Jeremiah 52:1-34
1 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
3 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.
5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
7 Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.
8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
11 Then he put outa the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captainb of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,
13 And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
17 Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
18 The caldrons also, and the shovels,c and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
19 And the basons, and the firepans,d and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away.
20 The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brasse of all these vessels was without weight.
21 And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a filletf of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
22 And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.
23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.
24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:g
25 He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were nearh the king's person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
26 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.
28 This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:
29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:i
30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
32 And spake kindlyj unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
33 And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.
34 And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, everyk day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
Jeremiah 52:1. Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign. This and the two following verses are taken from 2 Kings 24:18; and the seven succeeding verses are taken from the thirty ninth chapter of this book. Hence Ezra, or some other holy man, added this chapter to show the accomplishment of Jeremiah's prophecies, and to make the book complete.
Jeremiah 52:12. On the tenth day of the month. The general of the Chaldeans had been three days in the city before he burnt the temple, which had stood four hundred and seventy years. It was the manner of the Chaldeans to burn temples, and it was the custom of the Medes to revere them. The Romans also burnt the temple of Jerusalem exactly on the same day of the month! The city and temple shared in the common sentence of Almighty God, being both alike polluted.
Jeremiah 52:13. And burnt the house of the Lord. This is also described in Micah 3:12.
Jeremiah 52:21. The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits. It is said in 2 Chronicles 3:15, that the pillars were thirty five cubits high. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that the pillars are reckoned both together at seventeen cubits and a half each, allowing half a cubit for the base. The Jews had gloried much in these pillars as the noblest in the world. But Herodotus says, that before the vestibule of the temple of Vulcan in Egypt, there stood two statues twenty five cubits high; the one represented summer, the other winter. These were one third higher than Solomon's pillars of Jachin and Boaz.
Jeremiah 52:24. Seraiah the chief priest, the father of Ezra. Zephaniah was the second priest, or sagon.
REFLECTIONS.
Here is the tragic end of a sinful nation. Many strokes had the sword of justice laid at the branches of the dying tree, which did not revive, and now therefore it is cut down. Here is the fate of men and nations who stifle conscience, who harden themselves against the ministry, and despise the edification of milder visitations. We cannot but deplore the obstinacy of the princes, the priests, and rulers of the land, which brought them and their country to ruin. They had been long and fully warned, but they would not believe; nay, they hated the light, and sought the death of the prophet. Now he is preserved, and they are delivered to the sword. Zedekiah had wilfully shut his eyes against all light, and all admonition; and now his eyes are put out, after seeing his infant children put to death for their father's sins. He had rebelled against the Lord, he had rebelled against the Chaldeans, and now both heaven and earth fight against him. He delivered not Jeremiah from prison, though he consulted him as a prophet, and now there is no man to remove his chain.
From Jehoiachin's short reign, and long imprisonment, awful instances of Babylonian cruelty, we learn the vicissitudes of life, and the calamities attendant upon greatness. The wheels of providence elevated him early to a momentary throne; thence he descended into the mire and gloom of the dungeon, and thence to the first throne of captive kings who awaited restoration. Hence all men in affliction, who have no visible ray of hope, should nevertheless hope in God. He can brighten the darkest day, and break the iron fetters. He can turn adversity to the greatest glory, and become the covenant portion of his people.
Though God cut down the Jewish nation, and gave the enemy wages for his work, yet he left hopeful branches to restore the nation. Seraiah the priest died for his sin; but Ezra, his infant son, found a better school in Babylon than he could have found in Judea. Adversity proved a better tutor than luxury and pride. The hope of Israel withered in the hands of the father, but flourished under the care of the son. Thus all the chastisements of providence are proportioned by weight and measure, and they have, in the issue, mercy for their object. Let us therefore review the ways of providence, till our hearts, burning like the seraphim, constrain us to say, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.