2 Kings 25:5-7

25:5 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, ¹  and his entire army deserted him. 25:6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, ²  where he ³  passed sentence on him. 25:7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. ⁴  The king of Babylon ⁵  then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.

Jeremiah 34:3

34:3 You yourself will not escape his clutches, but will certainly be captured and handed over to him. You must confront the king of Babylon face to face and answer to him personally. ⁶  Then you must go to Babylon.

Jeremiah 39:7

39:7 Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains ⁷  to be led off to Babylon.

Jeremiah 52:8-11

52:8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, ⁸  and his entire army deserted him. 52:9 They captured him and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah ⁹  in the territory of Hamath and he passed sentence on him there. 52:10 The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah. 52:11 He had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains. ¹⁰  Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.

¹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

² sn Riblah was a strategic town on the Orontes River in Syria. It was at a crossing of the major roads between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Pharaoh Necho had earlier received Jehoahaz there and put him in chains (2 Kgs 23:33) prior to taking him captive to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar had set up his base camp for conducting his campaigns against the Palestinian states there and was now sitting in judgment on prisoners brought to him.

³ tn The Hebrew text has the plural form of the verb, but the parallel passage in Jer 52:9 has the singular.

⁴ tn Heb “were killed before his eyes.”

⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “Your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon and his mouth will speak with your mouth.” For this same idiom in reverse order see 32:4 and consult the translator’s note there for the obligatory nuance given to the verbs.

⁷ tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.

⁸ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

⁹ sn Riblah was a strategic town on the Orontes River in Syria. It was at a crossing of the major roads between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Pharaoh Necho had earlier received Jehoahaz there and put him in chains (2 Kgs 23:33) prior to taking him captive to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar had set up his base camp for conducting his campaigns against the Palestinian states there and was now sitting in judgment on prisoners brought to him.

¹⁰ tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.