The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold: and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and seven men of those who saw the king’s face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the middle of the city. Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. The king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
Parallel Translations
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The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and seven men of those who saw the king’s face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the middle of the city.
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
The king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
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And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.
Show all 3 translations
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And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door;
and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
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Cross-references (39)
- 2 Kings 25:18 (v24) The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold;
- 2 Kings 25:19 (v25) and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and five men of those who saw the king’s face, who were found in…
- 1 Chronicles 6:14 (v24) Azariah became the father of Seraiah. Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak.
- Esther 1:14 (v25) and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw…
- Jeremiah 21:1 (v24) The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of…
Show all 39 cross-references
- Jeremiah 29:25 (v24) “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to…
- Jeremiah 35:4 (v24) and I brought them into Yahweh’s house, into the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of…
- Jeremiah 37:3 (v24) Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray…
- Ezra 7:1 (v24) Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
- Isaiah 6:11-12 (v27) Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste,…
- Isaiah 27:10 (v27) For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will…
- Isaiah 32:13-14 (v27) Thorns and briers will come up on my people’s land; yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city. For the palace will be forsaken. The…
- Jeremiah 25:9-11 (v27) behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” says Yahweh, “and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my…
- Jeremiah 29:29 (v24) Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.
- Jeremiah 52:15 (v24) Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people who were left in…
- Ezekiel 8:11-18 (v27) Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man…
- Ezekiel 33:28 (v27) I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment. The pride of her power will cease. The mountains of Israel will be desolate, so that…
- Micah 4:10 (v27) Be in pain, and labor to give birth, daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now you will go out of the city, and will dwell in the…
- Leviticus 26:33-35 (v27) I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a…
- Numbers 34:8-11 (v27) From Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Hamath; and the border shall pass by Zedad. Then the border shall go to Ziphron, and…
- Deuteronomy 4:26 (v27) I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to…
- Deuteronomy 28:36 (v27) Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you will set over yourselves, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers. There…
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (v27) Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which…
- 2 Samuel 8:9 (v27) When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer,
- 2 Kings 17:20 (v27) Yahweh rejected all the offspring of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hands of raiders, until he had cast them out of…
- 2 Kings 17:23 (v27) until Yahweh removed Israel out of his sight, as he said by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land…
- 2 Kings 23:27 (v27) Yahweh said, “I will also remove Judah out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even…
- 2 Kings 25:20-21 (v27) Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. The king of Babylon attacked them, and…
- 1 Chronicles 9:19-26 (v24) Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers, of his father’s house, the Korahites, were over the work…
- Psalms 84:10 (v24) For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of…
- Isaiah 24:3 (v27) The earth will be utterly emptied and utterly laid waste; for Yahweh has spoken this word.
- Jeremiah 6:13-15 (v27) “For from their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness. From the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals…
- Jeremiah 20:4 (v27) For Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, and…
- Jeremiah 24:9-10 (v27) I will even give them up to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt…
- Jeremiah 39:10 (v27) 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…
- Jeremiah 52:9 (v27) Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he pronounced judgment on him.
