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.
20. be accepted ] lit. fall. See on Jer 36:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Though Jeremiah had dealt very faithfully with the king and princes, and they had dealt very hardly and cruelly with him, casting him for no just cause into a nasty prison, and Jeremiah knew well enough that Zedekiah was very soon to be disarmed of his power; yet (to learn us our duty) he speaks with all due respect and reverence to his sovereign, though a very bad man, and one who had dealt very ill with him. This petition of Jeremiah speaks the prison he was in was in a very inconvenient place, where he was in danger of his life.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. be acceptedrather, “Letmy supplication be humbly presented” (see on Jer36:7), [HENDERSON].
lest I die therein thesubterranean dungeon (Jer 37:16),from want of proper sustenance (Jer37:21). The prophet naturally shrank from death, whichmakes his spiritual firmness the more remarkable; he was readyto die rather than swerve from his duty [CALVIN].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on 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 Jer 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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire 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.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) That thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe . . .The petition shows the cruelty with which the prophet had been treated. Half-starved, and thrust into a foul and ftid dungeon, he felt that to return to it would be death.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 37:20 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.
Ver. 20. Therefore hear now I pray thee, O my lord the king. ] As stout as he was and impartial in delivering God’s message, in supplicating for himself he is very submiss and humble to his sovereign, not daring to “speak evil of dignities,” though he had wrongfully suffered much from them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
be accepted before: Heb. fall before, Jer 36:7, *marg.
lest: Jer 26:15, Jer 38:6-9, Act 23:16-22, Act 25:10, Act 25:11, Act 28:18, Act 28:19
Reciprocal: Jer 37:15 – in the Jer 38:26 – General Jer 40:8 – Jonathan Jer 42:2 – be accepted before thee Lam 3:53 – cut Dan 9:18 – present
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 37:20. Jeremiah did not retraet anything he had predicted; he did not even request to have his imprisonment entirely set aside. He only requested for himself that he not be returned to the cells lest he die.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jeremiah begged the king not to send him back to prison because he would die there.