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Jeremiah 39

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Jerusalem Falls; The Captivity Begins 1–3

1
(in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and besieged it; ​
2
in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city),
3
that all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, to wit, Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. ​

The Capture and Punishment of Zedekiah 4–10

4
And it came to pass that, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, through the gate betwixt the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah. ​
5
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him. ​
6
Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.
7
Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. ​
8
And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. ​
9
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the residue of the people that remained in the city, the deserters also that fell away to him, and the residue of the people that remained. ​
10
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, that had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. ​

Nebuchadrezzar Protects Jeremiah 11–14

11
Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, ​
12
Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
13
So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushazban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon;
14
they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home. So he dwelt among the people. ​

The Lord Promises Deliverance to Ebed-melech 15–18

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Now the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, ​
16
Go, and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished before thee in that day. ​
17
But I will deliver thee in that day, saith Jehovah; and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
18
For I will surely save thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee; because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 39

Verse 1

the tenth month — The siege began on the tenth day of the tenth month of Zedekiah's ninth year (2 Ki 25:1). The LORD told Ezekiel in Babylon, on that same day, to 'write thee the name of the day… the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day' (Ezek 24:1–2). The city fell in the eleventh year (v.2).

Verse 3

sat in the middle gate — The princes of Babylon took their seats at the city gate, the place of judgment, once the wall was breached. 'Rabsaris' and 'Rabmag' are titles built on rab, 'chief', not personal names; verse 13 pairs each with a man: 'Nebushasban, Rabsaris' and 'Nergalsharezer, Rabmag'.

Verse 4

by the way of the king's garden — Zedekiah's flight by night through 'the gate betwixt the two walls' is told again in 2 Ki 25:4. It was the opposite of the counsel Jeremiah gave: 'If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live' (Jer 38:17). He went out 'the way of the plain' (arabah).

Verse 5

Riblah in the land of Hamath — Riblah is where Pharaohnechoh had earlier 'put him in bands' (2 Ki 23:33), meaning Jehoahaz, and where the king of Babylon now judged Zedekiah and later 'put them to death' (Jer 52:27). The pursuers overtook the king 'in the plains of Jericho' (2 Ki 25:5).

Verse 7

put out Zedekiah's eyes — Two prophecies meet in this verse: 'his eyes shall behold his eyes' (Jer 32:4) and Ezekiel's 'I will bring him to Babylon… yet shall he not see it' (Ezek 12:13). Jer 52:11 adds that he was held 'in prison till the day of his death'. 2 Ki 25:7 calls the chains 'fetters of brass'.

Verse 8

burned the king's house — The fire was foretold: 'it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire' (Jer 21:10). The parallel account includes 'the house of the LORD' (2 Ki 25:9), and Micah had said that 'Zion for your sake be plowed as a field' (Mic 3:12). Nathats is to pull down, said of the walls.

Verse 9

Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard — His title, rab tabbachim, is literally 'chief of the executioners' (tabbach, a butcher), the office Potiphar held in Gen 37:36. 'Those that fell away, that fell to him' are the men who had gone over to the Chaldeans, whom Zedekiah feared (Jer 38:19). The same event is told in 2 Ki 25:11.

Verse 10

the poor of the people, which had nothing — Dal is the poor, the lowly. The captain left them 'vineyards and fields', as 2 Ki 25:12 says, 'to be vinedressers and husbandmen'. The land passes to those who had held none, while the princes of Judah, who had broken the covenant of release (Jer 34), were put to death at Riblah (Jer 52:10).

Verse 11

gave charge concerning Jeremiah — The king's order, given in v.12 as 'look well to him, and do him no harm', answers the LORD's earlier promise to Jeremiah: 'I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil' (Jer 15:11), and 'I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked' (Jer 15:21).

Verse 14

Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan — Jeremiah is entrusted to the family that had shielded him: 'the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death' (Jer 26:24). Nebuchadnezzar made Gedaliah 'ruler' over those left in Judah (2 Ki 25:22).

Verse 15

shut up in the court of the prison — The word to Ebedmelech was given before the city fell, while Jeremiah was held in the court of the prison, where he stayed 'until the day that Jerusalem was taken' (Jer 38:28). It is told here, after the fall, because the promise to Ebedmelech was kept when the city was taken.

Verse 16

Ebedmelech the Ethiopian — Kushi is a man of Cush, and the name Ebedmelech means 'servant of the king'. He had lifted Jeremiah from the dungeon (Jer 38:7–13), and the LORD's word to him is a promise of life inside a message of judgment: 'I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good', as in Jer 21:10.

Verse 18

thy life shall be for a prey unto thee — The same assurance is given in Jer 21:9, 'his life shall be unto him for a prey', and to Baruch (Jer 45:5): the one who escapes carries his life out as plunder (shalal) when all else is lost. The reason is stated: 'because thou hast put thy trust in me' (cf. Ps 34:22, 'none of them that trust in him shall be desolate').