Discovery Box2 Chronicles 36:17-21
Context36:17 He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered 1 their young men in their temple. 2 He did not spare 3 young men or women, or even the old and aging. God 4 handed everyone over to him. 36:18 He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials. 36:19 They burned down the Lord’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. 5 They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items. 36:20 He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power. 36:21 This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message delivered through Jeremiah. 6 The land experienced 7 its sabbatical years; 8 it remained desolate for seventy years, 9 as prophesied. 10
Jeremiah 34:2-6
Context34:2 The Lord God of Israel told Jeremiah 11 to go and give King Zedekiah of Judah a message. He told Jeremiah 12 to tell him, “The Lord says, ‘I am going to 13 hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will burn it down. 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. 14 Then you must go to Babylon. 34:4 However, listen to what I, the Lord, promise you, King Zedekiah of Judah. I, the Lord, promise that 15 you will not die in battle or be executed. 16 34:5 You will die a peaceful death. They will burn incense at your burial just as they did at the burial of your ancestors, the former kings who preceded you. 17 They will mourn for you, saying, “Poor, poor master!” 18 Indeed, you have my own word on this. 19 I, the Lord, affirm it!’” 20
34:6 The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 39:1-10
Context39:1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. The siege began in the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 21 39:2 It lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 22 On that day they broke through the city walls. 39:3 Then Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, 23 and all the other officers of the king of Babylon came and set up quarters 24 in the Middle Gate. 25 39:4 When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king’s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. 26 Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 27 39:5 But the Babylonian 28 army chased after them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho 29 and captured him. 30 They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon at Riblah 31 in the territory of Hamath and Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him there. 39:6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death. 39:7 Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains 32 to be led off to Babylon. 39:8 The Babylonians 33 burned down the royal palace, the temple of the Lord, and the people’s homes, 34 and they tore down the wall of Jerusalem. 35 39:9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, 36 took captive the rest of the people who were left in the city. He carried them off to Babylon along with the people who had deserted to him. 37 39:10 But he 38 left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing. He gave them fields and vineyards at that time.
Jeremiah 52:4-11
Context52:4 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. 39 They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah. 40 52:5 The city remained under siege until Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 52:6 By the ninth day of the fourth month 41 the famine in the city was so severe the residents 42 had no food. 52:7 They broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. 43 (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 44 52:8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, 45 and his entire army deserted him. 52:9 They captured him and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah 46 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. 47 Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.
Ezekiel 24:1-14
Context24:1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month 48 : 24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege 49 to Jerusalem 50 this very day. 24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house 51 and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Set on the pot, 52 set it on,
pour water in it too;
24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,
every good piece,
the thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice bones.
24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,
heap up bones under it;
boil rapidly,
and boil its bones in it.
24:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot whose rot 53 is in it,
whose rot has not been removed 54 from it!
Empty it piece by piece.
No lot has fallen on it. 55
24:7 For her blood was in it;
she poured it on an exposed rock;
she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.
24:8 To arouse anger, to take vengeance,
I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.
24:9 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed!
I will also make the pile high.
24:10 Pile up the bones, kindle the fire;
cook the meat well, mix in the spices,
let the bones be charred.
24:11 Set the empty pot on the coals, 56
until it becomes hot and its copper glows,
until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot 57 is consumed.
24:12 It has tried my patience; 58
yet its thick rot is not removed 59 from it.
Subject its rot to the fire! 60
24:13 You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. 61
I tried to cleanse you, 62 but you are not clean.
You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness 63
until I have exhausted my anger on you.
24:14 “‘I the Lord have spoken; judgment 64 is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! 65 I will judge you 66 according to your conduct 67 and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
[36:17] 1 tn Heb “killed with the sword.”
[36:17] 2 tn Heb “in the house of their sanctuary.”
[36:17] 3 tn Or “show compassion to.”
[36:17] 4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[36:19] 5 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[36:21] 6 tn Heb “to fulfill the word of the
[36:21] 8 sn According to Lev 25:4, the land was to remain uncultivated every seventh year. Lev 26:33-35 warns that the land would experience a succession of such sabbatical rests if the people disobeyed God, for he would send them away into exile.
[36:21] 9 sn Concerning the seventy years see Jer 25:11.
[36:21] 10 tn Heb “all the days of the desolation it rested to fulfill the seventy years.”
[34:2] 11 tn Heb “told him”; the referent (Jeremiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:2] 12 tn Heb “told him”; the referent (Jeremiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[34:2] 13 tn Heb 34:1 “The word which came to Jeremiah from the
[34:3] 14 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.
[34:4] 15 tn Heb “However, hear the word of the
[34:4] 16 tn Heb “by the sword.”
[34:5] 17 tn Heb “And like the burning [of incense] for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so will they burn [incense] for you.” The sentence has been reversed for easier style and the technical use of the terms interpreted.
[34:5] 18 sn The intent of this oracle may have been to contrast the fate of Zedekiah with that of Jehoiakim who was apparently executed, went unmourned, and was left unburied (contrast Jer 22:18-19).
[34:5] 19 tn Heb “For [or Indeed] I myself have spoken [this] word.”
