1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
12 But the captain of the guard left of the door of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathed work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathed work.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
19 And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
20 And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:
21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
1 And it came to pass in the ninth H8671 year H8141 of his reign, H4427 in the tenth H6224 month, H2320 in the tenth H6218 day of the month, H2320 that Nebuchadnezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon H894 came, H935 he, and all his host, H2428 against Jerusalem, H3389 and pitched H2583 against it; and they built H1129 forts H1785 against it round about. H5439
2 And the city H5892 was besieged H935 H4692 unto the eleventh H6249 H6240 year H8141 of king H4428 Zedekiah. H6667
3 And on the ninth H8672 day of the fourth month H2320 the famine H7458 prevailed H2388 in the city, H5892 and there was no bread H3899 for the people H5971 of the land. H776
4 And the city H5892 was broken up, H1234 and all the men H582 of war H4421 fled by night H3915 by the way H1870 of the gate H8179 between two walls, H2346 which is by the king's H4428 garden: H1588 (now the Chaldees H3778 were against the city H5892 round about:) H5439 and the king went H3212 the way H1870 toward the plain. H6160
5 And the army H2428 of the Chaldees H3778 pursued H7291 after H310 the king, H4428 and overtook H5381 him in the plains H6160 of Jericho: H3405 and all his army H2428 were scattered H6327 from him.
6 So they took H8610 the king, H4428 and brought him up H5927 to the king H4428 of Babylon H894 to Riblah; H7247 and they gave H1696 judgment H4941 upon him.
7 And they slew H7819 the sons H1121 of Zedekiah H6667 before his eyes, H5869 and put out H5786 the eyes H5869 of Zedekiah, H6667 and bound H631 him with fetters H5178 of brass, H5178 and carried H935 him to Babylon. H894
8 And in the fifth H2549 month, H2320 on the seventh H7651 day of the month, H2320 which is the nineteenth H8672 H6240 H8141 year H8141 of king H4428 Nebuchadnezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon, H894 came H935 Nebuzaradan, H5018 captain H7227 of the guard, H2876 a servant H5650 of the king H4428 of Babylon, H894 unto Jerusalem: H3389
9 And he burnt H8313 the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and the king's H4428 house, H1004 and all the houses H1004 of Jerusalem, H3389 and every great H1419 man's house H1004 burnt H8313 he with fire. H784
10 And all the army H2428 of the Chaldees, H3778 that were with the captain H7227 of the guard, H2876 brake down H5422 the walls H2346 of Jerusalem H3389 round about. H5439
11 Now the rest H3499 of the people H5971 that were left H7604 in the city, H5892 and the fugitives H5307 that fell away H5307 to the king H4428 of Babylon, H894 with the remnant H3499 of the multitude, H1995 did Nebuzaradan H5018 the captain H7227 of the guard H2876 carry away. H1540
12 But the captain H7227 of the guard H2876 left H7604 of the poor H1803 of the land H776 to be vinedressers H3755 and husbandmen. H3009 H1461
13 And the pillars H5982 of brass H5178 that were in the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and the bases, H4350 and the brasen H5178 sea H3220 that was in the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 did the Chaldees H3778 break in pieces, H7665 and carried H5375 the brass H5178 of them to Babylon. H894
14 And the pots, H5518 and the shovels, H3257 and the snuffers, H4212 and the spoons, H3709 and all the vessels H3627 of brass H5178 wherewith they ministered, H8334 took they away. H3947
15 And the firepans, H4289 and the bowls, H4219 and such things as were of gold, H2091 in gold, H2091 and of silver, H3701 in silver, H3701 the captain H7227 of the guard H2876 took away. H3947
16 The two H8147 pillars, H5982 one H259 sea, H3220 and the bases H4350 which Solomon H8010 had made H6213 for the house H1004 of the LORD; H3068 the brass H5178 of all these vessels H3627 was without H3808 weight. H4948
17 The height H6967 of the one H259 pillar H5982 was eighteen H8083 H6240 cubits, H520 and the chapiter H3805 upon it was brass: H5178 and the height H6967 of the chapiter H3805 three H7969 cubits; H520 and the wreathen work, H7639 and pomegranates H7416 upon the chapiter H3805 round about, H5439 all of brass: H5178 and like unto these had the second H8145 pillar H5982 with wreathen work. H7639
18 And the captain H7227 of the guard H2876 took H3947 Seraiah H8304 the chief H7218 priest, H3548 and Zephaniah H6846 the second H4932 priest, H3548 and the three H7969 keepers H8104 of the door: H5592
19 And out of the city H5892 he took H3947 an H259 officer H5631 that was set H6496 over the men H582 of war, H4421 and five H2568 men H582 of them that were H7200 in the king's H4428 presence, H6440 which were found H4672 in the city, H5892 and the principal H8269 scribe H5608 of the host, H6635 which mustered H6633 the people H5971 of the land, H776 and threescore H8346 men H376 of the people H5971 of the land H776 that were found H4672 in the city: H5892
20 And Nebuzaradan H5018 captain H7227 of the guard H2876 took H3947 these, and brought H3212 them to the king H4428 of Babylon H894 to Riblah: H7247
21 And the king H4428 of Babylon H894 smote H5221 them, and slew H4191 them at Riblah H7247 in the land H776 of Hamath. H2574 So Judah H3063 was carried away H1540 out of their land. H127
22 And as for the people H5971 that remained H7604 in the land H776 of Judah, H3063 whom Nebuchadnezzar H5019 king H4428 of Babylon H894 had left, H7604 even over them he made Gedaliah H1436 the son H1121 of Ahikam, H296 the son H1121 of Shaphan, H8227 ruler. H6485
23 And when all the captains H8269 of the armies, H2428 they and their men, H582 heard H8085 that the king H4428 of Babylon H894 had made Gedaliah H1436 governor, H6485 there came H935 to Gedaliah H1436 to Mizpah, H4709 even Ishmael H3458 the son H1121 of Nethaniah, H5418 and Johanan H3110 the son H1121 of Careah, H7143 and Seraiah H8304 the son H1121 of Tanhumeth H8576 the Netophathite, H5200 and Jaazaniah H2970 the son H1121 of a Maachathite, H4602 they and their men. H582
24 And Gedaliah H1436 sware H7650 to them, and to their men, H582 and said H559 unto them, Fear H3372 not to be the servants H5650 of the Chaldees: H3778 dwell H3427 in the land, H776 and serve H5647 the king H4428 of Babylon; H894 and it shall be well H3190 with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh H7637 month, H2320 that Ishmael H3458 the son H1121 of Nethaniah, H5418 the son H1121 of Elishama, H476 of the seed H2233 royal, H4410 came, H935 and ten H6235 men H582 with him, and smote H5221 Gedaliah, H1436 that he died, H4191 and the Jews H3064 and the Chaldees H3778 that were with him at Mizpah. H4709
26 And all the people, H5971 both small H6996 and great, H1419 and the captains H8269 of the armies, H2428 arose, H6965 and came H935 to Egypt: H4714 for they were afraid H3372 of H6440 the Chaldees. H3778
