Jeremiah 37:1

reigned as king Since from now on, i.e., from this point, he comes to tell and to say that the retributions that he prophesied until now were fulfilled, he started to tell in this manner, that when the time of the visitation, when the days drew near that the words should be fulfilled, another king reigned over Judah instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, etc.

Zedekiah, son of Josiah, became king in place of Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, and the account continues until “the king Zedekiah sent.” Because the prophet had predicted that due to Jehoiakim's burning of the scroll, he would not have a son to sit on David's throne, the narrative immediately follows with the account of Zedekiah’s ascension to the throne, indicating that Zedekiah ruled in place of Jehoiakim, after Jehoiachin, his son. This means that although Jehoiachin briefly ruled Judah under the power of the king of Egypt, fulfilling God’s curse on Jehoiakim, his reign only lasted three months. Nebuchadnezzar then came, exiled him, and placed Zedekiah on the throne, thereby fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy.

(v. 2) However, Zedekiah, his servants, and the people did not listen to the word of the Lord. The sages (Sanhedrin 103a) explained that Jehoiakim was wicked while his generation was righteous, whereas Zedekiah was righteous, but his people were wicked.

(v. 3) This is evident from the fact that Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah asking him to pray on their behalf to the Lord, our God, which was a proper request. I am convinced that what is written here, that Zedekiah sent to Jeremiah to ask him to pray for them, is the same event described earlier when the king sent to ask Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord because Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was attacking. It is known that Nebuchadnezzar only besieged Jerusalem once during Zedekiah’s reign, which was when he destroyed it. Therefore, Zedekiah must have only sent to Jeremiah once, not twice. It seems that three men—Jehucal, Pashhur, and Zephaniah—went to Jeremiah, though only two are mentioned. Zephaniah is mentioned in both accounts because he was the main figure, while one of the others is mentioned secondarily.

The earlier passage recounts the prophecy that came to Jeremiah when Zedekiah sent to him asking for prayer. This is where the Lord says, "I will turn back the weapons of war..." But here, the text only aims to inform us when Jeremiah left imprisonment, which was when Zedekiah sent to ask him to pray to the Lord on their behalf.

(v. 4) At that time, Jeremiah went freely among the people, and they did not put him back in prison because of that request. Thus, the story is repeated here for this purpose only, and the third question is thereby resolved.