Jeremiahchapter 39
18 verses · KJVJeremiah book hub →
Key verse
And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.
It stands in scene A of the chapter, verses 1 to 10.
The chapter
Chapter summary
The eleventh year, the fourth month, the ninth day: the city is broken up, and Babylon's princes sit in the middle gate. Zedekiah flees by night through the king's garden toward the Arabah and is overtaken in the plains of Jericho. At Riblah his sons and the nobles of Judah are slain before him, then his eyes are put out and he is bound in fetters for Babylon. The palace and the houses are burned and the walls broken down; the poorest of the people are left vineyards and fields. Nebuzaradan is charged to look well to Jeremiah, who is committed to Gedaliah. And Ebed-melech receives his reward: 'thy life shall be for a prey unto thee, because thou hast put thy trust in me.'
Context
Prophecy · Jeremiah · Jeremiah overview
Where the chapter sits
Jeremiah 39 falls in Jerusalem's fall narrated (chapters 34–45). Zedekiah's vacillation; Jehoiakim burns the scroll (36); siege and fall (39); assassination of Gedaliah; flight to Egypt with the remnant.
Jerusalem falls. The city is taken; Zedekiah's sons slain; his eyes put out; the long-announced judgment arrives.
Before it: Book of consolation, chapters 30–33. After it: Oracles against the nations, chapters 46–51.
The whole shape of Jeremiah→The world behind this chapter
Jeremiah 39The history
The siege ran about eighteen months, broken by the Egyptian interruption. The wall was breached on the ninth day of the fourth month in the eleventh year, in high summer, and the officers of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate. Sitting in the gate was the formal act of taking possession, the gate was the seat of a city's government, and occupying it announced who now ruled.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
The Babylonian officers are listed by name and title, and one of them can be matched to a cuneiform tablet. A small administrative tablet in the British Museum, dated to Nebuchadnezzar's tenth year, records a gold donation by Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief officer, the same name and office as the Nebo-Sarsekim listed among the officers here.
Zedekiah runs at night through the king's garden and the gate between the two walls and is caught on the plains of Jericho. He is taken to Nebuchadnezzar's field headquarters at Riblah in Syria, where his sons are executed in front of him and then his eyes are put out, a standard Babylonian punishment for a vassal who broke an oath of loyalty, and the last thing he saw was the reason.
The chapter also notes who stayed. The captain of the guard left some of the poorest people in the land of Judah and gave them vineyards and fields on that day. Empires deported the useful and left the destitute to keep the land producing.
What it meant to them
For the first hearers this chapter closes an argument that had run forty years. Everything the prophet had said would happen, happened, and the record names the officers, the gates and the dates so that it cannot be softened later.
Two people are singled out for kindness in the wreckage: the prophet, freed from the court of the guard by the enemy's own commander, and Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, who had pulled him out of the mud. God remembers a rope and some old rags.
Sources cited
- The Babylonian Chronicle, in James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament
- Kenneth A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament
A. The Wall Broken Up and Zedekiah's Eyes Put Out
1. (vv. 1-3)
a.came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army: The chapter opens with the dates that close the siege the book has tracked for two years, the ninth year, tenth month for the siege's beginning and the eleventh year, fourth month, ninth day for its end, the city was broken up, a precision the bench notes matches 2 Kings 25 and Ezekiel's own dated oracles nearly to the letter. Babylon's princes sit in the middle gate as the city's new authority, named one by one, Nergal-sharezer among them a title the commentators identify with the Greek historians' Neriglissar, the empire's own record entering Scripture's narrative at the moment of judgment.
Jeremiah 39:1, 1 voiceWhat preachers and commentators have said about these verses, in their own words.
Jeremiah 39:1
“The Capture of Jerusalem” - The majority of the particulars given in Jer 39:1-14 occur again (marginal reference); and are by some regarded as an interpolation. The external evidence (that of the versions) is, however, in favor of their authenticity. Jer 39:14 is to be reconciled with Jer 40:1-4 by remembering that Gedaliah had left Jerusalem and gone to Mizpah Jer 40:6, a city in the immediate neighborhood; and as he was not at home to protect the prophet, nothing is more probable than that Jeremiah in company with the main body of captives was brought to Ramah in chains.