[34:5] 20 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[39:1] 21 sn 2 Kgs 25:1 and Jer 52:4 give the more precise date of the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year which would have been Jan 15, 588
[39:2] 22 sn According to modern reckoning that would have been July 18, 586
[39:3] 23 tn English versions and commentaries differ on the number of officials named here and the exact spelling of their names. For a good discussion of the options see F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations (NAC), 341, n. 71. Most commentaries follow the general lead of J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 243) as the present translation has done here. However, the second name is not emended on the basis of v. 13 as Bright does, nor is the second Nergal-Sharezer regarded as the same man as the first and the information on the two combined as he does. The first Nergal-Sharezer is generally identified on the basis of Babylonian records as the man who usurped the throne from Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Awel-Marduk or Evil-Merodach as he is known in the OT (Jer 52:31; 2 Kgs 25:27). The present translation renders the two technical Babylonian terms “Rab-Saris” (only in Jer 39:3, 13; 2 Kgs 18:17) and “Rab-Mag” (only in Jer 39:3, 13) as “chief officer” and “high official” without knowing precisely what offices they held. This has been done to give the modern reader some feeling of their high position without specifying exactly what their precise positions were (i.e., the generic has been used for the [unknown] specific).
[39:3] 24 tn Heb “sat.” The precise meaning of this phrase is not altogether clear, but J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 243) is undoubtedly correct in assuming that it had to do with setting up a provisional military government over the city.
[39:3] 25 tn The Hebrew style here is typically full or redundant, giving a general subject first and then listing the specifics. The Hebrew text reads: “Then all the officers of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, Nergal-Sharezer…and all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.” In the translation the general subject has been eliminated and the list of the “real” subjects used instead; this eliminates the dashes or commas typical of some modern English versions.
[39:4] 26 sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
[39:4] 27 sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
[39:5] 28 tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
[39:5] 29 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[39:5] 30 sn 2 Kgs 25:5 and Jer 52:8 mention that the soldiers all scattered from him. That is why the text focuses on Zedekiah here.
[39:5] 31 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.
[39:7] 32 tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.
[39:8] 33 tn Heb “Chaldean.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
[39:8] 34 tc The reading here is based on an emendation following the parallels in Jer 52:13 and 2 Kgs 25:9. The Hebrew text here does not have “the temple of the
[39:8] 35 sn According to the parallels in 2 Kgs 25:8-9; Jer 52:12-13 this occurred almost a month after the wall was breached and Zedekiah’s failed escape. It took place under the direction of Nebuzaradan, the captain of the king’s special guard who is mentioned in the next verse.
[39:9] 36 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2 and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
[39:9] 37 tc The translation is based on an emendation of the text which leaves out “the rest of the people who were left” as a double writing of the same phrase at the beginning of the verse. Some commentators emend the phrase “the rest of the people who were left” (הַנִּשְׁאָרִים וְאֶת יֶתֶר הָעָם, hannish’arim vÿ’et yeter ha’am) to read “the rest of the craftsmen who were left” (וְאֶת יֶתֶר הָאָמוֹן הַנִּשְׁאָרִים, vÿ’et yeter ha’amon hannish’arim) on the basis of the parallel in Jer 52:15 (which does not have הַנִּשְׁאָרִים, hannish’arim). However, it is easier to explain the phrase as a dittography of the phrase at the beginning (which is exactly the same except הָעִיר [ha’ir] follows it). The text is redundant because it refers twice to the same group of people. The Hebrew text reads: “And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to him and the rest of the people Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon.” The text has also been divided up to create two shorter sentences to better conform with contemporary English style.
[39:10] 38 tn Heb “Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and contemporary English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.
[52:4] 40 sn This would have been January 15, 588
[52:6] 41 sn According to modern reckoning that would have been July 18, 586
[52:6] 42 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
[52:7] 43 sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
[52:7] 44 sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
[52:8] 45 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[52:9] 46 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.
[52:11] 47 tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.
[24:1] 48 tn The date of this oracle was January 15, 588
[24:2] 49 tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”
[24:2] 50 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:3] 51 sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).
[24:3] 52 sn See Ezek 11:3-12.
[24:6] 54 tn Heb “has not gone out.”
[24:6] 55 tn Here “lot” may refer to the decision made by casting lots; it is not chosen at all.
[24:11] 56 tn Heb “set it upon its coals, empty.”
[24:11] 57 tn Or “rust” (so also in v. 12).
[24:12] 58 tn Heb “(with) toil she has wearied.” The meaning of the statement is unclear in the Hebrew text; some follow the LXX and delete it. The first word in the statement (rendered “toil” in the literal translation above) occurs only here in the OT, and the verb “she has wearied” lacks a stated object. Elsewhere the Hiphil of the verb refers to wearying someone or trying someone’s patience. The feminine subject is apparently the symbolic pot.
[24:12] 59 tn Heb “does not go out.”
[24:12] 60 tn Heb “in fire its rust.” The meaning of the expression is unclear. The translation understands the statement as a command to burn the rust away. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:768.
[24:13] 61 tn Heb “in your uncleanness (is) obscene conduct.”
[24:13] 62 tn Heb “because I cleansed you.” In this context (see especially the very next statement), the statement must refer to divine intention and purpose. Despite God’s efforts to cleanse his people, they resisted him and remained morally impure.
[24:13] 63 tn The Hebrew text adds the word “again.”
[24:14] 64 tn Heb “it”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:14] 65 tn Or perhaps, “change my mind.”
[24:14] 66 tc Some medieval Hebrew