- Jeremiah 52:12 (v24) Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan…
- Ezekiel 11:1-11 (v27) Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of Yahweh’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twenty-five men were at…
- Matthew 18:10 (v25) See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Which served in the high Priest’s stead, if he…
Which served in the high Priest’s stead, if he had any necessary impediment.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 27 See Poole "2Ki 25:18", where we have the same…
See Poole "2Ki 25:18", where we have the same words. This Seraiah was not he mentioned Jer 51:59, but the son of Azariah, 1Ch 6:14. By the
second priest, interpreters understand him that supplied the place of the high priest in case he were sick, &c., he that was sent by Zedekiah to the prophet, Jer 21:1, and whom Jeremiah chose by his letters, Jer 29:25, for not setting Jeremiah in the stocks. It is probable there were more keepers of the door, but the captain of the guard took only three of the principal.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v24 We have here a very melancholy account, 1. Of…
We have here a very melancholy account, 1. Of the slaughter of some great men, in cold blood, at Riblah, seventy-two in number (according to the number of the elders of Israel, Num 11:24, Num 11:25), so they are computed, Kg2 25:18, Kg2 25:19. We read there of five out of the temple, two out of the city, five out of the court, and sixty out of the country. The account here agrees with that, except in one article; there it is said that there were five, here there were seven, of those that were near the king, which Dr. Lightfoot reconciles thus, that he took away seven of those that were near the king, but two of them were Jeremiah himself and Ebed-melech, who were both discharged, as we have read before, so that there were only five of them put to death, and so the number was reduced to seventy-two, some of all ranks, for they had all corrupted their way; and it is probable that such were made examples of as had been most forward to excite and promote the rebellion against the king of Babylon. Seraiah the chief priest is put first, whose sacred character could not exempt him from this stroke; how should it, when he himself had profaned it by sin? Seraiah the prince was a quiet prince (Jer 51:59), but perhaps Seraiah the priest was not so, but unquiet and turbulent, by which he had made himself obnoxious to the king of Babylon. The leaders of this people had caused them to err, and now they are in a particular manner made monuments of divine justice. 2. Of the captivity of the rest. Come and see how Judah was carried away captive out of his own land (Jer 52:27), and how it spued them out as it spued out the Canaanites that went before them, which God had told them it would certainly do if they trod in their steps and copied out their abominations, Lev 18:28. Now here is an account, (1.) Of two captivities which we had an account of before, one in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar (the same with that which is said to be in his eighth year, Kg2 24:12), another in his eighteenth year, the same with that which is said (Jer 52:12) to be in his nineteenth year. But the sums here are very small, in comparison with what we find expressed concerning the former (Kg2 24:14, Kg2 24:16), when there were 18,000 carried captive, whereas here they are said to be 3023; they are also small in comparison with what we may reasonably suppose concerning the latter; for, when all the residue of the people were carried away (Jer 52:15), one would think there should be more than 832 souls; therefore Dr. Lightfoot conjectures that, these accounts being joined to the story of the putting to death of the great men at Riblah, all that are here said to be carried away were put to death as rebels. (2.) Of a third captivity, not mentioned before, which was in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, four years after the destruction of Jerusalem (Jer 52:30): Then Nebuzaradan came, and carried away 745 Jews; it is probable that this was done in revenge of the murder of Gedaliah, which was another rebellion against the king of Babylon, and that those who were now taken were aiders and abetters of Ishmael in that murder, and were not only carried away, but put to death for it; yet this is uncertain. If this be the sum total of the captives (all the persons were 4600, Jer 52:30), we may see how strangely they were reduced from what they had been, and may wonder as much how they came to be so numerous again as afterwards we find them; for it should seem that, as at first in Egypt, so again in Babylon, the Lord made them fruitful in the land of their affliction, and the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied. And the truth is, this people were often miracles both of judgment and mercy.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–27 He took also out of the city an eunuch,…
He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war,.... The master-master-general of the army:
and seven men of them which were near the king's person which were found in the city; or, "saw the face of the king": or rather, "made to see his face" (h); these were ministers of state, who were always at court, and assisted in councils of state, and introduced persons into the king's presence; in Kg2 25:19; they are said to be but "five"; but Josephus (i) has seven, as here; perhaps two of them were of less note, and so not reckoned, as Jarchi observes: some will have it, that the two scribes of the judges are left out; but others, more probably, Jeremiah and Baruch, who were first taken, and afterwards dismissed:
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and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; or the scribe of the prince of the army, as the Targum; the general's secretary:
and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city: persons of prime note, who, upon the invasion, betook themselves from the country to the city of Jerusalem with their effects, and to defend it. Josephus (k) calls them rulers or governors.
