Jeremiah 39 Study Notes: The Fall of Jerusalem
Babylon breaks into Jerusalem, and Zedekiah flees but is captured, sees his sons killed, and is blinded and taken away in chains while the city is burned. Nebuzaradan exiles the people, Jeremiah is freed and placed with Gedaliah, and the LORD promises to spare Ebed-melech because he trusted Him.
General
What reason did the LORD give for promising to rescue Ebed-melech the Cushite when the city fell (Jeremiah 39:15-18)?
Answer: Because he had put his trust in the LORD
While Jeremiah was still confined in the guard’s courtyard, the LORD gave him a message for Ebed-melech (39:15-16). God was about to carry out His words of disaster against the city, and Ebed-melech would see it happen. But the LORD promised to rescue him on that day: he would not be given into the power of the men he feared and would not die by the sword. He would escape with his life like a prize of war, and the reason God gave was that he had trusted in Him (39:17-18). His earlier rescue of Jeremiah from the cistern (38:7-13) fits that trust. The LORD had declared that the person whose confidence rests in Him is blessed, like a well-watered tree that keeps bearing fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8). The LORD rescues those who shelter in Him (Psalm 37:39-40), and He gave Baruch a similar promise that he would come through the disaster alive (Jeremiah 45:5).
- Jeremiah 39:15-18 (BSB)“And while Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD had come to him: “Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you will not be delivered into the hands of the men whom you fear. For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’””The LORD promises Ebed-melech rescue in the day of disaster because he trusted in Him.
- Jeremiah 17:7-8 (BSB)“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.”The one who trusts in the LORD is blessed and flourishes even in drought.
- Psalm 37:39-40 (BSB)“The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.”The LORD saves the righteous who shelter in Him.
- Jeremiah 45:5 (BSB)“But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.””God likewise promised Baruch that he would come through the coming disaster alive.
Theological
On what ground does the LORD promise deliverance to Ebed-melech in the day of Jerusalem’s fall (Jeremiah 39:15-18)?
Answer: Because he had put his trust in the LORD
The oracle to Ebed-melech, given while Jeremiah was confined (39:15), sets one man’s deliverance against the city’s doom: the LORD will fulfill His words of disaster, but He will rescue Ebed-melech, keep him from the men he fears, and grant him his life as plunder, because he trusted in the LORD (39:16-18). The ground the LORD names for his deliverance is trust in Him; his earlier rescue of the prophet from the cistern (38:7-13) fits with that trust. This is the blessedness of the one whose confidence rests on the LORD (Jeremiah 17:7-8), whom the LORD delivers because he takes refuge in Him (Psalm 37:39-40), a promise of preserved life matched in the word to Baruch (Jeremiah 45:5).
- Jeremiah 39:15-18 (BSB)“And while Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD had come to him: “Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you will not be delivered into the hands of the men whom you fear. For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’””The LORD promises Ebed-melech rescue in the day of disaster because he trusted in Him.
- Jeremiah 17:7-8 (BSB)“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.”The one who trusts in the LORD is blessed and flourishes even in drought.
- Psalm 37:39-40 (BSB)“The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.”The LORD saves the righteous who shelter in Him.
- Jeremiah 45:5 (BSB)“But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.””God likewise promised Baruch that he would come through the coming disaster alive.
General
After Jerusalem fell, to whom did the Babylonian officers hand Jeremiah over so that he could be taken home (Jeremiah 39:11-14)?
Answer: Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam
Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar had sent instructions concerning Jeremiah by way of Nebuzaradan, the guard commander: the prophet was to be cared for, kept from all harm, and given whatever he asked (39:11-12). So Nebuzaradan and the other Babylonian officers brought Jeremiah out of the guard’s courtyard and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to bring him home, and Jeremiah stayed with his people (39:13-14). Gedaliah’s father Ahikam had earlier protected Jeremiah from being put to death (Jeremiah 26:24). The prophet who had been beaten, jailed and dropped into a pit was kept safe through the city’s fall, as God had promised at his call (Jeremiah 1:19).
- Jeremiah 39:11-14 (BSB)“Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying, “Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.” So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.”Nebuchadnezzar orders Jeremiah’s protection, and he is entrusted to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.
- Jeremiah 26:24 (BSB)“Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.”Ahikam son of Shaphan, Gedaliah’s father, had earlier protected Jeremiah from death.
- Jeremiah 1:19 (BSB)“They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”God promised at Jeremiah’s call that his enemies would not prevail against him.
Theological
Into whose care was Jeremiah released after the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:11-14)?
Answer: Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam
By Nebuchadnezzar’s own order through Nebuzaradan, Jeremiah is to be protected and granted whatever he asks (39:11-12). The Babylonian officers bring him out of the guard’s courtyard and commit him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to be taken home, and he remains among his people (39:13-14). Gedaliah’s father had once shielded Jeremiah from death (Jeremiah 26:24). The LORD’s promise at Jeremiah’s commissioning, that his enemies would not overcome him (Jeremiah 1:19), holds through the city’s destruction, with God working even through the order of a foreign king.
