Jeremiah 32:2

“For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, etc.] And had done so for some time; for the siege began in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, (<245204>Jeremiah 52:4); and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which [was] in the king of Judah’s house; which showed great stupidity and hardness of heart in the king, and his courtiers, and in the people, to imprison a prophet of the Lord, when surrounded by an enemy’s army, and that according to the prediction of the prophet; by which it appeared that he was a true prophet; and they might reasonably expect that the rest of his predictions, which related to the taking of their…”

“in . . . court of . . . prison--that is, in the open space occupied by the guard, from which he was not allowed to depart, but where any of his friends might visit him (Jer 32:12; Jer 38:13, Jer 38:28). Marvellous obstinacy, that at the time when they were experiencing the truth of Jeremiah's words in the pressure of the siege, they should still keep the prophet in confinement [CALVIN]. The circumstances narrated (Jer 32:3-5) occurred at the beginning of the siege, when Jeremiah foretold the capture of the city (Jer 32:1; Jer 34:1-7; Jer 39:1). He was at that time put into free custody in the court of the prison. At the raising of the siege by Pharaoh-hophra, Jeremiah was on the point of…”

“The prison - Or, the guard, a part of the king’s palace, probably where the royal guard had its quarters. return to 'Top of Page'”

“32:2 Jerusalem had been under siege since January 588 BC (2 Kgs 25:1). • Jeremiah favored surrender to the Babylonians, but the thought angered many who believed that they could successfully defy the foreign army. To protect Jeremiah, Zedekiah imprisoned him in the courtyard of the guard (Jer 37:21).”

“then: The siege had commenced on the tenth month of the preceding year, and continued a year after, ending in the fifth month of the following year; consequently the siege must have lasted eighteen months and twenty-seven days. See note on Kg2 25:18. Jeremiah: Jer 32:3, Jer 32:8, Jer 33:1, Jer 36:5, Jer 37:21, Jer 38:6, Jer 39:13-15; Mat 5:12 in the: Neh 3:25 Jeremiah 32:3”