(h) "ex videntibus facies, vel faciem regis", Montanus, Piscator; "de videre facientibus facies regis", Schmidt. (i) Antiqu. l. 10. c. 8. sect. 5. (k) Ibid.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v24 Three - It is probable there were more keepers…
Three - It is probable there were more keepers of the door, but the captain of the guard took only three of the chief.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Verse 24. The second priest] 2Kg 25:18.
Verse 24. The second priest] 2Kg 25:18.
The three keepers] The priests who stood at the door to receive the offerings of the people, see 2Kg 20:9; 2Kg 23:4.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v24 Jer 52:24-25. And the captain of the guard took…
Jer 52:24-25. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest — 1Ch 6:14, he was the father of Ezra; Ezr 7:1. And Zephaniah the second priest — See note on Jer 29:26; 2Ki 25:18. And the three keepers of the door — These were not the ordinary porters, who were taken from among the Levites, but were priests who stood at the door to receive the offerings of the people, and thus were keepers of the sacred treasury, an office of high trust and consideration: see 2Ki 12:9; 2Ki 23:4. He took also out of the city a eunuch —
An officer: so it is in the parallel place, 2Ki 25:19, where, instead of seven men, we read five. Josephus agrees with the reading here. And the principal scribe of the host — The muster-master-general, as we style him, or secretary of war. And threescore men that were in the midst of the city — Of whom see note on 2Ki 25:19.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v25 An eunuch ... men of war - Or, who…
An eunuch ... men of war - Or, who had charge of men of war. The King James Version makes him commander-in-chief; he was second in command, i. e., a lieutenant, possibly one among many others of equal rank.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Second in dignity to the high priest, a chief…
Second in dignity to the high priest, a chief officer of the temple.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v24 24And the captain of the guard [halberdiers] took Seraiah…
4. THE EXECUTION OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE AND STATEMENT OF THE NUMBER OF THE CAPTIVES
Jer_52:24-30
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24And the captain of the guard [halberdiers] took Seraiah the chief priest, and 25Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: He took also out of the city a eunuch [court officer], which had the charge [was25 overseer] of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe26 of the host [the scribe, the prince of the host], who mustered the people of the land; and three-score men of the people 26of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.27And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land 28of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three 29thousand Jews and three and twenty: In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty and two persons: 30In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Jer_52:24-27. And the captain … out of his own land. These verses differ from the corresponding verses in 2 Kings 25, with the exception of some trifling variations in language, only in the statement of a, number (seven instead of five in Jer_52:25), of which hereafter. It is related that representatives of all classes of the people, priests, officials and simple citizens had to suffer death, evidently in token that Nebuchadnezzar held not only the king but the people guilty of rebellion. At the head of those executed stands the high-priest Seraiah, who is nowhere mentioned in the book of Jeremiah. According to 1 Chron. 5:40 he was the son of Azariah and grandson of Hilkiah; according to Ezr_7:1, Ezra was descended from him.—After Seraiah is mentioned Zephaniah, doubtless the same who is mentioned in Jer_21:1; Jer_29:25; Jer_29:29; Jer_37:3 as priest simply and son of Maaseiah. Here he is called the second priest, but in 2 Kings 25. second priest only without the article. As according to 2Ki_23:4 (where as here three grades of priests are enumerated) there were several second priests, the reading of the Book of Kings is probably the correct one. Comp. Oehler in Herzog, R.-Enc. VI. S. 203, 4.—The keepers of the door [or threshold] are also mentioned in 2Ki_12:10; 2Ki_22:4; 2Ki_23:4; Jer_35:4. As only three of them are mentioned, we must regard these as the superiors of the four thousand Levitical שֹׁעֲרִים (1Ch_23:5). For further details consult Oehler in Herz., R.