Jeremiah 39:2, 2 voices
Jeremiah 39:2
“The eleventh year - in the fourth month - This month in the Hebrew calendar is called Thammuz, and commences with the first new moon of our July. The siege had lasted just eighteen months. The city was broken up - A breach was made in the wall by which the Chaldeans entered.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jeremiah 39:2
“Jerusalem was so strong a place that nobody would have believed the enemy could ever enter its gates, Lam. iv. But sin had provoked God to withdraw his protection, and then, like Samson when his hair was cut, it was weak as other cities.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Jeremiah 39:3, 2 voices
Jeremiah 39:3
“These princes were four: (1) Nergal, Sharezer, i. e., Nirgal-sar-usur (May Nergal protect the king); (2) Samgar-Nebo (Be gracious, O Nebo); (3) Sarsechim. No explanation is given at present of this name. He was Rab-saris, i. e., chief of the eunuchs (2Ki 18:17 note). (4) another Nergal-sharezer, who was Rab-mag, i. e., chief of the Magians. He is known in history as Neriglissar, the son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar, and probably his vicegerent during his seven years of madness.”
Jeremiah 39:3
“The middle gate - The city was encompassed with two walls, before they came to the wall of the temple; the gate in the inner wall is supposed to have been that which is called the middle gate.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
2. (vv. 4-7)
a.then they fled, and went forth out of the city: Zedekiah flees by night through the king's garden and the gate between the two walls, the same route Ezekiel's oracle had marked out in advance (Ezek 12:12-13, he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes, a word the bench reads as fulfilled with terrible exactness in what follows), and is overtaken in the plains of Jericho. Nebuchadnezzar's judgment at Riblah is total: the sons of Zedekiah killed before his eyes, so that the last sight the king ever sees is his own heirs' death, and then his own eyes put out and himself bound for Babylon. The blinding after the sight of his sons falls precisely on Ezekiel's word, and the older writers read the horror as deliberate rather than incidental, judgment matched to the broken oath of chapter 37.
Jeremiah 39:4, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:4
“Went forth out of the city by night - Probably there was a private passage under ground, leading without the walls, by which Zedekiah and his followers might escape unperceived, till they had got some way from the city. The way of the plain - There were two roads from Jerusalem to Jericho. One passed over the mount of Olives; but, as this might have retarded his flight, he chose the way of the plain, and was overtaken near Jericho, perhaps about sixteen or eighteen miles from Jerusalem.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jeremiah 39:5, 2 voices
Jeremiah 39:5
“To Riblah - This city was situated on the northern frontier of Palestine, and Hamath was a large city belonging also to Syria. See Gen 10:18.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jeremiah 39:5
“Riblah - Riblah was upon the borders of Canaan. Zedekiah was a tributary to the king of Babylon, and so subject to his power, having made a covenant with him, and secured his allegiance by his oath to him.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Jeremiah 39:6, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:6
“Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes,.... Not with his own hands, but gave orders to do it: these must be very young, at least some of them; since Zedekiah at this time was but thirty two years of age.”
3. (vv. 8-10)
a.burned the king’s house: The Chaldeans burn the king's house and the houses of the people and break down the walls of Jerusalem, the physical judgment Jeremiah had named as certain since chapter 37 now executed in full. Most of the remaining population is carried to Babylon under Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, but the poor of the people, which had nothing are left in the land and given vineyards and fields, a detail the commentators take as Babylon's own policy of settling conquered territory rather than any mercy toward Judah as such, though the outcome still leaves a remnant on the land as chapter 40 will show.
Jeremiah 39:8, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:8
“And the Chaldeans burnt the king's house,.... His palace: this was a month after the city was taken, as appears from Jer 52:12; and the houses of the people, with fire; the houses of the common people, as distinct from the king's house, and the houses of the great men, Jer 52:13; though Jarchi interprets of the synagogues.”
Jeremiah 39:9, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:9
“Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard,.... The Targum is, "the captain of those that kill;'' of the soldiers, of the militia.”
