Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the prison courtyard, marking that moment in the account. It belongs to the account of Jeremiah's imprisonment during which God continued to give him messages. It falls within chapters 32-45, which record the events of the two years before Jerusalem fell.
Verses 15-18 belong chronologically after chapter 38 and before verses 1-14, even though they appear later in the chapter, for the chapters of Jeremiah are not always arranged in chronological order but the context of the chapter makes the order clear. The chapters around the verse show that Zedekiah's refusal to follow God's instruction brought disaster, even though he received a final offer by which he and Jerusalem could have been saved. They teach the lesson of heeding the humble instrument through whom God speaks.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the prison courtyard, marking that moment in the account. It belongs to the account of Jeremiah's imprisonment during which God continued to give him messages. It falls within chapters 32-45, which record the events of the two years before Jerusalem fell.
Verses 15-18 belong chronologically after chapter 38 and before verses 1-14, even though they appear later in the chapter, for the chapters of Jeremiah are not always arranged in chronological order but the context of the chapter makes the order clear. The chapters around the verse show that Zedekiah's refusal to follow God's instruction brought disaster, even though he received a final offer by which he and Jerusalem could have been saved. They teach the lesson of heeding the humble instrument through whom God speaks.