# Jeremiah 37 > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jeremiah_37 > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jeremiah_37.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_37 > Source revision: 1306588680 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For Jeremiah 37 in the Septuagint, see [Jeremiah 30](/source/Jeremiah_30). **Jeremiah 37** is the thirty-seventh [chapter](/source/Chapters_and_verses_of_the_Bible) of the [Book of Jeremiah](/source/Book_of_Jeremiah) in the [Hebrew Bible](/source/Hebrew_Bible) or the [Old Testament](/source/Old_Testament) of the [Christian](/source/Christianity) [Bible](/source/Bible). It is numbered as **Jeremiah 44** in the [Septuagint](/source/Septuagint). This book contains prophecies attributed to the [prophet](/source/Biblical_prophet) [Jeremiah](/source/Jeremiah), and is one of the [Books of the Prophets](/source/Nevi'im). This chapter is the start of a narrative section consisting of chapters 37 to [44](/source/Jeremiah_44).[1][2] Chapter 37 records [King Zedekiah](/source/Zedekiah)'s request for prayer, Jeremiah's reply to the king, and Jeremiah's arrest and imprisonment.[3][4] ## Text The original text was written in [Hebrew](/source/Biblical_Hebrew). [This chapter is divided into](/source/Chapters_and_verses_of_the_Bible) 21 verses. ### Textual witnesses Some ancient manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in [Hebrew](/source/Hebrew_language) are of the [Masoretic Text](/source/Masoretic_Text) tradition, which includes the [Codex Cairensis](/source/Codex_Cairensis) (895), [the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets](/source/Codex_Babylonicus_Petropolitanus) (916), [Aleppo Codex](/source/Aleppo_Codex) (10th century), [Codex Leningradensis](/source/Leningrad_Codex) (1008).[5] There is also a translation into [Koine Greek](/source/Koine_Greek) known as the [Septuagint](/source/Septuagint), made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the [Septuagint](/source/Septuagint) version include [Codex Vaticanus](/source/Codex_Vaticanus) (**B**; \mathfrak{G}B; 4th century), [Codex Sinaiticus](/source/Codex_Sinaiticus) (**S**; [BHK](/source/Biblia_Hebraica_(Kittel)): \mathfrak{G}S; 4th century), [Codex Alexandrinus](/source/Codex_Alexandrinus) (**A**; \mathfrak{G}A; 5th century) and [Codex Marchalianus](/source/Codex_Marchalianus) (**Q**; \mathfrak{G}Q; 6th century).[6] ## Parashot The *[parashah](/source/Parashah)* sections listed here are based on the [Aleppo Codex](/source/Aleppo_Codex).[7] Jeremiah 37 is a part of the "*Fifteenth prophecy ([Jeremiah 36](/source/Jeremiah_36)-[39](/source/Jeremiah_39))*" in the section of *Prophecies interwoven with narratives about the prophet's life ([Jeremiah 26](/source/Jeremiah_26)-45)*. {P}: open *parashah*; {S}: closed *parashah*. - {P} 37:1-5 {P} 37:6-8 {P} 37:9-11 {S} 37:12-21 [38:1-2 {S}] ## Verse numbering The order of chapters and verses of the Book of Jeremiah in the English Bibles, Masoretic Text (Hebrew), and [Vulgate](/source/Vulgate) (Latin), in some places differs from that in the [Septuagint](/source/Septuagint) (LXX, the Greek Bible used in the [Eastern Orthodox Church](/source/Eastern_Orthodox_Church) and others) according to Rahlfs or [Brenton](/source/Lancelot_Charles_Lee_Brenton). The following table is taken with minor adjustments from *Brenton's Septuagint*, page 971.[8] The order of Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint/Scriptural Study (CATSS) based on *[Alfred Rahlfs](/source/Alfred_Rahlfs)' Septuaginta* (1935), differs in some details from Joseph Ziegler's critical edition (1957) in *Göttingen LXX*. *Swete's Introduction* mostly agrees with Rahlfs' edition (=CATSS).[8] Hebrew, Vulgate, English Rahlfs' LXX (CATSS) 37:1-21 44:1-21 30:1-9,12-14,16-21,23-24 37:1-9,12-14.16-21,23-24 30:10,15,22 none ## Structure The [New King James Version](/source/New_King_James_Version) divides this chapter into the following sections: - = Zedekiah's Vain Hope - = Jeremiah Imprisoned ## Zedekiah’s vain hope (37:1–10) ### Verse 1 - *Now King [Zedekiah](/source/Zedekiah) the son of [Josiah](/source/Josiah) reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.