-Enc. VIII. S. 354–6.—In the second category of those executed are mentioned certain inhabitants of Jerusalem, who held offices at court, especially in the war-department. The city here seems to stand in antithesis both to the temple (Jer_52:24) and to the country (Jer_52:25 b). The one סָרִים (court-officer, but possibly at the same time eunuch, comp. rems. on Jer_29:2) was not the overseer, but only an overseer, etc. He was therefore one of the generals, perhaps commander of the city garrison.—And seven men. In 2 Kings 25 we read five men, whether correctly or incorrectly cannot here be decided as in Jer_52:12; Jer_52:22. The analogy of these cases however favors our text.—That were near the king’s person, literally, “that saw the king’s face,” viz. in the sense of a daily custom, is a designation of high, yea, highest position (Est_1:14; comp. Mat_18:10). These were therefore officials of high rank, and as it is not said that they were endued with military functions, they may be regarded as representatives of the civil authorities.—Scribe, the prince of the host. Scribe is not a writer in our sense. The title belongs not only, as Graf supposes, to the “people of the pen,” but is given to the highest officers of State. Comp. 2Sa_8:7; 2Sa_20:25; 2Ki_12:11; 1Ch_18:16; 1Ch_27:32. And in 2Ch_26:11 it is expressly recorded that Uzziah’s army went out “by the hand of Jeiel the scribe.” This Sopher was not the leader of the host, but chief of the war-department, minister or secretary of war. Comp. Saalschuetz, Mos. Recht. S. 63.—And threescore men. These sixty men appear as the third class of persons executed, and representatives of the country population, as is indicated by their number and the remark that they were found in the midst of the city (2Ki_25:19 “in the city”). This remark would be altogether superfluous, if the object was not to set forth that these men did not originally belong to the city.—On Riblah comp. rems. on Jer_39:5.—The words, Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his land, are found in both texts and in both places are appropriate. For in Jeremiah they form the transition to the numbering of the deported, and in 2 Kings they lead to the account of what happened in the country after the deportation. They therefore furnish no data for the solution of the question which of the two recensions is the original. Moreover, there seems to be an allusion in them to Jer_1:3.
Jer_52:28-30. This is the people … four thousand and six hundred. This section is entirely wanting in 2 Kings. It is difficult to bring it into harmony with the other statements respecting the deportations. The differences are as follows: 1. This section speaks of three deportations, while according to the other testimonies of the Old Testament there were only two (under Jehoiakim and Zedekiah). 2. The section follows a divergent chronology, stating that the deportations took place in the seventh, eighteenth and twenty-third years of Nebuchadnezzar, while this very chapter (Jer_52:12) and 2Ki_24:12; 2Ki_25:8 name the eighth and nineteenth years of Nebuchadnezzar as the dates of the deportation, but know nothing of any in the twenty-third year of this king. 3. According to this passage three thousand and twenty-three were carried away the first time, eight hundred and thirty-two the second time, seven hundred and forty-five the third time, total four thousand six hundred, which sum is expressly given at the close of Jer_52:30. According to 2Ki_24:14-16, however, eighteen thousand souls were carried away at the first deportation alone. There are no counter-statements with regard to the other numbers, but their smallness is surprising; of this hereafter. On these points we make the following remarks: 1. By the seventh year in Jer_52:28, we are certainly to understand the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, since both the other deportations are dated in years of this monarch. 2. These statements are not necessarily erroneous, but may possibly follow another reckoning of the years, and perhaps the same as Josephus follows (Antiqq. X., 8, 6; C. Ap. I., 21), though evidently only on the basis of this passage. Comp. Niebuhr, Ass. u. Bab., S. 68 sqq. 3. Jer_52:29 mentioning the eighteenth year after Jer_52:12 has stated the nineteenth as the date of the same fact, shows that we have here another author. 