Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
Then came the word of the Lord unto the Prophet Jeremiah,…. At the time when the messengers came to him from the king to pray for them; for Jer 37:4 are to be included in a parenthesis:
saying; as follows: which is an answer to the messengers.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Then came the word of the Lord to this effect: Jer 37:7. “Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah who hath sent you to me to ask at me, Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which marched out to your help, will return to Egypt, their own land. Jer 37:8. And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. Jer 37:9. Thus saith Jahveh: Do not deceive yourselves by thinking, The Chaldeans will quite withdraw from us; for they will not withdraw. Jer 37:10. For, even though he had beaten the whole army of the Chaldeans who are fighting with you, and there remained of them only some who had been pierced through and through, yet they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.” In order to cut off every hope, the prophet announces that the Egyptians will bring no help, but withdraw to their own land before the Chaldeans who went out to meet them, without having accomplished their object; but then the Chaldeans will return, continue the siege, take the city and burn it. To assure them of this, he adds: “Ye must not deceive yourselves with the vain hope that the Chaldeans may possibly be defeated and driven back by the Egyptians. The destruction of Jerusalem is so certain that, even supposing you were actually to defeat and repulse the Chaldeans, and only some few grievously wounded ones remained in the tents, these would rise up and burn the city.” In the inf. abs. is to be observed, as strengthening the idea contained in the verb: “to depart wholly or completely;” is here to “depart, withdraw.” in contrast with are separate individuals. , pierced through by sword or lance, i.e., grievously, mortally wounded.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 6-10: A WARNING AGAINST TRUSTING IN PHARAOH
1. The Lord sent Jeremiah to Zedekiah with the word that Pharaoh’s army, by which Nebuchadnezzar had been induced to lift the siege against Jerusalem, would NOT ACTUALLY FIGHT; they would, rather, return to their own land, (vs. 6-7; comp. Jer 2:18-19; Jer 2:36-37; Isa 30:13; 31:1-3; Eze 17:17-20).
2. The Chaldeans will return to Jerusalem to fight against it, take it, and burn it with fire, (vs. 8; Jer 34:21-22; Jer 38:23; Jer 39:2-8).
3. The people of Judah must not deceive themselves any longer; the Chaldeans will NOT depart until Jerusalem is subdued! (vs. 9; Jer 29:8-10; comp. Mat 24:4-5; Eph 5:6).
4. Though Judah had so smitten them that nothing remained but wounded men, still, they would rise up and burn Jerusalem! (vs. 10; Lev 26:26-38; Isa 30:17).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
B. Jeremiahs Response Jer. 37:6-10
TRANSLATION
(6) Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, (7) Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Thus shall you say unto the king of Judah who sent you unto me to inquire of me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh which has come out to help you shall return to its own land, to Egypt. (8) The Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city, and capture it, and burn it. (9) Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves by thinking that the Chaldeans are permanently withdrawing, for they are not leaving. (10) For if you smite the entire army of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you and there remained among them only wounded men, each of them lying in his tent, they would arise and burn this city.
COMMENTS
Jeremiah rightly sensed that the kings request for prayer was in reality an inquiry as to the future course of events now that the Chaldeans had withdrawn. Jeremiahs response must have startled as well as angered the dignitaries who had approached him. In his response the prophet shattered all hope by emphasizing three thoughts. First, Jeremiah emphasized the failure of Egyptian aid. The Egyptians would be defeated and return to their land (Jer. 37:7). Secondly, he emphasized the fall of Jerusalem. The Chaldeans would shortly return, fight against Jerusalem, capture it, and burn it (Jer. 37:8). Thirdly, Jeremiah emphasizes the futility of optimism. There is absolutely no ground whatsoever for hope that the enemy would abandon the siege of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:9). Even if the Jews could in some miraculous manner defeat the Chaldeans to the point that only a few, and those severely wounded (lit., pierced through) remained, yet they would be able to overwhelm Jerusalem (Jer. 37:10). So certain was Gods purpose that Jerusalem be destroyed that no amount of wishful thinking or active resistance could reverse it.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
6-10. Chaldeans shall burn it The one thing noticeable about this passage is its terrible earnestness and minuteness. Jeremiah assures Judah that the Egyptians shall return to their own land and the Chaldeans to their siege, and that no possible reverse that can come to the Chaldeans will save the city from its impending fate. Even though the whole army were defeated, and there remained only the wounded who had been pierced through and through, (for this is the force of the term translated wounded,) still they would rise up and “burn” the city.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jeremiah Prophesies The Failure Of The Egyptians, The Reviving Of The Siege And The Destruction Of Jerusalem Because It Was YHWH’s Fixed Purpose ( Jer 37:6-10 ).
Jeremiah dismissed the good news. He pointed out that it was so much YHWH’s purpose that Jerusalem be destroyed that even if the Babylonians were left few in number, and ailing at that, they would still succeed in their purpose.
Jer 37:6
‘Then came the word of YHWH to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,’
Once again Jeremiah is in receipt of ‘the word of YHWH’. Even though they were not listening, YHWH had not ceased from speaking to His people.
