Jeremiah 52

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 ¹Zedekiah was twenty-one * years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven * years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was ²Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of ³Libnah.

2 He did ⁴evil in the sight of the LORD like all that ⁵Jehoiakim had done.

3 For through the ⁶anger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah ⁷rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 ⁸Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a ⁹siege wall all around it.

5 ¹⁰So the city was under siege until the eleventh * year of King Zedekiah.

6 On the ninth day of the ¹¹fourth month the ¹²famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

7 Then the city was ¹³broken into, and all the ¹⁴men of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king's garden, though the Chaldeans were ¹⁵all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah.

8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and ¹⁶overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.

9 Then they captured the king and ¹⁷brought him up to the king of Babylon at ¹⁸Riblah in the land of ¹⁹Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.

10 The king of Babylon ²⁰slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the princes of Judah in Riblah.

11 Then he ²¹blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison * until the day of his death.

12 ²²Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the ²³nineteenth * year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ²⁴Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service * of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

13 He ²⁵burned the house of the LORD, the ²⁶king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire.

14 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ²⁷broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.

15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard ²⁸carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ²⁹deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans.

16 But ³⁰Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

17 Now the bronze ³¹pillars which belonged to the house of the LORD and the ³²stands and the bronze ³³sea, which were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon.

18 They also took away the ³⁴pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service.

19 The captain of the guard also took away the ³⁵bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver.

20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve * bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD -the bronze of all these vessels was ³⁶beyond weight.

21 As for the pillars, the ³⁷height of each pillar was eighteen * cubits, and it was twelve * cubits in ³⁸circumference * and four fingers in thickness, and hollow.

22 Now a ³⁹capital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and ⁴⁰pomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates.

23 There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all ⁴¹the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around.

24 Then the captain of the guard took ⁴²Seraiah the chief priest and ⁴³Zephaniah the second priest, with the three ⁴⁴officers of the temple.

25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven of the ⁴⁵king's advisers * who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.

26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and ⁴⁶brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

27 Then the king of Babylon ⁴⁷struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was ⁴⁸led away into exile from its land.

28 These are the people whom ⁴⁹Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 * * * Jews;

29 in the eighteenth * year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 * * * persons from Jerusalem;

30 in the twenty-third * year of Nebuchadnezzar, ⁵⁰Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 * * * Jewish people; there were 4,600 * * persons in all.

31 ⁵¹Now it came about in the thirty-seventh * year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth * month, on the twenty-fifth * of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, ⁵²showed favor * to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison *.

32 ⁵³Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above * the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

33 So Jehoiachin ⁵⁴changed his prison clothes, and ⁵⁵had his meals in the king's presence regularly all the days of his life.

34 For his allowance, a ⁵⁶regular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.

Jeremiah 52 Commentary

Chapter 52

The fate of Zedekiah. (1-11) The destruction of Jerusalem. (12-23) The captivities. (24-30) The advancement of Jehoiachin. (31-34)

Verses 1-11 This fruit of sin we should pray against above any thing; Cast me not away from thy presence, ( Psalms 51:11 ) . None are cast out of God's presence but those who by sin have first thrown themselves out. Zedekiah's flight was in vain, for there is no escaping the judgments of God; they come upon the sinner, and overtake him, let him flee where he will.

Verses 12-23 The Chaldean army made woful havoc. But nothing is so particularly related here, as the carrying away of the articles in the temple. The remembrance of their beauty and value shows us the more the evil of sin.

Verses 24-30 The leaders of the Jews caused them to err; but now they are, in particular, made monuments of Divine justice. Here is an account of two earlier captivities. This people often were wonders both of judgment and mercy.