4. The view of Ewald (Gesch. d. V. Isr., III., 1 S. 435) which Graf also adopts, that in Jer_52:29 we are to read שֶׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה, that accordingly one year before the last capture of Jerusalem three thousand and twenty-three were carried captive from the country (hence הוּדִים),after the capture eight hundred and thirty-two from the city (hence מִירוּשָׁלַם, Jer_52:29), and finally five years later from the land already somewhat repopulated seven hundred and forty-five, has much in its favor, but is yet not perfectly satisfactory. For the circumstance that the difference between the eighth and nineteenth, and the seventh and eighteenth years of Nebuchadnezzar is the same, does not authorize us to supply a word עֶשְׁרֵה, fallen out after שְׁבַע. Then, too, the deportation of the mass of the people during the war, at a time when the Egyptian army was to be feared (comp. Jer_37:5), is scarcely probable. Finally the assumption of a deportation five years after the capture of the city is pure hypothesis, for which there is no positive testimony. It is also not to be supposed that five years after the destruction, admitting the return of a few scattered individuals, an almost equally great number could be carried away as after the destruction of the capital. Would not these have rather again betaken themselves to flight? 5. Even if we grant that the strikingly small numbers of the exiles are to be judged from a specific point of view, and therefore do not necessarily imply an error, any more than the number of the years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, yet the differences between Jer_52:12; Jer_52:28 still remain, with the exceedingly obscure third deportation, as irremovable stones of stumbling, and I therefore agree with Niebuhr, when he says, “it cannot be a subject of doubt that Jer_52:28-30 in the fifty-second chapter of Jeremiah are a gloss.”
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. “Docemur hoc capite, quod comminationes divinæ rum sint de pelvi fulgura, quodque Deus pro misericordia sua infinita calamitates a se immissas mitigare plerumque soleat, si seria interveniat pœnitentia.” Förster.
2. On Jer_52:1-3. “From this we see why God sometimes places ungodly rulers over a country, who cast it to destruction. It is done on account of the rulers’ and the people’s sins, that they may draw down the well merited punishment, as Sirach says. On account of violence, injustice and avarice, a kingdom passes from one nation to another (Jer_10:8). So also says king Solomon. Because of the sins of a nation occur many changes of rulers, but for the sake of the people who are intelligent and reasonable, the State is prolonged (Pro_28:2).” Wurtemb. Summarien.
3. On Jer_52:4. “God allows many slight and mild punishments to come as warnings, till at last comes the finishing stroke. This is a witness to the divine long-suffering (Rom_2:4).” Cramer.
4. On Jer_52:6. “The fact that in this siege compassionate women had to kill and eat their own children (Lam_4:10) is a reminder that by bodily hunger God would punish; 1. satiation and disgust towards His holy word and soul-food; 2. the terrible offering up of children to Moloch; 3. the loose discipline of children.” Cramer.
5. On Jer_52:7. “No fortress can protect the ungodly, even though they had their nest in the clouds.” Cramer.
6. On Jer_52:8. “An example of faithless, perjured men of war. But as Zedekiah broke his oath to the king at Babylon, he was paid back in the same coin.” Cramer. “His people forsook the poor king Zedekiah on his flight and he was captured, from which we see that great men cannot depend on their body-guard; these flee in time of need, and leave their masters in the lurch. The surest and best protection is when we have the holy angels for our guard … This angelic protection is, however, to be obtained and preserved by faith and godliness, but is lost by unbelief and ungodly conduct.” Wurtemb. Summ.
7. On Jer_52:9-11. The punishment of perjury. “Ubi monemur, quod fides hosti, etiam barbaro, qualis hodie Turca, a Christianis data, mimine violanda.” Förster.
8. On Jer_52:9. sqq. “God had shown Zedekiah by Jeremiah a way in which he could escape the calamity. But because he forsook the Lord and would not follow it, the others were only leaky cisterns (Jer_2:13). For woe to the rebellious who take counsel without the Lord (Isa_30:1). This is useful for an instance against the holy by works, who reject God’s way of escaping the Devil; when they devise other ways for themselves they are caught by the Chaldeans of hell.” Cramer.
9. On Jer_52:12 sqq. “Holy places, external ceremonies and opus operatum do not avail for hypocrites … If God punished His own institution so severely, how shall human institutions remain unpunished?” Cramer.
