2 Kings 25

In 2 Kings 25, we witness the final fall of Jerusalem and the end of the Kingdom of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, returns to finish his conquest, destroying Jerusalem, burning the temple, and taking the remaining people captive. This chapter represents the culmination of years of rebellion against God, as the people of Judah face the consequences of their disobedience. Zedekiah’s fate, the destruction of the temple, and the final deportation to Babylon mark a tragic end for the southern kingdom.

2 Kings 25:1-5 (NKJV)
1 Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around.
2 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
4 Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And the king went by way of the plain.
5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him.

The siege of Jerusalem lasted for nearly two years, with the Babylonians surrounding the city and cutting off all supplies. By the ninth day of the fourth month, the situation became dire, and famine took a heavy toll on the people. Eventually, the Babylonians breached the city walls, leading to a desperate escape attempt by King Zedekiah and his army. However, Zedekiah was quickly captured near Jericho, and his forces abandoned him, leaving him to face the Babylonians alone.

2 Kings 25:6-7 (NKJV)
6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him.
7 Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.

Zedekiah's capture marked the tragic end of his reign. He was taken to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, where he faced judgment. In a brutal act of punishment, Zedekiah's sons were executed in front of him, and then his eyes were put out. Blinded and bound in chains, he was led to Babylon, symbolizing the complete collapse of Judah's monarchy.

2 Kings 25:8-10 (NKJV)
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
9 He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.

Nebuzaradan, Nebuchadnezzar’s commander, arrived in Jerusalem months after the city's fall. He carried out the king's orders to destroy the city. The temple, royal palace, and every significant house were burned to the ground. In addition, the walls of Jerusalem, which provided the city with its primary defense, were torn down. This destruction signified not just the fall of Jerusalem but the end of its identity as a fortified city.

2 Kings 25:11-12 (NKJV)
11 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude.
12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers.

After the city's destruction, Nebuzaradan deported the remaining people, including those who had previously defected to Babylon. However, not everyone was taken. The poor were left behind, presumably because they posed no threat to the Babylonians. They were tasked with farming the land, ensuring that Babylon would still benefit from the agricultural production of Judah.

2 Kings 25:13-17 (NKJV)
13 The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon.
14 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered.
15 The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.
17 The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network.

The Babylonians looted the temple, taking all the valuable bronze, gold, and silver articles. The bronze pillars, the Sea, and the carts, which were part of Solomon's original temple, were dismantled and taken back to Babylon. This looting represented a profound desecration of the temple, stripping it of its splendor and further emphasizing Judah's loss.

2 Kings 25:18-21 (NKJV)
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
19 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.
20 So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

Nebuzaradan rounded up the remaining leaders of Jerusalem, including priests, military officials, and royal advisors. They were taken to Riblah, where they faced execution by Nebuchadnezzar. This final act of brutality sealed the fate of Jerusalem’s leadership, symbolizing the complete and total collapse of Judah as a kingdom.

2 Kings 25:22-24 (NKJV)
22 Then he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left.
23 Now when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”

Gedaliah, appointed as governor by the Babylonians, sought to reassure the remaining people in Judah. He urged the military leaders who had been hiding to come out of the shadows and cooperate with the Babylonians. His message was one of survival—encouraging the people to accept Babylonian rule for their own well-being.

2 Kings 25:25-26 (NKJV)
25 But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Despite Gedaliah's efforts to establish stability, his assassination by Ishmael, a member of the royal family, sparked chaos. Fearful of Babylonian retaliation for Gedaliah’s murder, the people fled to Egypt. This tragic event marked the final scattering of the people of Judah, as they abandoned the land entirely.

2 Kings 25:27-30 (NKJV)
27 Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.
28 He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
29 So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life.
30 And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Many years after the fall of Jerusalem, Jehoiachin, the former king of Judah who had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, received mercy. When Evil-Merodach ascended to the throne of Babylon, he showed favor to Jehoiachin by releasing him from prison and allowing him to live in relative comfort at the Babylonian court. Jehoiachin was given a seat of honor and provided with daily provisions for the rest of his life. This act of kindness symbolized a glimmer of hope for the exiled royal family, though Judah’s restoration would not occur for many more years.