Discovery Box2 Kings 24:20--25:7
Context24:20 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence. 1 Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 25:1 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside 2 it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 3 25:2 The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 25:3 By the ninth day of the fourth month 4 the famine in the city was so severe the residents 5 had no food. 25:4 The enemy broke through the city walls, 6 and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. 7 They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. 8 (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 9 25:5 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, 10 and his entire army deserted him. 25:6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 11 where he 12 passed sentence on him. 25:7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. 13 The king of Babylon 14 then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.
Jeremiah 52:3-11
Context52:3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight. 15 Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 52:4 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. 16 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. 17 52:5 The city remained under siege until Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 52:6 By the ninth day of the fourth month 18 the famine in the city was so severe the residents 19 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. 20 (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 21 52:8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, 22 and his entire army deserted him. 52:9 They captured him and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah 23 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. 24 Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.
[24:20] 1 tn Heb “Surely [or, ‘for’] because of the anger of the
[25:1] 3 sn This would have been Jan 15, 588
[25:3] 4 tn The MT has simply “of the month,” but the parallel passage in Jer 52:6 has “fourth month,” and this is followed by almost all English translations. The word “fourth,” however, is not actually present in the MT of 2 Kgs 25:3.
[25:3] 5 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
[25:4] 6 tn Heb “the city was breached.”
[25:4] 7 tn The Hebrew text is abrupt here: “And all the men of war by the night.” The translation attempts to capture the sense.
[25:4] 8 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.
[25:4] 9 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 Jer 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
[25:5] 10 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[25:6] 11 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.
[25:6] 12 tn The Hebrew text has the plural form of the verb, but the parallel passage in Jer 52:9 has the singular.
[25:7] 13 tn Heb “were killed before his eyes.”
[25:7] 14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[52:3] 15 tn Heb “Surely (or “for”) because of the anger of the
[52:4] 17 sn This would have been January 15, 588
[52:6] 18 sn According to modern reckoning that would have been July 18, 586
[52:6] 19 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
[52:7] 20 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] 21 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] 22 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[52:9] 23 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] 24 tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.