27 And it came to pass in the seven H7651 and thirtieth H7970 year H8141 of the captivity H1546 of Jehoiachin H3078 king H4428 of Judah, H3063 in the twelfth H8147 H6240 month, H2320 on the seven H7651 and twentieth H6242 day of the month, H2320 that Evilmerodach H192 king H4428 of Babylon H894 in the year H8141 that he began to reign H4427 did lift up H5375 the head H7218 of Jehoiachin H3078 king H4428 of Judah H3063 out of prison; H1004 H3608
28 And he spake H1696 kindly H2896 to him, and set H5414 his throne H3678 above the throne H3678 of the kings H4428 that were with him in Babylon; H894
29 And changed H8132 his prison H3608 garments: H899 and he did eat H398 bread H3899 continually H8548 before H6440 him all the days H3117 of his life. H2416
30 And his allowance H737 was a continual H8548 allowance H737 given H5414 him of the king, H4428 a daily H3117 H3117 rate H1697 for every day, H3117 all the days H3117 of his life. H2416
1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3 On the ninth day of the `fourth' month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war `fled' 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 `the king' went by the way of the Arabah.
5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
6 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
8 Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem.
9 And he burnt the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were `with' the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11 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, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away captive.
12 But the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
13 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 the brass of them to Babylon.
14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
15 And the firepans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with network.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
19 and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and five men of them that saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, 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 city.
20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
21 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.
22 And as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor.
23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah sware to them and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not because of the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
29 and changed his prison garments. And `Jehoiachin' did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life:
30 and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.
1 And it cometh to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth of the month, come hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he and all his force, against Jerusalem, and encampeth against it, and buildeth against it a fortification round about.
2 And the city entereth into siege till the eleventh year of king Zedekiah,
3 on the ninth of the month -- when the famine is severe in the city, and there hath not been bread for the people of the land,
4 then the city is broken up, and all the men of war `go' by night the way of the gate, between the two walls that `are' by the garden of the king, and the Chaldeans `are' against the city round about, and `the king' goeth the way of the plain.
5 And the force of the Chaldeans pursue after the king, and overtake him in the plains of Jericho, and all his force have been scattered from him;
6 and they seize the king, and bring him up unto the king of Babylon, to Riblah, and they speak with him -- judgment.
7 And the sons of Zedekiah they have slaughtered before his eyes, and the eyes of Zedekiah he hath blinded, and bindeth him with brazen fetters, and they bring him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month (it `is' the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners, servant of the king of Babylon, come to Jerusalem,
9 and he burneth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, yea, every great house he hath burned with fire;
10 and the walls of Jerusalem round about have all the forces of the Chaldeans, who `are' with the chief of the executioners, broken down.
11 And the rest of the people, those left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners removed;
12 and of the poor of the land hath the chief of the executioners left for vine-dressers and for husbandmen.
13 And the pillars of brass that `are' in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the sea of brass, that `is' in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken in pieces, and bear away their brass to Babylon.
14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister they have taken,
15 and the fire-pans, and the bowls that `are' wholly of silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken.
16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases that Solomon made for the house of Jehovah, there was no weighing of the brass of all these vessels;
17 eighteen cubits `is' the height of the one pillar, and the chapiter on it `is' of brass, and the height of the chapiter `is' three cubits, and the net and the pomegranates `are' on the chapiter round about -- the whole `is' of brass; and like these hath the second pillar, with the net.
18 And the chief of the executioners taketh Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold,
19 and out of the city he hath taken a certain eunuch who is appointed over the men of war, and five men of those seeing the king's face who have been found in the city, and the head scribe of the host, who mustereth the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who are found in the city,
20 and Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners taketh them, and causeth them to go unto the king of Babylon, to Libnah,
21 and the king of Babylon smiteth them, and putteth them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he removeth Judah from off its land.
22 And the people that is left in the land of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath left -- he appointeth over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.
23 And all the heads of the forces hear -- they and the men -- that the king of Babylon hath appointed Gedaliah, and they come in unto Gedaliah, to Mizpah, even Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maachathite -- they and their men;
24 and Gedaliah sweareth to them, and to their men, and saith to them, `Be not afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans, dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it is good for you.'
25 And it cometh to pass, in the seventh month, come hath Ishmael son of Nathaniah, son of Elishama of the seed of the kingdom, and ten men with him, and they smite Gedaliah, and he dieth, and the Jews and the Chaldeans who have been with him in Mizpah.
