Jeremiah 39:1-10
God’s word of judgment is fulfilled when His people refuse repeated calls to repentance.
1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it.
2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city.
3 All the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, Nergal Sharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal Sharezer, Rabmag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
4 When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.
5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. When they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he pronounced judgment on him.
6 Then the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons in Riblah before his eyes. The king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah.
7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
8 The Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
9 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the residue of the people who remained in the city, the deserters also who fell away to him, and the residue of the people who remained.
10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
God’s word of judgment is fulfilled when His people refuse repeated calls to repentance.
To narrate the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian army and the capture of King Zedekiah, fulfilling the prophetic warnings Jeremiah had proclaimed.
This passage marks the historical fulfillment of Jeremiah’s warnings about Jerusalem’s fall. It transitions the narrative from prophetic warning to realized judgment.
Babylon finally breaches Jerusalem after a prolonged siege, capturing King Zedekiah and destroying the city.
Jerusalem Falls, Zedekiah Is Captured, and the LORD Preserves His Servants
Jerusalem falls exactly as the LORD said, proving that his word of judgment cannot fail, yet the LORD also preserves Jeremiah and rescues Ebed-Melek because his mercy is as sure as his judgment.