Jeremiah 37:20

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.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, fall.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

be accepted--rather, "Let my supplication be humbly presented" (see on Jer 36:7), [HENDERSON].

lest I die there--in the subterranean dungeon (Jer 37:16), from want of proper sustenance (Jer 37:21). The prophet naturally shrank from death, which makes his spiritual firmness the more remarkable; he was ready to die rather than swerve from his duty [CALVIN].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(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 fœtid dungeon, he felt that to return to it would be death.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. be accepted] lit. fall. See on Jer_36:7.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Entry, where he had been already, chap. xxxii. 1., and xxxiv. 1, 7. --- Piece. Roll, sufficient for a day’s maintenance. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "a piece of bread (Septuagint, a loaf) out of the baker’s street." (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

"Out of weakness made strong. This verse an utterance, not of a sturdy invincible soul, but one of a gentle, shrinking, and often timid nature. Note

I THE PROPHET JEREMIAH belonged to the company of those who, out of weakness, God has made strong.

1. By nature and temperament he was the reverse of strong. Proof in this verse. Suffering was ever terrible to him. Hence he piteously pleads for the king"s help. And passim we have indications of the gentleness of his nature Jer_1:6, "Ah, Lord, I cannot;" and homily on Jer_4:19-30, "The fellowship of Christ"s sufferings, (vol. 1. p. 100). But:

2. Notwithstanding this, see how strong he became. When it came to the test, how he endured! (cf. Jer_1:10, Jer_1:17, Jer_1:18) Nothing would induce him to alter his word towards the king, the prophets, and the people generally. He softened not one line of his message, although it would have been so much to his advantage to have done so. Now

II THIS IS THE GLORY OF GOD"S GRACE ALWAYS. There will be glory by and by, an outward glory on every child of God. "Eye hath not seen," etc. But the present glory of God"s grace is this, that out of weakness it makes its recipients strong. See what it did for the apostles, and especially for St. Peter they the recreants and the denier of the Lord, but afterwards his valiant and undaunted witnesses. And grace has done the same for not a few in prospect of suffering and trial from which beforehand they would have utterly shrunk away. Women and children were amongst the number of the martyrs; and in the moral martyrdoms of this softer age they are so still. God strengthens his servants "with might by his Spirit in the inner man? And this is the glory of his grace. Not the numbers of the Church, nor her wealth, rank, gifts, or aught of such sort, but the spiritual strength that characterizes her. "I can do all things," said St. Paul, "through Christ which strengtheneth me." And it will be so yonder in the better world hereafter. The glory of that day will not be the golden streets, the gates of pearl, the foundations of precious stones; not the vast throng of the redeemed, nor aught that belongs only to their circumstances, happy as they will be; but it will be the character of them all. And this will be their security also. The defences of that condition of the redeemed will not be outward, but inward. They, having been strengthened with might by the Spirit of God in the inner man, will have come to be rooted like the giant oak, which no tempest can uproot from the ground and grounded like the deep-laid foundation of the temple, which naught can overthrow in love, and so Christ will dwell in their hearts. Yes, their glory will be their defence also.

CONCLUSION. Seek, therefore, this grace of Divine strength. Bow your "knees to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," that, "according to the riches of his glory," he would grant you this. Then, though weak and wavering by nature, steadiness and strength shall be given to your will, your heart, and so God will make you as he did his prophet as "a defenced city, an iron pillar, a brazen wall". C. (Jer_1:18)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.