26 And all the people rise, from small even unto great, and the heads of the forces, and come in to Egypt, for they have been afraid of the presence of the Chaldeans.
27 And it cometh to pass, in the thirty and seventh year of the removal of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty and seventh of the month hath Evil-Merodach king of Babylon lifted up, in the year of his reigning, the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, out of the house of restraint,
28 and speaketh with him good things and putteth his throne above the throne of the kings who `are' with him in Babylon,
29 and hath changed the garments of his restraint, and he hath eaten bread continually before him all days of his life,
30 and his allowance -- a continual allowance -- hath been given to him from the king, the matter of a day in its day, all days of his life.
1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, [that] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built turrets against it round about.
2 And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3 On the ninth of the [fourth] month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
4 And the city was broken into; and all the men of war [fled] by night, by the way of the gate between the two walls, which [leads] to the king's garden (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about); and they went the way toward the plain.
5 And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
6 And they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon unto Riblah; and they pronounced judgment upon him,
7 and slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month, which was in the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzar-adan, captain of the body-guard, servant of the king of Babylon, came unto Jerusalem;
9 and he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; and every great [man's] house he burned with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldeans that were with the captain of the body-guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11 And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard carried away captive the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the deserters that had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
12 But the captain of the body-guard left of the poor of the land for vinedressers and husbandmen.
13 And the brazen pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the brass thereof to Babylon.
14 The cauldrons also and the shovels and the knives and the cups, and all the vessels of copper wherewith they ministered, they took away.
15 And the censers and the bowls, that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, the captain of the body-guard took away.
16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah: for the brass of all these vessels there was no weight.
17 The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital upon it was brass, and the height of the capital three cubits; and the network and the pomegranates, upon the capital round about, all of brass: and similarly for the second pillar with the network.
18 And the captain of the body-guard took Seraiah the high priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
19 And out of the city he took a chamberlain that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, who were found in the city, and the scribe of the captain of the host, who enrolled the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land that were found in the city.
20 And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah;
21 and the king of Babylon smote them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
22 And [as for] the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left behind, over them he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.
23 And all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, and they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah swore unto them and to their men, and said to them, Fear not to be servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
25 And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh of the month, [that] Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 and he spoke kindly to him, and set his seat above the seat of the kings that were with him in Babylon.
29 And he changed his prison garments; and he ate bread before him continually all the days of his life;
30 and his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.
1 It happened in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2 So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3 On the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war [fled] 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 [the king] went by the way of the Arabah.
5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
6 Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment on him.
7 They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
8 Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem.
9 He burnt the house of Yahweh, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire.
10 All the army of the Chaldeans, who were [with] the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11 The residue of the people who were left in the city, and those who fell away, who fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away captive.
12 But the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to work the vineyards and fields.
13 The pillars of brass that were in the house of Yahweh, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Yahweh, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
14 The pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, took they away.
15 The fire pans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh, the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was on it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital round about, all of brass: and like to these had the second pillar with network.
18 The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
19 and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and five men of those who saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city.
20 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
21 The king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
22 As for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor.
23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
24 Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, Don't be afraid because of the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
25 But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed came, and ten men with him, and struck Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah.
26 All the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 It happened in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 and he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon,
29 and changed his prison garments. [Jehoiachin] ate bread before him continually all the days of his life:
30 and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.
1 Now in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem with all his army and took up his position before it, building earthworks all round the town.
2 And the town was shut in by their forces till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
3 Now on the ninth day of the fourth month, the store of food in the town was almost gone, so that there was no food for the people of the land.
4 So an opening was made in the wall of the town, and all the men of war went in flight by night through the doorway between the two walls which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldaeans were stationed round the town:) and the king went by the way of the Arabah.
5 But the Chaldaean army went after the king, and overtook him in the lowlands of Jericho, and all his army went in flight from him in every direction.
6 And they made the king a prisoner and took him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah to be judged.
7 And they put the sons of Zedekiah to death before his eyes, and then they put out his eyes, and chaining him with iron bands, took him to Babylon.
8 Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem;
9 And he had the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned with fire;
10 And the walls round Jerusalem were broken down by the Chaldaean army which was with the captain.
11 And the rest of the people who were still in the town, and all those who had given themselves up to the king of Babylon, and all the rest of the workmen, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took away as prisoners;
12 But he let the poorest of the land go on living there, to take care of the vines and the fields.
13 And the brass pillars in the house of the Lord, and the wheeled bases, and the great brass water-vessel in the house of the Lord, were broken up by the Chaldaeans, who took the brass to Babylon.
14 And the pots and the spades and the scissors for the lights and the spoons, and all the brass vessels used in the Lord's house, they took away.
15 And the fire-trays and the basins; the gold of the gold vessels and the silver of the silver vessels, were all taken away by the captain of the armed men.
16 The two pillars, the great water-vessel and the wheeled bases, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 One of the pillars was eighteen cubits high, with a crown of brass on it; the crown was three cubits high, circled with a network and apples all of brass; and the second pillar had the same.
18 And the captain of the armed men took Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three door-keepers;
19 And from the town he took the unsexed servant who was over the men of war, and five of the king's near friends who were in the town, and the scribe of the captain of the army, who was responsible for getting the people of the land together in military order, and sixty men of the people of the land who were in the town.
20 These Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took with him to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
21 And the king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken away prisoner from his land.
22 As for the people who were still living in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take away, he made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler over them.
23 Now the captains of the armed forces, hearing that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah ruler, came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah; Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah, the son of the Maacathite, came with all their men.