Jer 37:7
“Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, Thus shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to enquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, will return to Egypt into their own land.’ ”
YHWH’s reply to Zedekiah was forthright, and it was that the Egyptians would fail as deliverers. They would turn tail and return to their own land.
Jer 37:8
“And the Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city, and they will take it, and burn it with fire.”
And the result would be that the Chaldeans would again come and besiege the city, and would eventually take it and burn it with fire. It had rebelled once too often.
Jer 37:9
“Thus says YHWH, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,’ for they will not depart.”.
So they were not to be deceived into thinking that the Chaldeans would depart (which was the general position held in Jerusalem). For the fact was that the Chaldeans would not depart. They had come to fulfil a purpose, and fulfil that purpose they would.
Jer 37:10
“For though you had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.”
And that purpose was to burn Jerusalem with fire. And so great was their zeal, and so firmly was YHWH on their side, that even if the whole army had been smitten, leaving only a small band of wounded men, yet they would still rise up against Jerusalem and take it and burn it with fire, because it was the determined will of YHWH.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 37:6 Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
Ver. 6. Then came the word of the Lord. ] In answer to the messengers that came to request prayers.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 37:6-10
6Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.’ 9Thus says the LORD, ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will surely go away from us, for they will not go. 10For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’
Jer 37:8 All the VERBS are PERFECTS denoting completed future action. Grammarians call them PROPHETIC FUTURES.
Jer 37:9 Do not deceive yourselves This refers to false hope. The VERB (BDB 674, KB 728, Hiphil IMPERFECT), is used in a JUSSIVE sense. They had convinced themselves of a falsehood! The falsehood is The Chaldeans will surely go away from us. This is expressed emphatically by the INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and IMPERFECT VERB from the same root (BDB 229, KB 246).
Jer 37:10 This is a hyperbolic situation, given to assure the Judeans that Jerusalem would be destroyed, along with YHWH’s temple. Egypt cannot help (cf. Isa 30:6-17). Judah’s army cannot help!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jer 37:6-10
Jer 37:6-10
Then came the word of Jehovah unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 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. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city; and they shall take it, and burn it with fire. Thus saith Jehovah, Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us; for they shall not depart. 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.
Contrary to what would most certainly have been in the prophet’s own personal best interests, Jeremiah gave the same message he had already repeated to Zedekiah so often, namely, that God would destroy the city by the hand of the Chaldeans; and that this would surely come to pass, even if Judah were to kill their whole army except a few wounded men. This shows how certain was the fulfillment of what God had prophesied, and it was even a more unfavorable answer than the one Zedekiah had received in Jer 21:4-7.
Deceive not yourselves
(Jer 37:9). Satan himself, though he is the great deceiver, could not deceive us if we did not deceive ourselves. Sinners are their own destroyers, being their own deceivers, despite the fact of their being so frequently warned against it, and also having in their possession the Word of God, the great design of which is to undeceive them!
This expression, “Do not deceive yourselves,” is a translation of a remarkable Hebrew idiom, the literal meaning of which is, “Do not cause your souls to rise (lift up).”
Jer 37:10 stresses the certainty of fulfillment of God’s purpose of destroying the apostate Israel, which had long ago reached a point of no return in their iniquity. The prophecy states that even if the Babylonian army itself had been practically destroyed, with only a few wounded men surviving, even to that pitiful remnant God would give the victory over Jerusalem!
Jeremiahs Response Jer 37:6-10
Jeremiah rightly sensed that the kings request for prayer was in reality an inquiry as to the future course of events now that the Chaldeans had withdrawn. Jeremiahs response must have startled as well as angered the dignitaries who had approached him. In his response the prophet shattered all hope by emphasizing three thoughts. First, Jeremiah emphasized the failure of Egyptian aid. The Egyptians would be defeated and return to their land (Jer 37:7). Secondly, he emphasized the fall of Jerusalem. The Chaldeans would shortly return, fight against Jerusalem, capture it, and burn it (Jer 37:8). Thirdly, Jeremiah emphasizes the futility of optimism. There is absolutely no ground whatsoever for hope that the enemy would abandon the siege of Jerusalem (Jer 37:9). Even if the Jews could in some miraculous manner defeat the Chaldeans to the point that only a few, and those severely wounded (lit., pierced through) remained, yet they would be able to overwhelm Jerusalem (Jer 37:10). So certain was Gods purpose that Jerusalem be destroyed that no amount of wishful thinking or active resistance could reverse it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Reciprocal: Jer 32:3 – Behold Jer 32:24 – the city is
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 37:6, The prophet Jeremiah is often mentioned by name to distinguish him from false prophets. At the present time there were some of them trying to mislead the king of Judah into a false feeling of security.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The Lord’s message to Zedekiah 37:6-10
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord told Jeremiah to tell Zedekiah that the Egyptian army, which had come to help him, would return home. It did, in fact, retreat before joining battle.