10. On Jer_52:12. “Quale fatum, ne et nostris obtingat templis … caveamus, ne profanemus templa ulterius tum externa vel materialia, tum interna vel spiritualia in cordibus nostris, de quibus 1Co_3:16 sqq.; Jer_6:19 sqq.” Förster.
11. On Jer_52:15. “It is another work of mercy that some of Judah were preserved. For God’s grace is always to be found in His punishments.” Cramer.
12. On Jer_52:15. “He who will not serve God and his neighbor at home and in quiet, must learn to do it in a strange land in affliction and distress.” Cramer.
13. On Jer_52:24 sqq. “As teachers are often to blame for their behaviour that sin gets the upper hand in a community, it is exceedingly just when God brings such for an example into great punitive judgment (1Sa_2:27-34).” Starke.
14. On Jer_52:24. “The priests are caught and slain; 1. because they could not believe the truth for themselves; 2. because they led others astray; 3. because they appealed to the temple of the Lord; 4. because they persecuted the true prophets; 5. because they troubled the whole church of God. But he who troubleth shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be (Gal_5:10).” Cramer.
15. On Jer_52:31 sqq. “Sane omnino verisimile videtur judicio Philippi Melanchthonis in Chron. part, I fol. 33 Evilmerodachum amplexum esse doctrinam Danielis de Vero Deo, quam et pater publico edic professus est, eamque ob causam clementiam exercuisse erga regem Jechoniam.” Förster.—“Narrant Hebræi hujusmodi fabulam: Evilmerodach, qui patre suo Nabuchodonosor vivente per septem annos inter bestias, ante regnaverat, postquam ille restitutus in regno est, usque ad mortem patris cum Joakim rege Judæ in vinculis fuit; quo mortuo, quum rursus in regnum succederet, et non susciperetur a principibus, qui metuebant, ne viveret qui dicebatur extinctus, ut fidem patris mortui faceret, aperuit sepulcrum et cadaver ejus unco et funibus traxit.” Jerome on Jer_14:18-19. Josephus speaks of it as follows: “Ἀβιλαμαρώδαχος εὐθὺς τὸν ‘Ιεχωνίαν τῶν δεσμῶν ἀφεὶς ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις φίλοις εἱχε … ‘Ο γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ τὴν πίστιν οὐκ ἐφύλαξε τῷ ’Ιεχωνία, παραδόντι μετὰ γυναικαῶν καὶ τέκνων καὶ τῆς συγγενείας ὅλης ἑκουσίως ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρἰδος, ὡς ἄν μὴ κατασκαφείη ληφθεῖσα τῇ πολιορκίᾳ.” (Antiqq., X. 11, 21.)
16. On Jer_52:31 sqq. “Ceterum potest hoc exemplo, quod Jechonias rex dignitati suæ in exilio Babylonico restitutus, refutari exceptio Judæorum contra vaticinium Jacobi (Gen_49:10) de Messia jamdudum exhibito, postquam per Romanos sceptrum de Juda ablatum, id quod τεκμήριον Messiæ jamjam nascituri esse debuit.” Förster.
17. On Jer_52:31 sqq. “No one should despair in misfortune, for the right hand of the Highest can change all (Psa_77:10) and Christ rules even in the midst of His enemies (Psa_110:2). For His are the praise, the glory and the power from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.” Cramer.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer_52:1-11. The truth of the word “What a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” exhibited in the example of the Jewish State under Zedekiah.1. The seed (Jer_52:2); 2. The crop (a) the siege, (b) the famine, (c) the capture of the city and flight of the king, (d) the punishment of the king and his princes, (e) the fate of the people (Jer_52:3).