24 Then Gedaliah gave his oath to them and their men, saying, Have no fear because of the servants of the Chaldaeans; go on living in the land under the rule of the king of Babylon, and all will be well.
25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the king's seed, came with ten men and made an attack on Gedaliah, causing his death and the death of the Jews and the Chaldaeans who were with him at Mizpah.
26 Then all the people, small and great, and the captains of the forces, got up and went away to Egypt, for fear of the Chaldaeans.
27 And in the thirty-seventh year after Jehoiachin, king of Judah, had been taken prisoner, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the first year of his rule, took Jehoiachin, king of Judah, out of prison;
28 And said kind words to him, and put his seat higher than the seats of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.
29 And his prison clothing was changed, and he was a guest at the king's table every day for the rest of his life.
30 And for his food, the king gave him a regular amount every day for the rest of his life.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 25
Commentary on 2 Kings 25 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Siege and conquest of Jerusalem; Zedekiah taken prisoner and led away to Babel (cf. Jeremiah 52:4-11 and Jeremiah 39:1-7). - 2 Kings 25:1. In the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar marched with all his forces against Jerusalem and commenced the siege (cf. Jeremiah 39:1), after he had taken all the rest of the fortified cities of the land, with the exception of Lachish and Azekah, which were besieged at the same time as Jerusalem (Jeremiah 34:7). On the very same day the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem was revealed to the prophet Ezekiel in his exile (Ezekiel 24:1). “And they built against it (the city) siege-towers round about.” דּיק , which only occurs here and in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 52:4) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 4:2; Ezekiel 17:17; Ezekiel 21:27; Ezekiel 26:8), does not mean either a line of circumvallation (J. D. Mich., Hitzig), or the outermost enclosure constructed of palisades (Thenius, whose assertion that דּיק is always mentioned as the first work of the besiegers is refuted by Ezekiel 17:17 and Ezekiel 21:27), but a watch, and that in a collective sense: watch-towers or siege-towers (cf. Ges. thes. p. 330, and Hävernick on Ezekiel 4:2).
2 Kings 25:2
“And the city was besieged till the eleventh year of king Zedekiah,” in which the northern wall of the city was broken through on the ninth day of the fourth month (2 Kings 25:3). That Jerusalem could sustain a siege of this duration, namely eighteen months, shows what the strength of the fortifications must have been. Moreover the siege was interrupted for a short time, when the approach of the Egyptian king Hophra compelled the Chaldaeans to march to meet him and drive him back, which they appear to have succeeded in doing without a battle (cf. Jeremiah 37:5., Ezekiel 17:7).
2 Kings 25:3-4
Trusting partly to the help of the Egyptians and partly to the strength of Jerusalem, Zedekiah paid no attention to the repeated entreaties of Jeremiah, that he would save himself with his capital and people from the destruction which was otherwise inevitable, by submitting, to the Chaldaeans (cf. Jeremiah 38:17, Jeremiah 38:18), but allowed things to reach their worst, until the famine became so intense, that inhuman horrors were perpetrated (cf. Lamentations 2:20-21; Lamentations 4:9-10), and eventually a breach was made in the city wall on the ninth day of the fourth month. The statement of the month is omitted in our text, where the words הרביעי בּחרשׁ (Jeremiah 52:6, cf. Jeremiah 39:2) have fallen out before בּתשׁעה (2 Kings 25:3, commencement) through the oversight of a copyist. The overwhelming extent of the famine is mentioned, not “because the people were thereby rendered quite unfit to offer any further resistance” (Seb. Schm.), but as a proof of the truth of the prophetic announcements (Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Jeremiah 15:2; Jeremiah 27:13; Ezekiel 4:16-17). הארץ עם are the common people in Jerusalem, or the citizens of the capital. From the more minute account of the entrance of the enemy into the city in Jeremiah 39:3-5 we learn that the Chaldaeans made a breach in the northern or outer wall of the lower city, i.e., the second wall, built by Hezekiah and Manasseh (2 Chronicles 32:5; 2 Chronicles 33:14), and forced their way into the lower city ( המּשׁנה , 2 Kings 22:14), so that their generals took their stand at the gate of the centre, which was in the wall that separated the lower city from the upper city upon Zion, and formed the passage from the one to the other. When Zedekiah saw them here, he fled by night with the soldiers out of the city, through the gate between the two walls at or above the king's garden, on the road to the plain of the Jordan, while the Chaldaeans were round about the city. In 2 Kings 25:4 a faulty text has come down to us. In the clause המּלחמה וכל־אנשׁי the verb יברחוּ is omitted, if not even more, namely העיר מן ויּצאוּ יברחוּ , “fled and went out of the city.” And if we compare Jeremiah 39:4, it is evident that before הם וכל־אנשׁי still more has dropped out, not merely המּלך , which must have stood in the text, since according to 2 Kings 25:5 the king was among the fugitives; but most probably the whole clause יהוּדה מלך צדקיּהוּ ראם כּאשׁר ויהי , since the words הם וכל־אנשׁי have no real connection with what precedes, and cannot form a circumstantial clause so far as the sense is concerned. The “gate between the two walls, which (was) at or over ( על ) the king's garden,” was a gate at the mouth of the Tyropoeon, that is to say, at the south-eastern corner of the city of Zion; for, according to Nehemiah 3:15, the king's garden was at the pool of Siloah, i.e., at the mouth of the Tyropoeon (see Rob. Pal. ii. 142). By this defile, therefore, the approach to the city was barred by a double wall, the inner one running from Zion to the Ophel, whilst the outer one, at some distance off, connected the Zion wall with the outer surrounding wall of the Ophel, and most probably enclosed the king's garden. The subject to ויּלך is המּלך , which has dropped out before הם וכל־אנשׁי . הערבה is the lowland valley on both sides of the Jordan (see at Deuteronomy 1:1).