Verses 31-34 ( 2 Kings. 25:27-30 ) Those under oppression will find it is not in vain for them to hope and quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. Our times are in God's hand, for the hearts of all we have to deal with are so. May we be enabled, more and more, to rest on the Rock of Ages, and to look forward with holy faith to that hour, when the Lord will bring again Zion, and overthrow all the enemies of the church.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kings 24:18; 2 Chronicles 36:11
• 2. 2 Kings 23:31; 2 Kings 24:18
• 3. Joshua 10:29; 2 Kings 8:22; Isaiah 37:8
• 4. 1 Kings 14:22; 2 Kings 24:19; 2 Chronicles 36:12
• 5. Jeremiah 36:30, 31
• 6. 2 Kings 24:20; Is 3:1, 4, 5
• 7. 2 Chronicles 36:13; Ezekiel 17:12-16
• 8. 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 39:1; Ezekiel 24:1, 2; Zechariah 8:19
• 9. Jeremiah 32:24
• 10. 2 Kings 25:2
• 11. Jeremiah 39:2
• 12. 2 Kings 25:3; Isaiah 3:1; Jeremiah 38:9; Ezekiel 4:16; Ezekiel 5:16; Ezekiel 14:13
• 13. 2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:2
• 14. Jeremiah 39:4-7; Jeremiah 51:32
• 15. Ezekiel 33:21
• 16. Jeremiah 21:7; Jeremiah 32:4; Jeremiah 34:21; Jeremiah 37:17; Jeremiah 38:23
• 17. 2 Kings 25:6; Jeremiah 32:4; Jeremiah 39:5
• 18. Numbers 34:11; Jeremiah 39:5
• 19. Numbers 13:21; Joshua 13:5
• 20. 2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 22:30; Jeremiah 39:6
• 21. Jeremiah 39:7; Ezekiel 12:13
• 22. 2 Kings 25:8-21; Zechariah 7:5; Zechariah 8:19
• 23. 2 Kings 24:12; 2 Kings 25:8; Jeremiah 52:29
• 24. Jeremiah 39:9
• 25. 1 Kings 9:8; 2 Kings 25:9; 2 Chronicles 36:19; Psalms 74:6-8; Psalms 79:1; Isaiah 64:10, 11; Lamentations 2:7; Micah 3:12
• 26. Jeremiah 39:8
• 27. 2 Kings 25:10; Nehemiah 1:3
• 28. 2 Kings 25:11
• 29. Jeremiah 39:9
• 30. 2 Kings 25:12; Jeremiah 39:10; Jeremiah 40:2-6
• 31. 1 Kings 7:15-22; 2 Kings 25:13; Jeremiah 27:19-22; Jeremiah 52:20-23
• 32. 1 Kings 7:27-37
• 33. 1 Kings 7:23-26
• 34. Exodus 27:3; 1 Kings 7:40, 45; 2 Kings 25:14
• 35. 1 Kings 7:49, 50; 2 Kings 25:15
• 36. 1 Kings 7:47; 2 Kings 25:16
• 37. 1 Kings 7:15; 2 Kings 25:17; 2 Chronicles 3:15
• 38. 1 Kings 7:15; 2 Kings 25:17; 2 Chronicles 3:15
• 39. 1 Kings 7:16; 2 Kings 25:17
• 40. 1 Kings 7:20, 42
• 41. 1 Kings 7:20
• 42. 2 Kings 25:18; 1 Chronicles 6:14; Ezra 7:1
• 43. 2 Kings 25:18; Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:25, 29; Jeremiah 37:3
• 44. 1 Chronicles 9:19; Jeremiah 35:4
• 45. 2 Kings 25:19; Esther 1:14
• 46. 2 Kings 25:20
• 47. 2 Kings 25:21; Ezekiel 8:11-18
• 48. Isaiah 6:11, 12; Isaiah 27:10; Isaiah 32:13, 14; Jeremiah 13:19; Jeremiah 20:4; Jeremiah 25:9-11; Jeremiah 39:9; Ezekiel 33:28; Micah 4:10
• 49. 2 Kin 24:2, 3, 12-16; 2 Chronicles 36:20; Ezra 2:1; Nehemiah 7:6; Daniel 1:1-3
• 50. 2 Kings 25:11; Jeremiah 39:9
• 51. 2 Kings 25:27
• 52. Genesis 40:13, 20; Psalms 3:3; Psalms 27:6
• 53. 2 Kings 25:28
• 54. Genesis 41:14, 42; 2 Kings 25:29
• 55. 2 Samuel 9:7, 13; 1 Kings 2:7
• 56. 2 Samuel 9:10; 2 Kings 25:30

Footnotes

• [a]. Another reading is "Hamital"
• [b]. Lit "against it"
• [c]. Lit "against the city on every side"
• [d]. Lit "Arabah"
• [e]. Lit "spoke judgments with"
• [f]. Or "commanders"
• [g]. Lit "stood before the king"
• [h]. Lit "fallers who had fallen"
• [i]. Or "unpaid laborers"
• [j]. Or "spoons" for incense
• [k]. Or "spoons" for incense
• [l]. So Gr and Syriac; Heb omits "the sea"
• [m]. I.e. One cubit equals approx 18 in.
• [n]. Lit "a line of 12 cubits would encircle it"
• [o]. Lit "windward"
• [p]. Lit "keepers of the door"
• [q]. Lit "men of those seeing the king's face"
• [r]. Or possibly "seventeenth"
• [s]. Or "Awil-Marduk" (``Man of Marduk'')
• [t]. Lit "lifted up the head of"
• [u]. Lit "he"
• [v]. Lit "ate"
• [w]. Lit "his presence"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 52

This chapter contains the history of the besieging, taking, and destroying of Jerusalem; the moving cause of it, the wicked reign of Zedekiah, Jer 52:1-3; the instruments of it, the king of Babylon and his army, which besieged and took it, Jer 52:4-7; into whose hands the king of Judah, his sons, and the princes of Judah, fell; and were very barbarously and cruelly used by them, Jer 52:8-11. Then follows an account of the burning of the temple, the king's palace, and the houses in Jerusalem, and the breaking down of the walls of it, Jer 52:12-14; and of those that were carried captive, and of those that were left in the land by Nebuzaradan, Jer 52:15,16; and of the several vessels and valuable things in the temple, of gold, silver, and brass, it was plundered of, and carried to Babylon, Jer 52:17-23; and of the murder of several persons of dignity and character, Jer 52:24-27; and of the number of those that were carried captive at three different times, Jer 52:28-30; and the chapter is concluded with the exaltation of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and of the good treatment he met with from the king of Babylon to the day of his death, Jer 52:31-34.