8 Now on the seventh day of the fifth month , which was the nineteenth e 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 , the king's house , and all the houses of Jerusalem ; even every great house he burned with fire . 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem . 11 Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people , Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile . 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen . 13 Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord , and the stands and the bronze sea which were in the house of the Lord , the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon . 14 They took away the pots , the shovels , the snuffers , the spoons , and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service . 15 The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the basins , what was fine gold and what was fine silver . 16 The two pillars , the one sea , and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord - the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight . 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen e cubits , and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three cubits , with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around , all of bronze . And the second pillar was like these with network . 18 Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest , with the three officers of the temple . 19 From the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war , and five of the king's advisers e 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 city . 20 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 25:8-20
Commentary on 2 Kings 25:8-21
(Read 2 Kings 25:8-21)
The city and temple were burnt, and, it is probable, the ark in it. By this, God showed how little he cares for the outward pomp of his worship, when the life and power of religion are neglected. The walls of Jerusalem were thrown down, and the people carried captive to Babylon. The vessels of the temple were carried away. When the things signified were sinned away, what should the signs stand there for? It was righteous with God to deprive those of the benefit of his worship, who had preferred false worships before it; those that would have many altars, now shall have none. As the Lord spared not the angels that sinned, as he doomed the whole race of fallen men to the grave, and all unbelievers to hell, and as he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, we need not wonder at any miseries he may bring upon guilty nations, churches, or persons.