2 Kings 25:5
As the Chaldaeans were encamped around the city, the flight was immediately discovered. The Chaldaean army pursued him, and overtook him in the steppes of Jericho, whilst his own army was dispersed, all of which Ezekiel had foreseen in the Spirit (Ezekiel 12:3.). ירחו ערבות are that portion of the plain of the Jordan which formed the country round Jericho (see at Joshua 4:13).
2 Kings 25:6
Zedekiah having been seized by the Chaldaeans, was taken to the king of Babel in the Chaldaean headquarters at Riblah (see at 2 Kings 23:33), and was there put upon his trial. According to 2 Kings 25:1, Nebuchadnezzar had commenced the siege of Jerusalem in person; but afterwards, possibly not till after the Egyptians who came to relieve the besieged city had been repulsed, he transferred the continuance of the siege, which was a prolonged one, to his generals, and retired to Riblah, to conduct the operations of the whole campaign from thence. את־פל משׁפּט דּבּר , to conduct judicial proceedings with any one, i.e., to hear and judge him. For this Jeremiah constantly uses the plural משׁפּטם , not only in Jeremiah 52:9 and Jeremiah 39:5, but also in Jeremiah 1:16 and Jeremiah 4:12.
2 Kings 25:7
The punishment pronounced upon Zedekiah was the merited reward of the breach of his oath, and his hardening himself against the counsel of the Lord which was announced to him by Jeremiah during the siege, that he should save not only his own life, but also Jerusalem from destruction, by a voluntary submission to the Chaldaeans, whereas by obstinate resistance he would bring an ignominious destruction upon himself, his family, the city, and the whole people (Jeremiah 38:17., Jeremiah 32:5; Jeremiah 34:3.). His sons, who, though not mentioned in 2 Kings 25:4, had fled with him and had been taken, and (according to Jeremiah 52:10 and Jeremiah 39:6) all the nobles (princes) of Judah, sc. those who had fled with the king, were slain before his eyes. He himself was then blinded, and led away to Babel, chained with double chains of brass, and kept a prisoner there till his death (Jeremiah 52:11); so that, as Ezekiel (Ezekiel 12:13) had prophesied, he came to Babel, but did not see the land, and died there. Blinding by pricking out the eyes was a common punishment for princes among the Babylonians and Persians (cf. Herod. vii. 18, and Brisson, de region Pers. princip. p. 589). נחשׁתּים , double brazen chains, are brazen fetters for the hands and feet. Samson was treated in the same manner by the Philistines (Judges 16:21).
Destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The people carried away to Babel (cf. Jer 52:12-27, and Jeremiah 39:8-10). - In this section we have first a general account of the destruction of the temple and city (2 Kings 25:8-10), and of the carrying away of the people (2 Kings 25:11 and 2 Kings 25:12), and then a more particular description of what was done with the metal vessels of the temple (2 Kings 25:13-17), and how the spiritual and secular leaders of the people who had been taken prisoners were treated (2 Kings 25:18-21).
2 Kings 25:8-10
The destruction of Jerusalem, by the burning of the temple, of the king's palace, and of all the larger buildings, and by throwing down the walls, was effected by Nebuzaradan, the chief of the body-guard of Nebuchadnezzar, on the seventh day of the fifth month in the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Instead of the seventh day we have the tenth in Jeremiah 52:12. This difference might be reconciled, as proposed by earlier commentators, on the assumption that the burning of the city lasted several days, commencing on the seventh and ending on the tenth. But since there are similar differences met with afterwards (2 Kings 25:17, 2 Kings 25:19) in the statement of numbers, which can only be accounted for from the substitution of similar numeral letters, we must assume that there is a change of this kind here. Which of the two dates is the correct one it is impossible to determine. The circumstance that the later Jews kept the ninth as a fast-day cannot be regarded as decisive evidence in favour of the date given in Jeremiah, as Thenius supposes; for in Zechariah 7:3 and Zechariah 8:19 the fasting of the fifth month is mentioned, but no day is given; and though in the Talmudic times the ninth day of the month began to be kept as a fast-day, this was not merely in remembrance of the Chaldaean destruction of Jerusalem, but of the Roman also, and of three other calamities which had befallen the nation (see the statement of the Gemara on this subject in Lightfoot, Opp. ii. p. 139, ed. Leusden, and in Kצhler on Zechariah 7:3), from which we see that the Gemarists in the most unhistorical manner grouped together different calamitous events in one single day. The nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar corresponds to the eleventh of Zedekiah (see at 2 Kings 24:12). Nebuzaradan is not mentioned in Jeremiah 39:3 among the Chaldaean generals who forced their way into the city, so that he must have been ordered to Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar after the taking of the city and the condemnation of Zedekiah, to carry out the destruction of the city, the carrying away of the people, and the appointment of a deputy-governor over those who were left behind in the land. This explains in a very simple manner how a month could intervene between their forcing their way into the city, at all events into the lower city, and the burning of it to the ground, without there being any necessity to assume, with Thenius, that the city of Zion held out for a month, which is by no means probable, for the simple reason that the fighting men had fled with Zedekiah and had been scattered in their flight. רב־תבּחים = הטּבּחים שׂר in Genesis 37:36; Genesis 39:1, was with the Babylonians, as with the Egyptians, the chief of the king's body-guard, whose duty it was to execute the sentences of death (see at Genesis 37:36). הטּבּחים answers to the הכּרתי of the Israelites (2 Samuel 8:18, etc.). In Jeremiah 52:12 we have מלך לפני עמד instead of מלך עבד , without the אשׁר , which is rarely omitted in prose, and בּירוּשׁלם instead of ירוּשׁלם : he came into Jerusalem, not he forced a way into the real Jerusalem (Thenius). The meaning is not altered by these two variations.
