· Translation: KJV

Jeremiah 37:21Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard; and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

The setting

Jerusalem, 586 BC. The city is under siege by Babylon. Jeremiah sits in a prison courtyard, receiving his daily ration while the city starves around him. Modern-day East Jerusalem, Palestine.

The emotion here: recording God's mysterious provision amid catastrophe

The original word

lechem (לֶחֶם) — bread, the basic sustenance of life

Why it matters

Bakers' street was a designated quarter where all bread production was centralized and regulated

Read with care

What most readers miss in Jeremiah 37:21

This was the ONLY food distribution in a starving, besieged city — Jeremiah got fed while citizens died

Common misconceptionPeople see this as a reward for faithfulness, but Jeremiah was imprisoned for telling uncomfortable truths. God provides even when we're suffering for doing right.

Bible Genome reading

Jeremiah 37:21 — Bible Genome reading

EraDivided Kingdom
Primary emotionresting
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power40%
Quotability15%
Memorability25%
Crisis relevance50%
Standalone40%
Themes:God's provisionimprisonment

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Jeremiah 37

Jeremiah 37:21 comes from the book of Jeremiah, written during the Divided Kingdom period. The dominant emotion in this verse is resting, with a comfort power of 40% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include God's provision, imprisonment. Notable phrases: daily bread; court of the guard.

Your reflection

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