The Meaning of Jeremiah 37:13 Explained

Jeremiah 37:13

KJV: And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans.

YLT: And it cometh to pass, he is at the gate of Benjamin, and there is a master of the ward -- and his name is Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah -- and he catcheth Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 'Unto the Chaldeans thou art falling.'

Darby: And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thou art deserting to the Chaldeans.

ASV: And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou art falling away to the Chaldeans.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when he was in the gate  of Benjamin,  a captain  of the ward  [was] there, whose name  [was] Irijah,  the son  of Shelemiah,  the son  of Hananiah;  and he took  Jeremiah  the prophet,  saying,  Thou fallest away  to the Chaldeans. 

What does Jeremiah 37:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah was leaving Jerusalem by the northern gate that led to the territory of Benjamin when Irijah, a captain of the guard, arrested him. [1] He charged the prophet with defecting to the enemy. Jeremiah had urged others to submit to the Babylonians ( Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 38:2), and some of the people had taken his advice ( Jeremiah 38:2; Jeremiah 38:19; Jeremiah 39:9; Jeremiah 52:15), so the charge was plausible.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 37

1  The Egyptians having raised the siege of the Chaldeans,
3  king Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah to pray for the people
6  Jeremiah prophesies the Chaldeans' certain return and victory
11  He is taken for a fugitive, beaten, and put in prison
16  He assures Zedekiah of the captivity
18  Entreating for his liberty, he obtains some favor

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 37:13 mean?

And when was he in the Gate of Benjamin and [was] there a captain of the guard and whose name [was] Irijah son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah and he seized - Jeremiah the prophet saying to the Chaldeans You are defecting
וַיְהִי־ ה֞וּא בְּשַׁ֣עַר בִּנְיָמִ֗ן וְשָׁם֙ בַּ֣עַל פְּקִדֻ֔ת וּשְׁמוֹ֙ יִרְאִיָּ֔יה בֶּן־ שֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֖ה בֶּן־ חֲנַנְיָ֑ה וַיִּתְפֹּ֞שׂ אֶֽת־ יִרְמְיָ֤הוּ הַנָּבִיא֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אֶל־ הַכַּשְׂדִּ֖ים אַתָּ֥ה נֹפֵֽל

וַיְהִי־  And  when  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בְּשַׁ֣עַר  in  the  Gate 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
בִּנְיָמִ֗ן  of  Benjamin 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בִּנְיָמִין 
Sense: Jacob’s and Rachel’s youngest son, Joseph’s full brother.
וְשָׁם֙  and  [was]  there 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
בַּ֣עַל  a  captain 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בָּעַל 
Sense: owner, husband, lord.
פְּקִדֻ֔ת  of  the  guard 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּקִדֻת  
Sense: oversight, overseer, guard.
וּשְׁמוֹ֙  and  whose  name  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
יִרְאִיָּ֔יה  Irijah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִרְאִיָּיה  
Sense: son of Shelemiah, a captain of the guard who arrested Jeremiah.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֖ה  of  Shelemiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁלֶמְיָה 
Sense: a son of Bani who put away his foreign wife in the time of Ezra.
בֶּן־  the  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
חֲנַנְיָ֑ה  of  Hananiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲנַנְיָה 
Sense: the godly friend of Daniel whom Nebuchadnezzar renamed Shadrach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king’s table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
וַיִּתְפֹּ֞שׂ  and  he  seized 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: תָּפַשׂ  
Sense: to catch, handle, lay hold, take hold of, seize, wield.
אֶֽת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יִרְמְיָ֤הוּ  Jeremiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִרְמְיָה 
Sense: the major prophet, son of Hilkiah of the priestly family in Anathoth; author of the prophetic book bearing his name.
הַנָּבִיא֙  the  prophet 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.
לֵאמֹ֔ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הַכַּשְׂדִּ֖ים  the  Chaldeans 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: כַּשְׂדִּים  
Sense: a territory in lower Mesopotamia bordering on the Persian Gulf.
נֹפֵֽל  are  defecting 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.