- Jeremiah 39:11-14 (BSB)“Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying, “Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.” So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.”Nebuchadnezzar orders Jeremiah’s protection, and he is entrusted to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.
- Jeremiah 26:24 (BSB)“Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.”Ahikam son of Shaphan, Gedaliah’s father, had earlier protected Jeremiah from death.
- Jeremiah 1:19 (BSB)“They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.”God promised at Jeremiah’s call that his enemies would not prevail against him.
General
True or False: At Riblah, Zedekiah saw his sons killed, was then blinded, and was put in bronze chains to be taken to Babylon (Jeremiah 39:6-7).
Answer: True
This is true. At Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on Zedekiah (39:5), Babylon’s king had Zedekiah’s sons executed while their father watched, and he put Judah’s nobles to death as well. Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains for the journey to Babylon (39:6-7). The Chaldeans burned the palace and the people’s homes and tore down Jerusalem’s walls (39:8). Every part of the warning came true: the king did not escape, he stood before Babylon’s king, and the city was burned (Jeremiah 34:3; Jeremiah 38:23).
- Jeremiah 39:5 (BSB)“But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.”Zedekiah is overtaken near Jericho and brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah for judgment.
- Jeremiah 39:8 (BSB)“The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.”The Chaldeans burn the palace and houses and break down Jerusalem’s walls.
- Jeremiah 34:3 (BSB)“And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.”The LORD had foretold that Zedekiah would be captured and taken to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 38:23 (BSB)“All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.””Jeremiah warned that Zedekiah would be seized and the city burned if he refused to surrender.
Theological
True or False: At Riblah, Zedekiah witnessed the execution of his sons before being blinded and bound in bronze chains for deportation to Babylon (Jeremiah 39:6-7).
Answer: True
This is true. At Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar passes sentence on him (39:5), the Babylonian king has Zedekiah’s sons executed before him, along with Judah’s nobles, then blinds the king and binds him in bronze chains for deportation (39:6-7), while the Chaldeans burn the palace and houses and break down the walls (39:8). Each element of the LORD’s word is fulfilled: no escape, a face-to-face meeting with Babylon’s king, the city burned (Jeremiah 34:3; Jeremiah 38:23).
- Jeremiah 39:5 (BSB)“But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.”Zedekiah is overtaken near Jericho and brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah for judgment.
- Jeremiah 39:8 (BSB)“The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.”The Chaldeans burn the palace and houses and break down Jerusalem’s walls.
- Jeremiah 34:3 (BSB)“And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.”The LORD had foretold that Zedekiah would be captured and taken to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 38:23 (BSB)“All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.””Jeremiah warned that Zedekiah would be seized and the city burned if he refused to surrender.
General
What did Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian guard commander, do with some of the poorest people of Judah (Jeremiah 39:9-10)?
Answer: Left them in Judah and gave them fields and vineyards
Nebuzaradan, the commander of Babylon’s guard, deported to Babylon the remainder of the city’s population, together with those who had come over to his side (39:9). But he allowed some of the poorest people, who owned no property, to stay in Judah, and he handed them fields and vineyards (39:10). The poor who had owned nothing now held land, while the city’s remaining people went into exile. Jeremiah himself later went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, and lived among those remaining in Judah (Jeremiah 40:6), and Babylon’s king put the poorest people who had not been deported under Gedaliah’s charge (Jeremiah 40:7).
- Jeremiah 39:9-10 (BSB)“Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away to Babylon the remnant of the people who had remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to him. But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.”Nebuzaradan exiles the people of the city but leaves some of the poor and gives them land.
- Jeremiah 40:6 (BSB)“So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.”Jeremiah joined Gedaliah at Mizpah and lived among those remaining in Judah.
- Jeremiah 40:7 (BSB)“When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children who were the poorest of the land and had not been exiled to Babylon,”The poorest of the land who were not exiled were placed under Gedaliah son of Ahikam.
Theological
How did Nebuzaradan treat the poorest Judeans after Jerusalem fell (Jeremiah 39:9-10)?
Answer: Left them in Judah and gave them fields and vineyards
Nebuzaradan, the guard commander, deports to Babylon the remaining population and the deserters (39:9), but leaves some of the propertyless poor in Judah and grants them fields and vineyards (39:10). The city’s remaining people go into exile, while the landless poor are left with land to work. Jeremiah later joins Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, among those remaining in Judah (Jeremiah 40:6), and these poor are the people placed under Gedaliah’s charge (Jeremiah 40:7).