2. On Jer_52:12-20. The rejection of Judah appears at first sight a contradiction. For Jerusalem is the holy city (Mat_4:5; Neh_11:1; Neh_11:18), the city of God (Psa_46:5; Psa_48:2; Psa_48:9; Psa_78:3); the temple is the house of Jehovah (Jer_7:2. etc.); God’s service rests on divine authority (Ex. chh. 25–27, 30, 31). But God cannot contradict Himself. We have, therefore, to show “the unity of the divine thoughts in the choice and rejection of Jerusalem.” 1. The rejection was a conditional one (Jer_7:3 sqq). Hence notwithstanding the election the rejection involved nothing contradictory, but was a necessary consequence of the unfulfilled condition.—2. The election remains (a) objectively notwithstanding the rejection; it is (b) subjectively brought to its realization by the rejection; the latter as a means of discipline operating to produce the disposition, from which alone thefulfillment of this condition can proceed. Comp. rems. on Jer_32:41, p. 288.
3. On Jer_52:24-27. “That great lords sometimes make an example of gross miscreants, promotes righteousness, only it must not be done on the innocent, or with such severity that there is no proportion between the crime and its punishment (Jos_7:25).” Starke.
4. On Jer_52:31-34. The deliverance of Jehoiachin. 1. It shows us that the Lord can help (a) out of great distress (grievous imprisonment of thirty-seven years), (b) in a glorious manner. 2. It admonishes us (a) to steadfast patience, (b) to believing hope, Psalms 13 [“It was a prelude and pledge of the liberation and exaltation of the Jewish Nation, when it had been humbled and purified by the discipline of suffering; and of its return to its own land; and a joyful pre-announcement of that far more glorious future restoration which the prophets in the Old Testament, and the Apostles in the New foretell—of Israel to God in Christ; to whom, with the Father and Holt Ghost, be ascribed all honor, glory, dominion, adoration and praise, now and forever. Amen.” Wordsworth.—S. R. A.].
Footnotes:
[25]Jer_52:25.—In 2 Kings 25 we findהוּא for הָָיה. The former does not necessarily, as Hitzig asserts, signify “which is.” הוּא takes the place of the copula generally, without reference to time. Comp. Ewald, § 297 b.
[26]Jer_52:25—ואת ספר. In 2 Kings 25 הַסֹּפר, which I regard as the more correct reading.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Seraiah--different from the Seraiah (Jer 51:59), son of Neriah;…
Seraiah--different from the Seraiah (Jer 51:59), son of Neriah; probably son of Azariah (Ch1 6:14).
Zephaniah--son of Maaseiah (see on Jer 21:1; Jer 29:25).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–25 24. Seraiah the chief priest] probably identical with the…
24. Seraiah the chief priest] probably identical with the ancestor of Ezra, mentioned Ezr_7:1.
Zephaniah] See on Jer_21:1.
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keepers of the door] Heb. threshold. See on Jer_35:4.
24–27. Omitted in ch. 39, but cp. with it 2Ki_25:18-21.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v25 (25) An eunuch, which had the charge of the…
(25) An eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war.—Omit the article before “charge.” The Hebrew term (Pakid) conveys the meaning of “deputy,” a superintendent under a chief commander. The officer in question had probably, together with the persons named in Jer_52:24, been more conspicuous than his fellows in resisting the Chaldæans.
Seven men.—2Ki_25:19 gives “five” as the number. Here also we have to think of the exile as the punishment of prominence in the defence of the city. The chief scribe of the army, the “secretary of war,” would naturally occupy such a position. The description of the men as those “that were near the king’s person” (literally, saw the king’s face) implies a high official rank.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 26 See how you translated this man's name in Jeremiah…
Seraiah
See how you translated this man's name in Jeremiah 36:26.
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gatekeepers
people who guard the gate of a city
drafting men into the army
"forcing men to fight in the army"
translationWords
prison
high priest
Zephaniah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v25 52:25 seven: The parallel in 2 Kgs 25:18 reads…
52:25 seven: The parallel in 2 Kgs 25:18 reads “five.”
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.