, professing these things to be so.
and began to accuse him, saying, `This one we found perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying himself to be Christ a king.'
And Shephatiah son of Mattan, and Gedaliah son of Pashhur, and Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah, hear the words that Jeremiah is speaking unto all the people, saying,
And they say, Come, And we devise against Jeremiah devices, For law doth not perish from the priest, Nor counsel from the wise, Nor the word from the prophet, Come, and we smite him with the tongue, And we do not attend to any of his words.
`And now, I -- I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and also the beast of the field I have given to him to serve him;
And Amaziah priest of Beth-El sendeth unto Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, `Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words,
And the king commandeth Ebed-Melech the Cushite, saying, `Take with thee from this thirty men, and thou hast brought up Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dieth.' And Ebed-Melech taketh the men with him, and entereth the house of the king, unto the place of the treasury, and taketh thence worn-out clouts, and worn-out rags, and sendeth them unto Jeremiah unto the pit by cords. And Ebed-Melech the Cushite saith unto Jeremiah, `Put, I pray thee, the worn-out clouts and rags under thine arm-holes, at the place of the cords,' and Jeremiah doth so, and they draw out Jeremiah with cords, and bring him up out of the pit, and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison. And the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh Jeremiah the prophet unto him, unto the third entrance that `is' in the house of Jehovah, and the king saith unto Jeremiah, `I am asking thee a thing, do not hide from me anything.' And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, `When I declare to thee, dost thou not surely put me to death? and when I counsel thee, thou dost not hearken unto me.' And the king Zedekiah sweareth unto Jeremiah in secret, saying, `Jehovah liveth, He who made for us this soul, I do not put thee to death, nor give thee unto the hand of these men who are seeking thy soul.' And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: If thou dost certainly go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath thy soul lived, and this city is not burned with fire, yea, thou hast lived, thou and thy house.
And the heads say unto the king, `Let, we pray thee, this man be put to death, because that he is making feeble the hands of the men of war, who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking unto them according to these words, for this man is not seeking for the peace of this people, but for its evil.'
and he goeth down `to' the house of the king, unto the chamber of the scribe, and lo, there are all the heads sitting: Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Acbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the heads.
For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, A yoke of iron I have put on the neck of all these nations to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they have served him, and also the beast of the field I have given to him.'
And unto Zedekiah king of Judah I have spoken according to all these words, saying, `Cause your necks to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why do ye die, thou and thy people, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the nation that doth not serve the king of Babylon?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 37
Commentary on Jeremiah 37 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 37
This chapter brings us very near the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, for the story of it lies in the latter end of Zedekiah's reign; we have in it,
Jer 37:1-10
Here is,
Jer 37:11-21
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.