251 And it cometh to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth of the month, come hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he and all his force, against Jerusalem, and encampeth against it, and buildeth against it a fortification round about. 2 And the city entereth into siege till the eleventh year of king Zedekiah, 3 on the ninth of the month—when the famine is severe in the city, and there hath not been bread for the people of the land, 4 then the city is broken up, and all the men of war 'go' by night the way of the gate, between the two walls that 'are' by the garden of the king, and the Chaldeans 'are' against the city round about, and 'the king' goeth the way of the plain. 5 And the force of the Chaldeans pursue after the king, and overtake him in the plains of Jericho, and all his force have been scattered from him; 6 and they seize the king, and bring him up unto the king of Babylon, to Riblah, and they speak with him—judgment. 7 And the sons of Zedekiah they have slaughtered before his eyes, and the eyes of Zedekiah he hath blinded, and bindeth him with brazen fetters, and they bring him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month (it 'is' the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners, servant of the king of Babylon, come to Jerusalem, 9 and he burneth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, yea, every great house he hath burned with fire; 10 and the walls of Jerusalem round about have all the forces of the Chaldeans, who 'are' with the chief of the executioners, broken down. 11 And the rest of the people, those left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners removed; 12 and of the poor of the land hath the chief of the executioners left for vine-dressers and for husbandmen. 13 And the pillars of brass that 'are' in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the sea of brass, that 'is' in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken in pieces, and bear away their brass to Babylon. 14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister they have taken, 15 and the fire-pans, and the bowls that 'are' wholly of silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken. 16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases that Solomon made for the house of Jehovah, there was no weighing of the brass of all these vessels; 17 eighteen cubits 'is' the height of the one pillar, and the chapiter on it 'is' of brass, and the height of the chapiter 'is' three cubits, and the net and the pomegranates 'are' on the chapiter round about—the whole 'is' of brass; and like these hath the second pillar, with the net. 18 And the chief of the executioners taketh Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold, 19 and out of the city he hath taken a certain eunuch who is appointed over the men of war, and five men of those seeing the king's face who have been found in the city, and the head scribe of the host, who mustereth the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who are found in the city, 20 and Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners taketh them, and causeth them to go unto the king of Babylon, to Libnah, 21 and the king of Babylon smiteth them, and putteth them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he removeth Judah from off its land.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 25:1-21
Commentary on 2 Kings 25:1-7
(Read 2 Kings 25:1-7)
Jerusalem was so fortified, that it could not be taken till famine rendered the besieged unable to resist. In the prophecy and Lamentations of Jeremiah, we find more of this event; here it suffices to say, that the impiety and misery of the besieged were very great. At length the city was taken by storm. The king, his family, and his great men escaped in the night, by secret passages. But those deceive themselves who think to escape God's judgments, as much as those who think to brave them. By what befell Zedekiah, two prophecies, which seemed to contradict each other, were both fulfilled. Jeremiah prophesied that Zedekiah should be brought to Babylon, Ezekiel 12:13. He was brought thither, but his eyes being put out, he did not see it.
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.