2 Kings 25:9-10
By the words, “every great house,” יר כּל־בּתּי את is more minutely defined: not all the houses to the very last, but simply all the large houses he burned to the very last, together with the temple and the royal palaces. The victors used one portion of the dwelling-houses for their stay in Jerusalem. He then had all the walls of the city destroyed. In Jeremiah כּל is omitted before חומת , as not being required for the sense; and also the את before טבּחים רב , which is indispensable to the sense, and has fallen out through a copyist's oversight.
2 Kings 25:11-12
The rest of the people he led away, both those who had been left behind in the city and the deserters who had gone over to the Chaldaeans, and the remnant of the multitude. ההמון יתר , for which we have האמון יתר in Jeremiah 52:15, has been interpreted in various ways. As אמון signifies an artist or artificer in Proverbs 8:30, and העם יתר has just preceded it, we might be disposed to give the preference to the reading האמון , as Hitzig and Graf have done, and understand by it the remnant of the artisans, who were called והמּסגּר החרשׁ in 2 Kings 24:14, 2 Kings 24:16. But this view is precluded by Jeremiah 39:9, where we find הנּשׁארים העם יתר instead of האמון יתר or ההמון . י These words cannot be set aside by the arbitrary assumption that they crept into the text through a copyist's error; for the assertion that they contain a purposeless repetition is a piece of dogmatical criticism, inasmuch as there is a distinction drawn in Jeremiah 39:9 between בּעיר הנּשׁארים העם יתר העם הןּ and הנּשׁארים העם יתר . Consequently האמון is simply another form for ההמון ( ה and א being interchanged) in the sense of a mass of people, and we have simply the choice left between two interpretations. Either בּעיר הנּשׁארים העם יתר means the fighting people left in the city, as distinguished from the deserters who had fled to the Chaldaeans, and האמון = ההמון יתר in Jeremiah 52:15, or הנּשׁארים העם יתר in Jeremiah 39:9, the rest of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; or בּעיר הנּשׁ העם יתר is the people left in Jerusalem (warriors and non-warriors), and ההמון יתר the rest of the population of the land outside Jerusalem. The latter is probably the preferable view, not only because full justice is thereby done to בּעיר in the first clause, but also because it is evident from the exception mentioned in 2 Kings 25:12 that the deportation was not confined to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but extended to the population of the whole land. The “poor people,” whom he allowed to remain in the land as vine-dressers and husbandmen, were the common people, or people without property, not merely in Jerusalem, but throughout the whole land. הארץ דּלּת = עם־הארץ דּלּת (2 Kings 24:14). Instead of מדּלּת we have in Jeremiah מדּלּות : the plural used in an abstract sense, “the poverty,” i.e., the lower people, “the poor who had nothing” (Jeremiah 39:10). Instead of the Chethîb לגבים from גּוּב , secuit , aravit , the Keri has ליגבים from יגב , in the same sense, after Jeremiah 52:16.
2 Kings 25:13-17
The brazen vessels of the temple were broken in pieces, and the brass, and smaller vessels of brass, silver, and gold, were carried away. Compare Jeremiah 52:17-23, where several other points are mentioned that have been passed over in the account before us. The pillars of brass (see 1 Kings 7:15.), the stands (see 1 Kings 7:27.), and the brazen sea (1 Kings 7:23.), were broken in pieces, because it would have been difficult to carry these colossal things away without breaking them up. On the smaller vessels used in the worship (2 Kings 25:14) see 1 Kings 7:40. In Jeremiah 52:18 המּזרקת are also mentioned. 2 Kings 25:15 is abridged still more in contrast with Jeremiah 52:19, and only המּחתּות and המּזרקות are mentioned, whereas in Jeremiah six different things are enumerated beside the candlesticks. כּסף ... זהב אשׁר , “what was of gold, gold, what was of silver, silver, the captain of the guard took away,” is a comprehensive description of the objects carried away. To this there is appended a remark in 2 Kings 25:16 concerning the quantity of the brass of the large vessels, which was so great that it could not be weighed; and in 2 Kings 25:17 a supplementary notice respecting the artistic work of the two pillars of brass. וגו העמּוּדים is placed at the head absolutely: as for the pillars, etc., the brass of all these vessels was not to be weighed. In Jeremiah 52:20, along with the brazen sea, the twelve brazen oxen under it are mentioned; and in the description of the pillars of brass (Jeremiah 52:21.) there are several points alluded to which are omitted in our books, not only here, but also in 1 Kings 7:16. For the fact itself see the explanation given there. The omission of the twelve oxen in so condensed an account as that contained in our text does not warrant the inference that these words in Jeremiah are a spurious addition made by a later copyist, since the assumption that Ahaz sent the brazen oxen to king Tiglath-pileser cannot be proved from 2 Kings 16:17. Instead of אמּה שׁלשׁ we must read אמּת המשׁ , five cubits , according to Jeremiah 52:22 and 1 Kings 7:16. The על־השּׂבכה at the end of the verse is very striking, since it stands quite alone, and when connected with וגו וכאלּה does not appear to yield any appropriate sense, as the second pillar was like the first not merely with regard to the trellis-work, but in its form and size throughout. At the same time, it is possible that the historian intended to give especial prominence to the similarity of the two pillars with reference to this one point alone.
2 Kings 25:18-21
(cf. Jeremiah 52:24-27). The principal officers of the temple and city, and sixty men of the population of the land, who were taken at the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuzaradan sent to his king at Riblah, where they were put to death. Seraiah , the high priest, is the grandfather or great-grandfather of Ezra the scribe (Ezra 7:1; 1 Chronicles 6:14). Zephaniah , a priest of the second rank ( משׁנה כּהן ; in Jer. המּשׁנה כּהן : see at 2 Kings 23:4), is probably the same person as the son of Maaseiah, who took a prominent place among the priests, according to Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25., and Jeremiah 37:3. The “three keepers of the threshold” are probably the three superintendents of the Levites, whose duty it was to keep guard over the temple, and therefore were among the principal officers of the sanctuary.
