Jeremiah 52

The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted

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

2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, ²according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

3 For because of the anger of the LORD things came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 ³And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.

5 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

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

7 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, while the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.

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

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

10 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at ⁴Riblah.

11 ⁵He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison ⁶till the day of his death.

The Temple Burned

12 ⁷In the fifth month, on ⁸the tenth day of the month--that was ⁹the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon--Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who ¹⁰served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

13 And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.

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

15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and ¹¹the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans.

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

17 And the ¹²pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the ¹³bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ¹⁴carried all the bronze to Babylon.

18 And they took away ¹⁵the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service;

19 ¹⁶also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and ¹⁷the lampstands and ¹⁸the dishes for incense ¹⁹and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.

20 As for the two pillars, the one sea, ²⁰the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea,^[a] and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight.

21 As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^[b]21its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow.

22 On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was ²²five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates.

23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.

The People Exiled to Babylon

24 And the captain of the guard took ²³Seraiah the chief priest, and ²⁴Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold;

25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and ²⁵seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary 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 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ²⁶Riblah.

27 And the king of Babylon struck them down, and put them to death at ²⁷Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

28 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: ²⁸in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans;

29 ²⁹in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons;

30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

31 ³⁰And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, graciously freed^[c]31Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.

32 And he spoke kindly to him, and gave him a seat above the seats of ³²the kings who were with him in Babylon.

33 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table,

34 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king according to his daily need, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.

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. For ver. 1-27, see 2 Kings 24:18 - 25:21
• 2. 2 Kings 23:37; See Jeremiah 22:13-17
• 3. For ver. 4-16, see Jeremiah 39:1-10
• 4. ver. 26, 27
• 5. [Ezekiel 12:13]
• 6. [Ezekiel 12:13]
• 7. Jeremiah 1:3
• 8. [2 Kings 25:8]
• 9. [ver. 29]
• 10. Jeremiah 40:10
• 11. See Jeremiah 37:13
• 12. Jeremiah 27:19; See 2 Chronicles 4:12-15
• 13. 2 Chronicles 4:2, 10
• 14. See Jeremiah 27:22
• 15. 2 Kings 25:14
• 16. 1 Kings 7:50; 2 Kings 25:15
• 17. 1 Kings 7:49
• 18. Exodus 25:29; Exodus 37:16
• 19. Exodus 25:29; Exodus 37:16
• 20. 1 Kings 7:25, 44
• 21. 1 Kings 7:15
• 22. 1 Kings 7:16; [2 Kings 25:17]
• 23. [1 Chronicles 6:14, 15]
• 24. [Jeremiah 29:25]
• 25. [Esther 1:14]
• 26. ver. 9, 10
• 27. [See ver. 26 above]
• 28. [2 Kings 24:12, 14]
• 29. [ver. 12]
• 30. For ver. 31-34, see 2 Kings 25:27-30
• 31. Jeremiah 37:1; See Jeremiah 22:24-30
• 32. [Jeremiah 27:3]

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew lacks the sea
• [b]. A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
• [c]. Hebrew king, lifted up the head of

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.