Jeremiah 39

Chapter 39 of Jeremiah records the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 38 ends by noting that Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day Jerusalem was taken, and this chapter continues directly from that scene. The same events are also recounted in 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 52.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar's army besieges Jerusalem. On the ninth day of the fourth month of the eleventh year, the city falls, and the princes of Babylon sit in the middle gate.
• Verses 4–7 Zedekiah and his soldiers flee by night but are overtaken in the plains of Jericho and brought to Riblah. Before Zedekiah's eyes, the king of Babylon kills his sons and the nobles of Judah; he then puts out Zedekiah's eyes and binds him with chains.
• Verses 8–10 The Chaldeans burn the king's house and the houses of the people and break down the walls. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carries the remaining people away captive to Babylon but gives vineyards and fields to the poor who had nothing.
• Verses 11–14 At Nebuchadnezzar's command, Jeremiah is released from the court of the guard and entrusted to Gedaliah.
• Verses 15–18 A word that came to Jeremiah while he was confined, containing the promise that Ebed-melech the Ethiopian will be delivered in that day.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 39:2 "the city was broken up" — the moment when the judgment Jeremiah had long warned of actually came to pass.
• Jeremiah 39:7 "he put out Zedekiah's eyes" — the fate of Judah's last king, who did not heed the prophetic word.
• Jeremiah 39:18 "because thou hast put thy trust in me" — even as the nation collapses, one man who trusted God is delivered.

People and Places

• Zedekiah — the last king of Judah.
• Nebuchadnezzar — king of Babylon.
• Nebuzaradan — the Babylonian captain of the guard, that is, the commander of the king's bodyguard.
• Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Nebushasban — high officials of Babylon. The name Nergal-sharezer appears twice in verse 3.
• Jeremiah — released from confinement, he remains among the people.
• Gedaliah — the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to whom Jeremiah is entrusted.
• Ebed-melech — the Ethiopian (Cushite) who drew Jeremiah out of the cistern in chapter 38.
• Jerusalem — the captured capital of Judah.
• Arabah — the lowland of the Jordan Valley, toward which Zedekiah flees.
• The plains of Jericho — where Zedekiah was captured.
• Riblah — Nebuchadnezzar's base in the land of Hamath.

Points for Reflection

• Zedekiah's end is read as the exact fulfillment of the warnings in Jeremiah 34 and chapter 38. Ezekiel 12:13 says that the king would be brought to Babylon yet would not see it, and many interpreters connect this with his being led away after his eyes had been put out.
• Verses 11–14 report that Jeremiah was released directly from the court of the guard, whereas Jeremiah 40:1–6 reports that he was released at Ramah from among the captives bound in chains. Some interpreters regard these as successive events, while others hold that differing traditions have been preserved side by side.
• Verses 4–13 are reportedly absent from the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament).
• The fall of the city is usually dated to 587 or 586 BC; scholars differ on the precise year.
• The New Testament does not directly quote this chapter. Nevertheless, it is sometimes read alongside the New Testament in light of its themes of a remnant surviving judgment and the faith of the foreigner Ebed-melech.