*[9] - Cross reference: [10] - "Coniah": the spelling of [Jeconiah](/source/Jeconiah) found in [Jeremiah 22:24](/source/Jeremiah_22:24), [28](/source/Jeremiah_22:28) and 37:1; elsewhere in the book of Jeremiah it is spelled as "Jeconiah" ([Jeremiah 24:1](/source/Jeremiah_24:1); 27:20; [28:4](/source/Jeremiah_28:4); [29:2](/source/Jeremiah_29:2); cf. [1 Chronicles 3](/source/1_Chronicles_3):16, 17; [Esther 2:6](/source/Esther_2:6)) and "[Jehoiachin](/source/Jehoiachin)" ([Jeremiah 52](/source/Jeremiah_52):31, 33; cf. [2 Kings 24:6](/source/2_Kings_24:6), 8, 12, 15; 25:27, 29; [2 Chronicles 36](/source/2_Chronicles_36):8, 9; [Ezekiel 1:2](/source/Ezekiel_1:2)).[10] ### Verse 2 - *But 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.*[11] Verses 37:1–2 introduce the accounts in chapters 37–[38](/source/Jeremiah_38) that [Zedekiah](/source/Zedekiah) and his regime was as disobedient as [Jehoiakim](/source/Jehoiakim) and his regime ([Jeremiah 36](/source/Jeremiah_36):27; cf. [2 Kings 24](/source/2_Kings_24):19-20), although Zedekiah was said to seek the Lord’s help or seek a word from the Lord, even sending to inquire of Jeremiah three times, but he did not pay attention to the warnings he received in reply, so was ultimately responsible for the fall of Jerusalem ([Jeremiah 39](/source/Jeremiah_39)).[12] ### Verse 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 to the Lord our God for us."*[13] - "[Jehucal](/source/Jehucal) the son of Shelemiah": or "Jucal the son of Shelemiah" in [Jeremiah 38:1](/source/Jeremiah_38:1). During the excavations in the ruins of the [City of David](/source/City_of_David_(Silwan)) conducted by the [Ir David Foundation](/source/Ir_David_Foundation) in 2005 a bulla was discovered with the inscription "belonging to Jehucal son of Shelemiah (Shelemyahu) son of Shovi" which is thought to point to the person mentioned here.[14] ### Verse 5 - *Then Pharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.*[15] - "[Pharaoh](/source/Pharaoh)": is [Hophra (or Apries)](/source/Apries), the fourth king (counting from [Psamtik I](/source/Psamtik_I)) of the [26th dynasty of Egypt](/source/Twenty-sixth_dynasty_of_Egypt), ruling 589-570 BCE.[16] His name is written as Ουαφρη[ς], *Ouaphre[s]* in the [Greek Old Testament](/source/Greek_Old_Testament),[17] Ancient Greek: Ἁπρίης *Apries* by [Herodotus](/source/Herodotus) (ii. 161) and [Diodorus](/source/Diodorus) (i. 68), or *Waphres* by [Manetho](/source/Manetho), who correctly records that he reigned for 19 years.[18] He forged an alliance with Zedekiah to rebel against Babylon (cf. ),[19] sending an army in the summer of 588 BCE.[16] This caused the Chaldeans to temporarily lift the siege in Jerusalem to deal with the Egyptians, but eventually failed to prevent the fall of the city in July 587 BCE.[20] In 570 BC Hophra was forced to rule together as co-regents with [Amasis (or Ahmosis/Ahmose II)](/source/Amasis_II), but three years later Hophra was overthrown and executed, while Amasis continued to be a sole ruler until his death in 526 BCE.[21] ## Jeremiah imprisoned (37:11–21) ### Verse 12 - *Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people.*[22] The meaning of the Hebrew in this verse is uncertain:[23] the nineteenth-century biblical commentator [Alexander Maclaren](/source/Alexander_Maclaren) suggests that Jeremiah went with a group of [Benjaminites](/source/Tribe_of_Benjamin), reading "in the midst of the people" with "to go into the land of Benjamin". He argues then that "the others seem to have been let pass, and only Jeremiah detained".