2 Kings 25:4
in 2 Kings 25Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and the king went by the way of the Arabah.
KJV
And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
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This verse in 2 Kings 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The city was broken up - Rather, “broken into,” i. e., A breach was made about midnight in the northern wall Eze 9:2, and an entry effected into the second or lower city (see the 2Ki 22:14 note), which was protected by the wall of Manasseh 2Ch 33:14. Precipitate flight followed on the advance of the Babylonians to the “middle gate,” or gate of communication between the upper and the lower cities. This position was only a little north of the royal palace, which the king therefore quitted.
This site's exposition
the city was broken up
on 2 Kings 25:4-5
The escape route by the gate between two walls near the king's garden is recorded in nearly the same words at Jer 39:4, the two accounts running side by side at the moment the wall finally fails. Zedekiah runs for the plain toward Jericho and the army scatters from him, the net of Ezek 12:13 closing exactly as spoken: I will bring him to Babylon, yet shall he not see it. The flight answers a specific prophecy before the capture even lands.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
What think you of Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from Scripture that he was bloodthirsty, fierce, with the disposition of a lion? Have you not heard that he disinterred the kings? Have you not heard that he brought the people away into captivity? Have you not heard that he put the king's sons to the sword before Zedekiah's eyes and then blinded him? Have you not heard that he shattered the cherubim?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But those as much deceive themselves who think to escape God's judgments as those who think to brave them; the feet of him that flees from them will as surely fail as the hands of him that fights against them. When God judges he will overcome. Intelligence was given to the Chaldeans of the king's flight, and which way he had gone, so that they soon overtook him,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the city was broken up--that is, a breach was effected, as we are elsewhere informed, in a part of the wall belonging to the lower city (2Ch 32:5; 33:14). the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden--The king's garden was (Ne 3:15) at the pool of Siloam, that is, at the mouth of the Tyropæon.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּבָּקַ֣ע | vatibaka' | and it was broken into | H1234 → | 51 times |
| הָעִ֗יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֨י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| הַמִּלְחָמָ֤ה׀ | hamilchamah | <the> war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ | halaylah | this night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| דֶּ֜רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| שַׁ֣עַר׀ | shaar | [the] gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| בֵּ֣ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הַחֹמֹתַ֗יִם | hachomotayim | the two walls | H2346 → | 133 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גַּ֣ן | gan | [the] garden of | H1588 → | 42 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְכַשְׂדִּ֥ים | vekhasdim | and [the] Chaldeans | H3778 → | 80 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [were] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעִ֖יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| סָבִ֑יב | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| דֶּ֥רֶךְ | derekh | [the] direction of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| הָעֲרָבָֽה׃ | haaravah | the Arabah | H6160 → | 61 times |
וַתִּבָּקַ֣עand it was broken into
vatibaka'H1234 →51 times
הָעִ֗ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
אַנְשֵׁ֨י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
הַמִּלְחָמָ֤ה׀<the> war
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙this night
halaylahH3915 →233 times
דֶּ֜רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
שַׁ֣עַר׀[the] gate
shaarH8179 →374 times
בֵּ֣יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
הַחֹמֹתַ֗יִםthe two walls
hachomotayimH2346 →133 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[was] at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
גַּ֣ן[the] garden of
ganH1588 →42 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְכַשְׂדִּ֥יםand [the] Chaldeans
vekhasdimH3778 →80 times
עַל־[were] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעִ֖ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
סָבִ֑יבall around
savivH5439 →336 times
וַיֵּ֖לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
דֶּ֥רֶךְ[the] direction of
derekhH1870 →707 times
הָעֲרָבָֽה׃the Arabah
haaravahH6160 →61 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 32:30How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Joshua 23:10
One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
- Isaiah 30:17
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a…
- Leviticus 26:8
Through
Nehemiah 3:15The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah. He rebuilt it, roofed it, and installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also repaired the wall of…
it leads to
- John 9:7
Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
- Isaiah 8:6
“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
- John 9:7
Through
Leviticus 26:17And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
it leads to
- Leviticus 17:10
If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.
- Leviticus 26:36–37
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to…
- Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Leviticus 17:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2:17-19; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.