2 Kings 25:5-15

5 But the Babylonian troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.

6 They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

7 They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.

8 On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.

9 He burned down the Temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city.

10 Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.

11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.

12 But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.

13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the LORD ’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.

14 They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.

15 The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.

2 Kings 25:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 25

In this chapter is an account of the siege, taking, and burning of the city of Jerusalem, and of the carrying captive the king and the inhabitants to Babylon, 2Ki 25:1-12, as also of the pillars and vessels of the temple brought thither, 2Ki 25:13-17 and of the putting to death several of the principal persons of the land, 2Ki 25:18-22, and of the miserable condition of the rest under Gedaliah, whom Ishmael slew, 2Ki 25:23-26, and the chapter, and so the history, is concluded with the kindness Jehoiachin met with from the king of Babylon, after thirty seven years' captivity, 2Ki 25:27-30.

&c.] Of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. From hence to the end of 2Ki 25:7, the account exactly agrees with Jer 52:4-11. 18182-941226-1348-2Ki25.2

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Chaldean ; also in 25:10, 24 .
• [b]. Hebrew On the seventh day of the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was August 14, 586 ; also see note on 25:1 .
• [c]. Or destroyed the houses of all the important people.