2 Kings 25:19-21
From the city, i.e., from the civil authorities of the city, Nebuzaradan took a king's chamberlain ( סריס ), who was commander of the men of war. Instead of פקיד הוּא אשׁר we find in Jeremiah 52:25 / היה אשׁר , who had been commander, with an allusion to the fact that his official function had terminated when the city was conquered. “And five (according to Jeremiah seven ) men of those who saw the king's face,” i.e., who belonged to the king's immediate circle, de intimis consiliariis regis , and “the scribe of the commander-in-chief, who raised the people of the land for military service,” or who enrolled them. Although הסּפר has the article, which is omitted in Jeremiah, the following words הצּבא שׂר are governed by it, or connected with it in the construct state (Ewald, §290 d .). הצּבא שׂר is the commander-in-chief of the whole of the military forces, and וגו המּצבּא a more precise definition of הסּפר , and not of הצּבא שׂר , which needed no such definition. “And sixty men of the land-population who were found in the city.” They were probably some of the prominent men of the rural districts, or they may have taken a leading part in the defence of the city, and therefore were executed in Riblah, and not merely deported with the rest of the people. - The account of the destruction of the kingdom of Judah closes with יהוּדה ויּגּל in 2 Kings 25:21, “thus was Judah carried away out of its own land;” and in 2 Kings 25:22-26 there follows merely a brief notice of those who had been left behind in the land, in the place of which we find in Jeremiah 52:28-30 a detailed account of the number of those who were carried away.
Installation of Gedaliah the governor. His assassination, and the flight of the people to Egypt. - Much fuller accounts have been handed down to us in Jer 40-44 of the events which are but briefly indicated here.
2 Kings 25:22-23
Over the remnant of the people left in the land Nebuchadnezzar placed Gedaliah as governor of the land, who took up his abode in Mizpah. Gedaliah , the son of Ahikam, who had interested himself on behalf of the prophet Jeremiah and saved his life (Jeremiah 26:24), and the grandson of Shaphan, a man of whom nothing more is known (see at 2 Kings 22:12), had his home in Jerusalem, and, as we may infer from his attitude towards Jeremiah, had probably secured the confidence of the Chaldaeans at the siege and conquest of Jerusalem by his upright conduct, and by what he did to induce the people to submit to the judgment inflicted by God; so that Nebuchadnezzar entrusted him with the oversight of those who were left behind in the land-men, women, children, poor people, and even a few princesses and court-officials, whom they had not thought it necessary or worth while to carry away (Jeremiah 40:7; Jeremiah 41:10, Jeremiah 41:16), i.e., he made him governor of the conquered land. Mizpah is the present Nebi Samwil , two hours to the north-west of Jerusalem (see at Joshua 18:26). - On hearing of Gedaliah's appointment as governor, there came to him “all the captains of the several divisions of the army and their men,” i.e., those portions of the army which had been scattered at the flight of the king (2 Kings 25:5), and which had escaped from the Chaldaeans, and, as it is expressed in Jeremiah 40:7, had dispersed themselves “in the field,” i.e., about the land. Instead of והאנשׁים we have in Jeremiah 40:7 the clearer expression ואנשׁיהם , “and their men,” whilst והאנשׁים in our text receives its more precise definition from the previous word החילים . Of the military commanders the following are mentioned by name: Ishmael, etc. (the ו eht( .cte ,l before ישׁמעאל , is explic., “and indeed Ishmael”). Ishmael, son of Mattaniah and grandson of Elishama, probably of the king's secretary mentioned in Jeremiah 36:12 and Jeremiah 36:20, of royal blood. Nothing further is known about the other names. We simply learn from Jeremiah 40:13. that Johanan had warned Gedaliah against the treachery of Ishmael, and that when Gedaliah was slain by Ishmael, having disregarded the warning, he put himself at the head of the people and marched with them to Egypt, notwithstanding the dissuasions of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 41:15.). Instead of “Johanan the son of Kareah,” we have in Jeremiah 40:8 “Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah;” but it is uncertain whether ויונתן has crept into the text of Jeremiah from the previous יהוחנן merely through a mistake, and this mistake has brought with it the alteration of בּן into בּני (Ewald), or whether ויונתן has dropped out of our text through an oversight, and this omission has occasioned the alteration of בני into בן (Thenius, Graf, etc.). The former supposition is favoured by the circumstance that in Jeremiah 40:13; Jeremiah 41:11, Jeremiah 41:16, Johanan the son of Kareah alone is mentioned. In Jeremiah 40:8 עופי וּבני ( Chethîb עיפי ) stands before הנּטפתי , according to which it was not Seraiah who sprang from Netophah, but Ophai whose sons were military commanders. He was called Netophathite because he sprang from Netopha in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem (Nehemiah 7:26; Ezra 2:22), the identity of which with Beit Nettif is by no means probable (see at 2 Samuel 23:28). The name יאזביהוּ is written יזניהוּ in Jeremiah; he was the son of the Maachathite, i.e., his father sprang from the Syrian district of Maacah in the neighbourhood of the Hermon (see at Deuteronomy 3:14).
2 Kings 25:24
As these men were afraid of the vengeance of the Chaldaeans because they had fought against them, Gedaliah assured them on oath that they had nothing to fear from them if they would dwell peaceably in the land, be submissive to the king of Babel, and cultivate the land (cf. Jeremiah 40:9 and Jeremiah 40:10). “Servants of the Chaldees” are Chaldaean officials who were subordinate to the governor Gedaliah.
