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Jeremiah 52

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The Reign of Zedekiah and the Final Siege 1–11

1
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ​
3
For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. ​
4
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. ​
5
So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
6
In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
7
Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and they went toward the Arabah. ​
8
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
9
Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him. ​
10
And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
11
And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. ​

Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple 12–23

12
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem. ​
13
And he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned he with fire. ​
14
And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
15
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude. ​
16
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
17
And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. ​
18
The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
19
And the cups, and the firepans, and the basins, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the bowls—that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver,—the captain of the guard took away.
20
The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah—the brass of all these vessels was without weight. ​
21
And as for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
22
And a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and the second pillar also had like unto these, and pomegranates.
23
And there were ninety and six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network round about.

Execution of Officials and Final Deportation 24–27

24
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
25
and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king’s face, that were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
26
And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
27
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land. ​

Summary of the Three Deportations 28–30

28
This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty; ​
29
in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons;
30
in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred. ​

Jehoiachin Released from Prison 31–34

31
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison; ​
32
and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
33
and changed his prison garments. And Jehoiachin did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life:
34
and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life. ​

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

Study Notes for Jeremiah 52

Verse 2

according to all that Jehoiakim had done — Zedekiah was Josiah's son, set on the throne by the king of Babylon in place of his nephew, who 'changed his name to Zedekiah' (2 Kgs 24:17), a name that means 'righteousness of the LORD'. The verdict is that of 2 Kgs 24:19, and 37:2 says that neither he, nor his servants, nor the people 'did hearken unto the words of the LORD'.

Verse 3

cast them out from his presence — 'Cast out' is shalak, to throw, the verb of the warning in 7:15, 'I will cast you out of my sight'. The rebellion against Babylon also broke an oath, for Nebuchadnezzar 'had made him swear by God' (2 Chr 36:13). The verse is nearly word for word 2 Kgs 24:20.

Verse 4

in the ninth year… in the tenth month, in the tenth day — The day the siege began was marked by the LORD at the time: 'write thee the name of the day… the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day' (Ezek 24:1–2). The 'forts' are the siege works built round the city, as in 2 Kgs 25:1, which this account follows.

Verse 7

the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden — The way of the flight in 2 Kgs 25:4, toward the 'plain', the Jordan valley, where the Chaldeans overtook the king 'in the plains of Jericho' (v.8). Ezekiel had acted it out: 'they shall dig through the wall… he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground' (Ezek 12:12); Jeremiah had said 'thou shalt not escape' (34:3).

Verse 9

Riblah in the land of Hamath… he gave judgment upon him — 'Gave judgment' is literally 'spake judgments'. Jeremiah's word was that Zedekiah would 'speak with him mouth to mouth' and that his 'eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon' (32:4; 34:3). The same sentence is told at 39:5, and Riblah is where the officers are brought and put to death (vv.26–27).

Verse 11

put out the eyes of Zedekiah — The last thing he saw was the death of his sons (39:6; 2 Kgs 25:7). Jeremiah said he would see the king of Babylon face to face (34:3), and Ezekiel said he would be brought to Babylon yet 'shall he not see it, though he shall die there' (Ezek 12:13). Both words were kept. He was imprisoned 'till the day of his death'.

Verse 12

Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard — The king 'gave charge concerning Jeremiah' to this officer (39:11), and it was he who let the prophet go from Ramah, loosing his chains and giving him 'victuals and a reward' (40:1–5). He appears again in v.15, carrying off the people, in v.26 and in v.30.

Verse 13

burned the house of the LORD — What Jeremiah said in his temple sermon, 'Then will I make this house like Shiloh' (26:6), and the people had seized him for it (26:8–9). The fire fell on the house of the LORD, the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem and of the great men. The pillars and the sea are taken in v.17.

Verse 15

those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon — 'Fell' is naphal, the word of Jeremiah's counsel that he who 'falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you… shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey' (21:9; 38:2). Those who did so are counted with 'certain of the poor' and 'the rest of the multitude' among the captives; v.16 says other poor were left for vinedressers.

Verse 17

the pillars of brass… the brasen sea — The pillars stood in the porch, named Jachin and Boaz (1 Kgs 7:21), and the sea was Solomon's molten basin (1 Kgs 7:23). Jeremiah had foretold the taking of 'the pillars, and… the sea, and… the bases' (27:19–22), and that they would stay in Babylon 'until the day that I visit them'.

Verse 20

twelve brasen bulls — The 'sea' stood on twelve oxen, three looking each way (1 Kgs 7:25). 'Without weight' echoes 1 Kgs 7:47, where Solomon 'left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out'. The brass carried to Babylon in v.17 is the same brass that was beyond weighing.

Verse 27

put them to death in Riblah — Those taken at v.24 include Seraiah the chief priest, and the sixty men of the people. His son Jehozadak 'went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar' (1 Chr 6:14–15). 'Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land' is told in 2 Kgs 25:21 as 'So Judah was carried away out of their land'.

Verse 28

in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty — The first of three counts, dated by Nebuchadrezzar's years: 3,023 in the seventh, 832 from Jerusalem in the eighteenth (v.29), 745 in the twenty-third (v.30). They add up to the 4,600 of v.30. The list is not given in the parallel 2 Kgs 25.

Verse 30

seven hundred forty and five persons — The third count, in Nebuchadrezzar's twenty-third year, four years after the burning in v.12, taken by Nebuzaradan. 'Persons' is nephesh, souls. With 3,023 (v.28) and 832 (v.29) it gives the sum 'four thousand and six hundred'.

Verse 31

lifted up the head of Jehoiachin — The phrase is that of Gen 40:13, where Pharaoh would 'lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place'. Jehoiachin is the king of whom 22:30 said no man of his seed should prosper on David's throne. He is named in Christ's line: 'Jechonias begat Salathiel' (Matt 1:12). The event is told at 2 Kgs 25:27.

Verse 34

a continual diet given him — The last words of the book, nearly 2 Kgs 25:30: 'his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day'. 'Diet' is aruchah, a ration, and 'continual' is tamid, the word of the 'continual burnt offering' (Ex 29:42). A king of David's line is kept alive 'all the days of his life'.