TRV
Translation
King James Version
And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
KJV (with Strong's)
And all the princes H8269 of the king H4428 of Babylon H894 came in H935, and sat H3427 in the middle H8432 gate H8179, even Nergalsharezer H5371, Samgarnebo H5562, Sarsechim H8310, Rabsaris H7249, Nergalsharezer H5371, Rabmag H7248, with all the residue H7611 of the princes H8269 of the king H4428 of Babylon H894.
Complete Jewish Bible
All the officers of the king of Bavel entered and sat at the Middle Gate - Nergal-Sar'etzer, Samgar-N'vo, Sars'khim the Rav-Saris, Nergal-Sar'etzer the Rav-Mag and all the other officers of the king of Bavel.
Berean Standard Bible
Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
American Standard Version
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.
World English Bible Messianic
all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, Nergal Sharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal Sharezer, Rabmag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And all the princes of the King of Babel came in, and sate in the middle gate, euen Neregal, Sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Neregal, Sharezer, Rab-mag with all the residue of the princes of the King of Babel.
Young's Literal Translation
and come in do all the heads of the king of Babylon, and they sit at the middle gate, Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, chief of the eunuchs, Nergal-Sharezer, chief of the Mages, and all the rest of the heads of the king of Babylon.
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In the KJVVerse 19,927 of 31,102
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Commentary on Jeremiah 39 verses 1–10
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 they besieged it.
2 And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.
3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
4 And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.
5 But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where 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 with chains, 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 remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained.
10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
We were told, in the close of the foregoing chapter, that Jeremiah abode patiently in the court of the prison, until the day that Jerusalem was taken. He gave the princes no further disturbance by his prophesying, nor they him by their persecutions; for he had no more to say than what he had said, and, the siege being carried on briskly, God found them other work to do. See here what it came to.
I. The city is at length taken by storm; for how could it hold out when God himself fought against it? Nebuchadnezzar's army sat down before it in the ninth year of Zedekiah, in the tenth month (Jer 39:1), in the depth of winter. Nebuchadnezzar himself soon after retired to take his pleasure, and left his generals to carry on the siege: they intermitted it awhile, but soon renewed it with redoubled force and vigour. At length, in the eleventh year, in the fourth month, about midsummer, they entered the city, the soldiers being so weakened by famine, and all their provisions being now spent, that they were not able to make any resistance, Jer 39:2. Jerusalem was so strong a place that nobody would have believed the enemy could ever enter its gates, Lam 4:12. But sin had provoked God to withdraw his protection, and then, like Samson when his hair was cut, it was weak as other cities.
II. The princes of the king of Babylon take possession of the middle gate, Jer 39:3. Some think that this was the same with that which is called the second gate (Zep 1:10), which is supposed to be in the middle wall that divided between one part of the city and the other. Here they cautiously made a half, and durst not go forward into so large a city, among men that perhaps would sell their lives as dearly as they could, until they had given directions for the searching of all places, that they might not be surprised by any ambush. They sat in the middle gate, thence to take a view of the city and give orders. The princes are here named, rough and uncouth names they are, to intimate what a sad change sin had made; there, where Eliakim and Hilkiah, who bore the name of the God of Israel, used to sit, now sit Nergal-sharezer, and Samgar-nebo, etc., who bore the names of the heathen gods. Rab-saris and Rab-mag are supposed to be not the names of distinct persons, but the titles of those whose names go before. Sarsechim was Rab-saris, that is, captain of the guard; and Nergal-sharezer, to distinguish him from the other of the same name that is put first, is called Ram-mag - camp-master, either muster-master or quarter-master: these and the other great generals sat in the gate. And now was fulfilled what Jeremiah prophesied long since (Jer 1:15), that the families of the kingdoms of the north should set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem. Justly do the princes of the heathen set up themselves there, where the gods of the heathen had been so often set up.
