Jeremiah 21:2
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“Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is waging war against us. Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
It is plain that the prophecies of this book are not placed here in the same order in which they were preached; for there are chapters after this which concern Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah, who all reigned before Zedekiah, in whose reign the prophecy of this chapter bears date. Here is, I. The message which Zedekiah sent to the prophet, to desire him to enquire of the Lord for them (Jer 21:1, Jer 21:2). II. The answer which Jeremiah, in God's name, sent to that message, in which, 1. He foretels the certain and inevitable ruin of the city, and the fruitlessness of their attempts for its preservation (Jer 21:3-7). 2. He advises the people to make the best of bad, by going over to the king of Babylon (Jer 21:8-10). 3. He advises the king and his family to repent and reform (Jer 21:11, Jer 21:12), and not to trust to the strength of their city and grow secure (Jer 21:13, Jer 21:14).
Open source ↗21:2 Nebuchadnezzar . . . is attacking Judah: This event probably occurred around the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem in 588 BC (2 Kgs 25:1). • Zedekiah did not pray to the Lord as his ancestor Hezekiah had done (2 Kgs 19:14-20, 29-37; 2 Chr 32:20-22; Isa 37:1-7, 14-20). However, the king expected Jeremiah to perform the miracle of turning away the Lord’s anger.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt.
He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am deeply distressed,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,
But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’
and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!
So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”