- Jeremiah 39:9-10 (BSB)“Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away to Babylon the remnant of the people who had remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to him. But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.”Nebuzaradan exiles the people of the city but leaves some of the poor and gives them land.
- Jeremiah 40:6 (BSB)“So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.”Jeremiah joined Gedaliah at Mizpah and lived among those remaining in Judah.
- Jeremiah 40:7 (BSB)“When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children who were the poorest of the land and had not been exiled to Babylon,”The poorest of the land who were not exiled were placed under Gedaliah son of Ahikam.
General
After Babylon’s army broke through Jerusalem’s wall, what did the officials of Babylon’s king do (Jeremiah 39:1-3)?
Answer: They came in and took their seats at the Middle Gate
Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar marched on Jerusalem with all his forces and besieged it, and in time the city wall was broken through (39:1-2). Then every one of the Babylonian king’s officials entered and sat down at the Middle Gate (39:3). Foreign officials now sat in authority inside Jerusalem itself. At Jeremiah’s call, God had said that kings from the north would come and place their thrones by the openings of Jerusalem’s gates (Jeremiah 1:15). God had also told Jeremiah that He watches over His word to make sure it is carried out (Jeremiah 1:12).
- Jeremiah 39:1-3 (BSB)“In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city. And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.”After the siege and breach, Babylon’s officials enter and sit in the Middle Gate.
- Jeremiah 1:15 (BSB)“For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.”At Jeremiah’s call God foretold northern kings setting their thrones at Jerusalem’s gates.
- Jeremiah 1:12 (BSB)““You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.””The LORD keeps watch to carry out what He has said.
Theological
What did Babylon’s officials do once Jerusalem’s wall was breached (Jeremiah 39:1-3)?
Answer: They came in and took their seats at the Middle Gate
After the long siege by Nebuchadnezzar’s whole army, the city is breached (39:1-2), and the officials of Babylon’s king enter and take their seats at the Middle Gate (39:3). Foreign authority is now enthroned within Jerusalem itself. The scene answers the word given at Jeremiah’s commissioning, that the kings of the north would set their thrones by the entrances of Jerusalem’s gates (Jeremiah 1:15), and it displays the LORD’s faithfulness to watch over His word until it is fulfilled (Jeremiah 1:12).
- Jeremiah 39:1-3 (BSB)“In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city. And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.”After the siege and breach, Babylon’s officials enter and sit in the Middle Gate.
- Jeremiah 1:15 (BSB)“For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.”At Jeremiah’s call God foretold northern kings setting their thrones at Jerusalem’s gates.
- Jeremiah 1:12 (BSB)““You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.””The LORD keeps watch to carry out what He has said.
General
What happened when Zedekiah and his soldiers fled Jerusalem by night (Jeremiah 39:4-5)?
Answer: The Chaldeans chased them and caught Zedekiah near Jericho
When Zedekiah and the soldiers saw Babylon’s officials in the gate, they ran. They slipped out at night through the king’s garden and a gate set between two walls, taking the road toward the Arabah (39:4). But the Chaldean army chased them and caught up with Zedekiah on the plains near Jericho. They brought him to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in Hamath, where Babylon’s king passed sentence on him (39:5). Zedekiah had refused to surrender, and he was captured anyway, just as he had been warned that he would not escape but would face Babylon’s king in person (Jeremiah 34:3; Jeremiah 38:18).
- Jeremiah 39:4-5 (BSB)“When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they went out along the route to the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.”Zedekiah flees by night but is overtaken near Jericho and brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah.
- Jeremiah 34:3 (BSB)“And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.”The LORD had said Zedekiah would not escape but would meet Babylon’s king face to face.
- Jeremiah 38:18 (BSB)“But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.’””Jeremiah warned that refusing to surrender meant Zedekiah would not escape the Chaldeans.
Theological
What came of Zedekiah’s night flight from Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39:4-5)?
Answer: The Chaldeans chased them and caught Zedekiah near Jericho
Seeing Babylon’s officials enthroned in the gate, Zedekiah and his soldiers flee by night through the king’s garden toward the Arabah (39:4). The flight fails: the Chaldeans overtake him in the plains near Jericho and bring him before Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah for judgment (39:5). The king who would not surrender is taken by force, exactly as the LORD had said: he would not escape but would stand before Babylon’s king face to face (Jeremiah 34:3), and refusal would leave him in the enemy’s grasp (Jeremiah 38:18).
- Jeremiah 39:4-5 (BSB)“When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they went out along the route to the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.”Zedekiah flees by night but is overtaken near Jericho and brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah.
- Jeremiah 34:3 (BSB)“And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.”The LORD had said Zedekiah would not escape but would meet Babylon’s king face to face.
- Jeremiah 38:18 (BSB)“But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.’””Jeremiah warned that refusing to surrender meant Zedekiah would not escape the Chaldeans.