2 Kings 25:25
In the seventh month, i.e., hardly two months after the destruction of Jerusalem, came Ishmael with ten men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and murdered him together with the Jews and Chaldaeans, whom he had with him as soldiers to do his bidding and for his protection. This occurred, according to Jeremiah 41:1., when Gedaliah had received them hospitably and had invited them to eat with him. Ishmael was instigated to commit this murder by the Ammonitish king Baalis, and Gedaliah had previously been made acquainted with the intended crime and put upon his guard by Johanan, but had put no faith in the information (Jeremiah 40:13-16).
2 Kings 25:26
After Ishmael had performed this deed, and had also treacherously murdered a number of men, who had come to the temple with a sacrifice from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, he took the Jews who were at Mizpah prisoners, with some kings' daughters among them, intending to take them over to the Ammonites; but as soon as his deed became known, he was pursued by Johanan and the rest of the military chiefs and was overtaken at Gibeon, whereupon those who had been led away by him went over to Johanan, so that he was only able to make his escape with eight men and get away to the Ammonites (Jeremiah 41:4-15). Johanan then went with the rest of the military commanders and the people whom he had brought back into the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, with the intention of fleeing to Egypt for fear of the Chaldaeans. There they did indeed have recourse to the prophet Jeremiah, to inquire of him the word of the Lord; but they did not allow themselves to be diverted from their intention by the word of the Lord which he announced to them, that if they remained in the land they need not fear anything from the king of Babel, but if they went to Egypt they should all perish there with sword, hunger, and pestilence, or by the prediction that the Lord would also deliver Pharaoh Hophra into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 42). They went to Egypt notwithstanding, taking the prophet himself with them, and settled in different cities of Egypt, where they gave themselves up to idolatry, and did not suffer themselves to be drawn away from it even by the severe judgments which the prophet Jeremiah predicted as sure to fall upon them (Jeremiah 43:1-13 and 44). In the verse before us we have simply a brief allusion to the eventual result of the whole affair. “Because they were afraid of the Chaldaeans,” namely, that they might possibly take vengeance upon them for the murder of the governor.
Jehoiachin delivered from prison, and exalted to royal honours (cf. Jer. 42:31-34). - In the thirty-seventh year after his deportation Jehoiachin was taken out of prison by Evil-merodach when he came to the throne. מלכו בּשׁנת , in the year of his becoming king, probably immediately after he had ascended the throne, for it was no doubt an act of grace at the commencement of his reign. את־ראשׁ נשׂא , to lift up a persons' head, i.e., to release him from prison and exalt him to civil honours and dignities (cf. Genesis 40:13). On the coincidence of the thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachin's imprisonment and the commencement of the reign of Evil-merodach see the remarks at 2 Kings 24:12. Instead of the 27th day of the month, the 25th is given in Jeremiah, again through the substitution of similar numeral letters (see at 2 Kings 25:8). Evil-merodach: מרדך אויל , Εὔιαλ Μαρώδαχ or Εὐιαλμαρωδέκ (lxx); Ἰλλοαροόδαμος , possibly a copyist's error for Ἰλμαροόδακος , in the Can. Ptol. , and in other forms also: see M. v. Nieb. Gesch. Ass. p. 42, and Ges. thes. p. 41; compounded from the name of the Babylonian god Merodach (see at 2 Kings 20:12) and the prefix Evil , which has not yet been explained with certainty. He reigned two years, according to Berosus in Jos. c. Ap. i. 20, and the Can Ptol. ; and according to the verdict of Berosus, προστὰς τῶν πραγμάτων ἀνόμως καὶ ἀσελγῶς ; and was murdered by his brother-in-law Neriglissor. The statement in Jos. Ant. x. 11, 2, to the effect that he reigned eighteen years, and that of Alex. Polyh. in Euseb. Chr. arm. i. p. 45, that he reigned twelve years, are evidently false.
2 Kings 25:28
“He spake kindly to him (cf. Jeremiah 12:6), and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babel.” This is not to be understood literally, as signifying that he assigned him a loftier throne than the other kings (Hitzig, Thenius), but figuratively: loco honestiore eum habuit (Ros.). The “kings with him” were dethroned kings, who were kept at the court like Jehoiachin to add to its splendour, just as Cyrus kept the conquered Croesus by his side (Herod. i. 88).
2 Kings 25:29-30
“And he (Jehoiachin) changed his prison garments,” i.e., took them off and put other regal clothing on (cf. Genesis 41:42). “And ate continually before him all his life,” i.e., ate at the king's table (cf. 2 Samuel 9:7). Moreover a daily ration of food was supplied to him by the king for the maintenance of his retainers, who formed his little court. The חיּיו כּל־ימי of 2 Kings 25:30, upon which Thenius throws suspicion without any reason, refers to Jehoiachin like that in 2 Kings 25:29; for the historian intended to show how Jehoiachin had fared from the day of his elevation to the end of his life. At the same time, we cannot infer from this with any certainty that Jehoiachin died before Evil-merodach; for the favour shown to him might be continued by Evil-merodach's successor. We cannot make any safe conjecture as to the motives which induced Evil-merodach to pardon Jehoiachin and confer this distinction upon him. The higher ground of this joyful termination of his imprisonment lay in the gracious decree of God, that the seed of David, though severely chastised for its apostasy from the Lord, should not be utterly rejected (2 Samuel 7:14-15). At the same time, this event was also intended as a comforting sign to the whole of the captive people, that the Lord would one day put an end to their banishment, if they would acknowledge that it was a well-merited punishment for this sins that they had been driven away from before His face, and would turn again to the Lord their God with all their heart.