Jeremiah 39:10, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:10
“Left of the poor of the people - The very refuse of the inhabitants, who were not worthy of being carried away; and among them he divided the fields and vineyards of those whom he took away.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
B. Jeremiah Set Free; a Word of Life for Ebed-melech
1. (vv. 11-14)
a.gave charge concerning Jeremiah: Nebuchadnezzar's charge concerning Jeremiah comes by name and from the top of the empire itself, take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee, a foreign king honoring the prophet Judah's own king had imprisoned twice. The princes of Babylon carry out the order to the letter, taking Jeremiah from the court of the prison and committing him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, of the family that had already shielded Jeremiah once (26:24), so that he dwelt among the people rather than in exile, the bench noting the reversal that Babylon protects the man Jerusalem's own princes tried to drown in mire.
Jeremiah 39:11, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:11
“Jeremiah's prophecies were known to Nebuchadnezzar through deserters (Jer 39:9; Jer 38:19), also through the Jews carried to Babylon with Jeconiah (compare Jer 40:2). Hence the king's kindness to him.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Jeremiah 39:12, 2 voices
Jeremiah 39:12
“Both Nebuchadnezzar the king and Ebedmelech the Ethiopian increased the condemnation of the Jews. Although they were foreigners, they respected the prophet, but the Jews (who had been raised on the words of the prophets) did not want to pay attention to the divine words, …”
Theodoret of Cyrus· written before 458· ON JEREMIAH 8:39patristic
Jeremiah 39:12
“Take him - look well to him - Nebuchadnezzar had heard that this prophet had foretold his capture of the city, and had frequently used all his influence to induce Zedekiah to pay the tribute, and not rebel against him; and on this account would be inclined to show the prophet especial favor.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jeremiah 39:13, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:13
“Nebuzar-adan is in the inscriptions Nabu-zir-iddina (Nebo has given offspring); and Nebushasban, Nabu-sizibanni (Nebo save me), whom some identify with Sarsechim Jer 39:3.”
Jeremiah 39:14, 2 voices
Jeremiah 39:14
“Jeremiah was to be taken out of the court of the watch, and placed in the palace close by. He dwelt among the people - i. e., he was no longer in custody, but master of his own actions.”
Jeremiah 39:14
“Gedaliah--son of Ahikam, the former supporter of Jeremiah (Jer 26:24). Gedaliah was the chief of the deserters to the Chaldeans, and was set over the remnant in Judea as one likely to remain faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. His residence was at Mizpah (Jer 40:5). home--the house of Gedaliah, wherein Jeremiah might remain as in a safe asylum.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2. (vv. 15-18)
a.while he was shut up in the court of the prison: The chapter closes by circling back to the word given Jeremiah for Ebed-melech while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, before the city's fall, promising the Ethiopian his life as a reward that stands wholly apart from his nationality or standing: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. The promise names the very danger the man had risked, thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee, the identical phrase given the obedient remnant in chapter 21, so that the servant who acted on compassion in chapter 38 receives the same covenant word offered to Judah and refused. The commentators read the placement, held back until the city's actual fall confirms it, as Scripture's own way of proving that trust in the Lord outlasts the catastrophe it was shown inside.
Jeremiah 39:15, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:15
“This prophecy probably came to Jeremiah after his interview with Zedekiah Jer 38:14, but is added here as a supplement in order not to break the sequence of events.”
Jeremiah 39:16, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:16
“That God took notice of the fear he had of the judgments coming. Though he was bravely bold in the service of God, yet he was afraid of the rod of God. The enemies were men of whom he was afraid, Note, God knows how to adapt and accommodate his comforts to the fears and griefs of his people, for he knows their souls in adversity.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Jeremiah 39:17, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:17
“Of whom thou art afraid - The Chaldaeans. Ebed-melech apparently looked forward with much alarm to the b oodshed sure to take place at the storming of the city.”
Jeremiah 39:18, 1 voice
Jeremiah 39:18
“I will surely deliver thee - Thou hast feared the Lord, and not the king, nor his princes, and thou hast taken the part of the prophet, and become his intercessor. Thou shalt not be slain. Thou hast put thy trust in me; thou shalt therefore be safe whithersoever thou goest. They that fear God need fear nothing besides.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Jeremiah 39. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826); Albert Barnes; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871); John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765); Matthew Henry and Theodoret of Cyrus, ON JEREMIAH 8:39.
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