Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 40:1

"The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah, that were carried away captive unto Babylon." — Jeremiah 40:1 (ASV)

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. —It is noticeable that this introduction is not followed by any specific utterance of prophecy until we come to Jeremiah 42:7. It is a natural conclusion that it stands as a kind of heading to the section of the collected prophecies after the capture of the city.

Had let him go from Ramah. —The town so named was in the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:25), about six miles from Jerusalem, and retains its old name in the form Er-Ram. It was used on this occasion as a depot for the prisoners who were brought to it from Jerusalem, to await the orders of Nebuzaradan as to their ultimate disposal. The captain of the guard and the prophet had apparently not met before, and the latter had been brought in chains (literally, manacles, chains fastened to the wrists, Jeremiah 40:4), like the other captives.

(2–4) The Lord your God ... —It is significant that the Chaldean general speaks as if recognizing Jehovah as the God of Israel, and the prophet’s mission from Him. Such a recognition did not, however, imply more than the belief of the polytheist, that each nation had its own guardian deity. We find language of a like kind, though spoken with a tone of sarcasm, coming even from the lips of Rab-shakeh (2 Kings 18:25).

As a prophet, however, Jeremiah is treated with marked respect—perhaps partly due to the policy he had advocated, and possibly partly to the influence of men like Daniel and his friends at Babylon. He is offered the option of going to that city with the promise of honorable treatment (though it is assumed he would not return from there), or of remaining in Judea to go wherever he pleases. The prophet obviously chooses the second alternative, but before he acts on it, another plan occurs to Nebuzaradan.