Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 52

Verses 1-11

Introduction

This chapter is a historical addition to the book of Jeremiah. It tells
1. about the fall of Jerusalem,
2. what the Babylonians did to the temple and its tools,
3. how Nebuchadnezzar treats Zedekiah, Jehoiachin and other officials, and
4. the number of Jews taken into exile.

The purpose of the chapter is to show how Jeremiah’s prophecies were fulfilled, in contrast to those of the false prophets (Jeremiah 27:16-Song of Solomon :; Jeremiah 28:1-Esther :). The chapter is almost identical to 2 Kings 24:18-25:30.

The Fall of Jerusalem

This chapter describes the fall of Jerusalem. God emphasizes the importance of the fall by including a fourfold description of it in His Word (Jeremiah 39:1-2 Chronicles :; Jeremiah 52:1-1 Kings :; 2 Kings 24:18-Proverbs :; 2 Kings 25:1-Amos :; 2 Chronicles 36:11-Ecclesiastes :). The fall takes place during the reign of Zedekiah, who reigned in Jerusalem for eleven years (Jeremiah 52:1). His reign is of the same evil character as that of his brother Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 52:2) who also reigned eleven years (2 Kings 23:36). He too does what is evil in the sight of the LORD.

The LORD can no longer bear it and must reject Jerusalem and Judah from His presence (Jeremiah 52:3; 2 Kings 23:18-Proverbs :). To all his evil deeds Zedekiah adds that he rebels against the king of Babylon. He has already been to Babylon once and promised to obey Nebuchadnezzar. However, he broke that promise (Ezekiel 17:12-Ezra :). Therefore, Nebuchadnezzar has gone up against Jerusalem with all his army and is besieging the city (Jeremiah 52:4).

The date of his arrival at the city is accurately recorded (Ezekiel 24:1-Exodus :). The arrival of Nebuchadnezzar is the beginning of the end of the city. He besieges the city for nineteen months, making it hermetically sealed (Jeremiah 52:5). No one can get in or out.

After the nineteen-month long siege, the city falls, on a day again named with date (Jeremiah 52:6). She is starving. There is no strength left to fight. Then the city is broken into (Jeremiah 52:7). The resistance is broken. The men can no longer fight, but they can still flee. Among the refugees is King Zedekiah. In the darkness of the night they run away. The escape route is accurately described. They go out of the city through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. The direction of escape is the Arabah.

The refugees, however, are quickly overtaken (Jeremiah 52:8). Zedekiah is seized when he is in the plains of Jericho. His army does not protect him. It is separated from him and scattered and thus made even more powerless than it already is. Zedekiah is taken to the king of Babylon, who is in Riblah and passes sentence on him (Jeremiah 52:9). It is a horrible judgment.

First Nebuchadnezzar has the sons of Zedekiah slaughtered before his eyes (Jeremiah 52:10). He also has all the princes of Judah in Riblah slaughtered. With the slaughter of his sons on his mind, Zedekiah’s eyes are made blind (Jeremiah 52:11). Thus, the man who is blind to the LORD is also literally made blind. As if that were not enough to subdue this wicked and untrustworthy man, Zedekiah is also bound with two bronze chains. In this way he is taken to Babylon. There he is put in prison where he remains until the day of his death.

Verses 12-30

Consequences of the Fall of Jerusalem

After the city falls into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, he sends Nebuzaradan to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 52:12). The dating is now done not to the reigns of the kings of Israel, but to those of the heathen king to whom God has given world domination and also rule over His people. Arriving in Jerusalem, Nebuzaradan burns all the houses, beginning with the house of the LORD (Jeremiah 52:13). This is followed by the king’s house and all the other houses, including those of the dignitaries. All these houses are destroyed because in them the LORD is no longer served, but the idols.

Furthermore, the walls of the city are broken down by the army (Jeremiah 52:14). The people of the cities are taken into exile to Babylon (Jeremiah 52:15). Only a few of the poorest of the land are allowed to stay in Judah to take care of the land there as vinedressers and plowmen (Jeremiah 52:16).

In Jeremiah 52:17-Isaiah :, a more detailed description of the plundering and destruction of the temple takes place. Some parts are broken down, while other parts are taken to Babylon. The bronze pillar, Boaz and Jachin, are broken down, as are the stands and the bronze sea (Jeremiah 52:17). All their bronze is carried to Babylon. The objects for use in the temple service suffer the same fate (Jeremiah 52:18-Psalms :). The amount of bronze from the pillars, the sea, and the twelve oxen is impossible to weigh (Jeremiah 52:20). To give an impression of that enormous amount of bronze, the pillars with everything attached are described in detail (Jeremiah 52:21-Isaiah :).

More important still is the spiritual meaning. Even today, what should serve as pillars in God’s house is completely removed and taken away by the enemy. Bronze is a picture of the righteousness of God. It indicates that a man can only exist before God on the basis of the righteousness of God offered to him by Who Christ is before God and what He has done. This is taken away in Christianity by the preaching of a social gospel of fellow humanity and living by virtue of one’s own righteousness.

After the remaining objects of the temple, some persons are now taken who have been in connection with the temple service (Jeremiah 52:24). They are the high priest, the second priest and three officers of the temple i.e. the doorkeepers. Some people who have been in connection with the army and the king are also taken away. These are an official, seven of the king’s advisers, an army official, and sixty more men of the land who are in the city (Jeremiah 52:25).

The religious leaders, the warriors, and the common people are all taken to Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah (Jeremiah 52:26). There, in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, which is Syria, they are all killed (Jeremiah 52:27). The priesthood is finished. All the rest is led away into exile (Jeremiah 52:27).

Jeremiah 52:28-Amos : list the various deportations. There were deportations in
1. the seventh year, 599 BC (Jeremiah 52:28; 2 Chronicles 36:9-2 Samuel :),
2. the eighteenth year, 588 BC (Jeremiah 52:29; 2 Chronicles 36:20) and
3. the twenty-third year, 584 BC (Jeremiah 52:30; Jeremiah 52:12),

in which a total of 4,600 people were taken into exile. Daniel and his friends are already in Babylon by then. They were taken there in an earlier transport, around 606 BC (Daniel 1:1-Joshua :; 2 Chronicles 36:6-Judges :).

Verses 31-34

Jehoiachin Is Treated Kindly

After the righteous judgment that the LORD had to bring upon His people through the king of Babylon, we now see that He also shows mercy to His people through that same king (Jeremiah 52:31; 2 Kings 25:27-Amos :). Jehoiachin did do what was evil in the sight of the LORD, but he did not resist the king of Babylon. He surrendered to him (2 Kings 24:12). When he has been in prison for thirty-seven years, the king of Babylon pardons him. Jehoiachin is then fifty-five years old.

The king of Babylon speaks kindly to him and gives him a privileged place above the other kings he has subjugated (Jeremiah 52:32). Jehoiachin is given other clothes instead of his prison clothes (Jeremiah 52:33). For meals he is always allowed to join the king. For the rest of his life he is assured of his meals and the place where he may take them. Everything he needs to live on is given to him daily by the king of Babylon (Jeremiah 52:34). It is said in a double affirmation: it is “all the days of his life” and “until the day of his death”.