[24] ## See also - [Babylon](/source/Babylon) - [Benjamin](/source/Tribe_of_Benjamin) - [Chaldean](/source/Neo-Babylonian_Empire) - [Egypt](/source/Egypt) - [Israel](/source/Israel) - [Irijah](/source/Irijah) the son of [Shelemiah](/source/Shelemiah), the son of [Hananiah](/source/Hananiah) - [Jehoiakim](/source/Jehoiakim) - [Coniah](/source/Jeconiah) the son of Jehoiakim - [Jehucal](/source/Jehucal) the son of [Shelemiah](/source/Shelemiah) - [Jeremiah](/source/Jeremiah) - [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem) - [Josiah](/source/Josiah) - [Judah](/source/Kingdom_of_Judah) - [List of artifacts in biblical archaeology](/source/List_of_artifacts_in_biblical_archaeology) - [Pharaoh](/source/Pharaoh) - [Nebuchadnezzar](/source/Nebuchadnezzar) - [Zedekiah](/source/Zedekiah) - [Zephaniah](/source/List_of_minor_biblical_figures,_L%E2%80%93Z#Zephaniah) the son of [Maaseiah](/source/Maaseiah) - Related [Bible](/source/Bible) part: [2 Kings 19](/source/2_Kings_19), [2 Kings 24](/source/2_Kings_24), [2 Chronicles 36](/source/2_Chronicles_36), [Jeremiah 21](/source/Jeremiah_21), [Jeremiah 29](/source/Jeremiah_29), [Ezekiel 17](/source/Ezekiel_17) ## References 1. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 1137-1138 Hebrew Bible. ISBN 978-0195288810 1. Huey 1993, p. 327. 1. Huey 1993, pp. 327–332. 1. Ryle 2009. 1. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37. 1. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74. 1. As reflected in the [Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English](http://mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et0.htm). 1. ["Table of Order of Jeremiah in Hebrew and Septuagint"](https://www.ccel.org/bible/brenton/Jeremiah/appendix.html). *www.ccel.org* 1. [NKJV](/source/New_King_James_Version) 1. Note [a] on Jeremiah 37:1 linked to note [b] on Jeremiah 22:24 in [NET Bible](/source/New_English_Translation) 1. [ESV](/source/English_Standard_Version) 1. Note on Jeremiah 37:2 in [NET Bible](/source/New_English_Translation) 1. NKJV 1. Rossner, Rena (January 26, 2006). ["The once and future city"](https://www.jpost.com/Local-Israel/In-Jerusalem/The-once-and-future-city). *The Jerusalem Post*. Retrieved November 15, 2009. 1. NKJV 1. Thompson 1980, p. 25. 1. Cf. [Christoffer Theis](/source/Christoffer_Theis), Sollte Re sich schämen? Eine subliminale Bedeutung von עפרח in Jeremia 44,30, in: UF 42 (2011), S. 677–691 for the writing of this particular name. 1. Huey 1993, p. 329. 1. Thompson 1980, pp. 25–26. 1. Huey 1993, p. 370. 1. NKJV 1. Footnote at verse 12 in the [New Revised Standard Version](/source/New_Revised_Standard_Version) 1. MacLaren, A., [MacLaren Expositions of Holy Scripture](https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/jeremiah/37.htm) on Jeremiah 37, accessed 23 March 2019 ## Sources - Huey, F. B. (1993). [*The New American Commentary - Jeremiah, Lamentations: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, NIV Text*](https://books.google.com/books?id=HBguYZCdAM4C). B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805401165. - Ryle, Herbert Edward (2009). *The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Paperback*. BiblioBazaar. ISBN 9781117708690. - Thompson, J. A. (1980). [*A Book of Jeremiah*](https://books.google.com/books?id=lm6tdzZwNOEC). The [New International Commentary on the Old Testament](/source/New_International_Commentary_on_the_Old_Testament). illustrated, revised ed. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802825308. - Würthwein, Ernst (1995). [*The Text of the Old Testament*](https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC). Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019. ## External links ### Jewish - [Jeremiah 37 Hebrew with Parallel English](http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1137.htm) ### Christian - [Jeremiah 37, English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate](http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=28&c=37) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jeremiah 37](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_37) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_37?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.