III. Zedekiah, having in disguise perhaps seen the princes of the king of Babylon take possession of one of the gates of the city, thought it high time to shift for his own safety, and, loaded with guilt and fear, he went out of the city, under no other protection but that of the night (Jer 39:4), which soon failed him, for he was discovered, pursued, and overtaken. Though he made the best of his way, he could make nothing of it, could not get forward, but in the plains of Jericho fell into the hands of the pursuers, Jer 39:5. Thence he was brought prisoner to Riblah, where the king of Babylon passed sentence upon him as a rebel, not sentence of death, but, one many almost say, a worse thing. For, 1. He slew his sons before his eyes, and they must all be little, some of them infants, for Zedekiah himself was now but thirty-two years of age. The death of these sweet babes must needs be so many deaths to himself, especially when he considered that his own obstinacy was the cause of it, for he was particularly told of this thing: They shall bring forth thy wives and children to the Chaldeans, Jer 38:23. 2. He slew all the nobles of Judah (Jer 39:6), probably not those princes of Jerusalem who had advised him to this desperate course (it would be a satisfaction to him to see them cut off), but the great men of the country, who were innocent of the matter. 3. He ordered Zedekiah to have his eyes put out (Jer 39:7), so condemning him to darkness for life who had shut his eyes against the clear light of God's word, and was of those princes who will not understand, but walk on in darkness, Psa 82:5. 4. He bound him with two brazen chains or fetters (so the margin reads it), to carry him away to Babylon, there to spend the rest of his days in misery. All this sad story we had before, Kg2 25:4, etc.
IV. Some time afterwards the city was burnt, temple and palace and all, and the wall of it broken down, Jer 39:8. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! this comes of killing the prophets, and stoning those that were sent to thee. O Zedekiah, Zedekiah! this thou mightest have prevented if thou wouldst but have taken God's counsel, and yielded in time."
V. The people that were left were all carried away captives to Babylon, Jer 39:9. Now they must bid a final farewell to the land of their nativity, that pleasant land, and to all their possessions and enjoyments in it, must be driven some hundreds of miles, like beasts, before the conquerors, that were now their cruel masters, must lie at their mercy in a strange land, and be servants to those who would be sure to rule them with rigour. The word tyrant is originally a Chaldee word, and is often used for lords by the Chaldee paraphrast, as if the Chaldeans, when they were lords, tyrannized more than any other: we have reason to think that the poor Jews had reason to say so. Some few were left behind, but they were the poor of the people, that had nothing to lose, and therefore never made any resistance. And they not only had their liberty, and were left to tarry at home, but the captain of the guard gave them vineyards and fields at the same time, such as they were never masters of before, Jer 39:10. Observe here, 1. The wonderful changes of Providence. Some are abased, others advanced, Sa1 2:5. The hungry are filled with good things, and the rich sent empty away. The ruin of some proves the rise of others. Let us therefore in our abundance rejoice as though we rejoiced not, and in our distresses weep as though we wept not. 2. The just retributions or Providence. The rich had been proud oppressors, and now they were justly punished for their injustice; the poor had been patient sufferers, and now they were graciously rewarded for their patience and amends made them for all their losses; for verily there is a God that judges in the earth, even in this world, much more in the other.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–10. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SEVEN
[Daniel 7:1] "In the first year of Belshazzar, King of Babylon, Daniel beheld a dream. And a vision of his head upon his bed. And when he wrote the dream down, he comprehended it in a few words and gave a brief summary of it, saying..." This section which we now undertake to explain, and also the subsequent section which we are going to discuss, is historically prior to the two previous sections. For this present section and that which follows it are recorded to have taken place in the first and third years of the reign of King Belshazzar (Jeremiah 39) [Jerome's citation of Jeremiah 39 seems quite pointless in this connection]. But the section which we read previously to the one just preceding this, is recorded to have taken place in the last year, indeed on the final day, of Belshaz-zar's reign. And we meet this phenomenon not only in Daniel but also in Jeremiah [cf. Jeremiah 35 and Jeremiah 34] and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 17), as we shall be able to show, if life spares us that long. But in the earlier portion of the book, the historical order has been followed, namely the events which occurred in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar, and Darius or Cyrus. But in the passages now before us an account is given of various visions which were beheld on particular occasions and of which only the prophet himself was aware, and which therefore lacked any importance as signs or revelations so far as the barbarian nations were concerned. But they were written down only that a record of the things beheld might be preserved for posterity.