Bible Strands
Jeremiah 37:1
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made Zedekiah son of Josiah the king of Judah, and he reigned in place of Coniah son of Jehoiakim.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator states that Nebuchadnezzar installed Zedekiah, son of Josiah, as king of Judah to reign in place of Coniah, son of Jehoiakim. This political appointment occurs immediately before Zedekiah and his officials refuse to heed prophetic warnings.
The words — וַיִּמְלָךְ (va.Yim.lokh) translates literally as “and he reigned,” and תַּחַת (ta.chat) means “in place of,” both marking a forced royal succession rather than a legitimate dynastic transfer.
The thread — This succession aligns with the Babylonian coup detailed in 2 Kings 24:17 and directly follows the earlier divine rejection of Coniah in Jeremiah 22:24.
Why it lands — The text records a human political maneuver without endorsing it, requiring a reader to evaluate earthly authority against prophetic standards rather than royal titles.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 22:24 “As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
- 2 Kings 24:17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
- 2 Kings 24:12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.
- 1 Chronicles 3:15 The sons of Josiah: Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shallum the fourth.
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 22:28 Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
- Jeremiah 24:1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 52:31 On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison.
- Ezekiel 17:12 “Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.