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 39:3 meticulously records the definitive moment of Jerusalem's conquest by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, detailing the strategic entry and occupation of the city's "middle gate" by high-ranking Babylonian officials. This verse serves as a stark, indelible historical marker, confirming the complete subjugation of Judah and the tragic fulfillment of God's long-prophesied judgment against Jerusalem due to its persistent idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness, and rejection of prophetic warnings.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 39:3 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its profound message and historical gravity. The most prominent is Enumeration or Listing, as the verse meticulously names specific Babylonian officials and their significant titles. This detailed listing serves to lend powerful historical credibility and authenticity to the biblical account, demonstrating either meticulous record-keeping or the eyewitness nature of the narrative, grounding the theological message in concrete historical events. The repetition of "Nergalsharezer" and the phrase "princes of the king of Babylon" also functions as Repetition, emphasizing the overwhelming presence and unified authority of the Babylonian conquerors, reinforcing the inescapable reality of Judah's defeat. Furthermore, the act of "sitting in the middle gate" is rich in Symbolism. The "gate" itself symbolizes the city's strength, its judicial and commercial hub, and paradoxically, its point of vulnerability. The Babylonians "sitting" there symbolizes their complete conquest, the establishment of their dominion, and the irreversible transfer of power from Judah to Babylon. This scene also serves as a powerful Fulfillment of Jeremiah's long-standing prophecies of judgment against Jerusalem, visually depicting the devastating consequences of Judah's persistent unfaithfulness to God's covenant.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 39:3 stands as a stark, undeniable testament to the unwavering fulfillment of God's righteous judgment against His covenant people, Judah, for their persistent rebellion, idolatry, and rejection of His prophetic warnings. It profoundly underscores the theological principle that God is utterly sovereign over all nations and human affairs, even utilizing pagan empires as instruments of His divine will to bring about His purposes, whether in judgment or, ultimately, in redemptive discipline. The fall of Jerusalem and its occupation by Babylonian officials were not random historical occurrences but the culmination of centuries of divine patience and prophetic warnings, demonstrating that God's word, whether of blessing or curse, will ultimately be fulfilled with precision and power. This event served as a severe, yet ultimately purifying, discipline, intended to humble a stubborn people, prune away their idolatry, and prepare a faithful remnant for future restoration. It powerfully highlights the serious consequences of covenant unfaithfulness and the unwavering nature of God's justice.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The scene depicted in Jeremiah 39:3, though set in a distant historical context of conquest and judgment, carries profound and enduring lessons for believers today, serving as a timeless spiritual mirror. It stands as a powerful reminder that God is utterly faithful to His word, whether in promises of blessing or in warnings of consequence. Just as ancient Judah faced the devastating consequences of its persistent disobedience and spiritual compromise, so too are there spiritual repercussions for neglecting God's commands, pursuing idolatry in its modern forms (e.g., materialism, self-worship), and resisting the Holy Spirit's conviction. This verse challenges us to engage in honest self-examination of our own lives and communities, urging us towards genuine repentance, sincere obedience, and a renewed commitment to God's covenant. Moreover, it highlights God's absolute sovereignty, demonstrating that even in the midst of chaos, destruction, and the rise of seemingly unstoppable human powers, God remains firmly in control, orchestrating events to fulfill His ultimate, often mysterious, purposes. This truth should instill in us a deep, abiding trust in His providence, even when circumstances seem bleak, incomprehensible, or overwhelming, reminding us that His plans, though sometimes involving painful discipline, are always perfect and ultimately for our good and His glory.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why are so many specific names and titles listed in this verse?
Answer: The detailed listing of names like Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, and titles such as Sarsechim, Rabsaris, and Rabmag serves several crucial purposes. First, it lends strong historical credibility and verisimilitude to the biblical account, aligning precisely with known Neo-Babylonian administrative and military structures of the period. These were not generic invaders but specific, high-ranking officials of King Nebuchadnezzar's court and military, verifiable through extra-biblical sources. Second, it powerfully emphasizes the comprehensive nature of the Babylonian takeover; it was not merely a military victory but a full administrative, political, and even symbolic occupation. The presence of these officials at a strategic point like the "middle gate" underscored the complete and irreversible subjugation of Jerusalem and Judah, signifying that Babylon had firmly established its authority and dismantled the existing Judean power structure. This detailed record highlights the profound and systematic nature of the conquest.
What was the significance of the "middle gate" where the Babylonian princes sat?
Answer: In ancient Near Eastern cities, gates were far more than mere entrances; they were vital centers of civic life, commerce, justice, and defense. The "middle gate" likely refers to a significant internal gate within Jerusalem's complex defensive system, possibly separating an outer and inner city, or controlling access to the royal or temple precincts. The act of the Babylonian princes "sitting" there was a deliberate and profoundly symbolic gesture. It was not a casual rest but a formal act of establishing their authority, dominion, and judicial control over the conquered city. It visually represented the complete breach of Jerusalem's defenses and the total transfer of power and control from the Judean monarchy to the Babylonian empire, signifying the end of Judah's independence. This act of taking the gate was a powerful declaration of their victory and ownership, akin to a conquering army occupying a capital's parliament or palace today, signifying the complete collapse of the old order.
Why is "Nergalsharezer" mentioned twice in the list of officials?
Answer: The repetition of "Nergalsharezer" in Jeremiah 39:3 has led to various scholarly interpretations, all pointing to its significance. One common explanation is that it refers to two distinct individuals who shared the same prominent name, both holding significant positions among the Babylonian officials present during the conquest. Another, perhaps more compelling, possibility, supported by ancient Near Eastern inscriptions, is that the first "Nergalsharezer" is a personal name, while the second "Nergalsharezer, Rabmag" identifies the same individual by his personal name and then by his highly prominent title, "Rabmag" (meaning "chief of the magicians" or "chief official"). Historically, a Neriglissar (the Akkadian form of Nergalsharezer) did indeed become king of Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar, suggesting he was a highly influential and key figure at this time. This repetition, whether of two individuals or one with a prominent title, further emphasizes the high caliber, authority, and strategic importance of the Babylonian delegation that took control of Jerusalem, underscoring the thoroughness of the conquest.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 39:3, depicting the complete conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonian princes who "sat in the middle gate," serves as a powerful historical type foreshadowing the ultimate spiritual conquest and establishment of a new, eternal kingdom by Jesus Christ. The fall of Jerusalem, a city meant to be God's dwelling place, due to its pervasive sin and rebellion, tragically points to the universal human condition of being enslaved by sin and separated from God's holy presence. Just as the Babylonian officials "sat in the middle gate" to establish their dominion and control over the physical city, so too did sin and death establish their reign over humanity, creating an insurmountable barrier between God and mankind (Romans 5:12). However, Christ, the true and eternal King, entered the "gate" of death itself, not as a conqueror of a physical city, but as the one who utterly conquered sin, death, and the spiritual powers of darkness through His sacrificial death on the cross and His glorious resurrection (Colossians 2:15). He established His spiritual kingdom, not by the force of arms or earthly might, but by grace, truth, and the power of His redeeming love, offering freedom from the tyranny of sin to all who believe in Him (John 8:36). The "middle gate" that once marked Jerusalem's downfall now gives way to Christ, who declares Himself the "gate" through whom all may enter into eternal life and true spiritual pasture (John 10:9). His reign is not temporary like that of earthly kings or empires, but eternal and unshakeable, as He sits at the right hand of God, establishing a new covenant and leading His redeemed people into the heavenly Jerusalem, where there is no more judgment, but only the glorious, unhindered presence of God forevermore (Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 21:2-4).