Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Jeremiah 39

The Fall of Jerusalem

Jeremiah 39:¹ In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it.

Jeremiah 39:² In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month (Tammuz), on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated (the city wall was breached).

• On the 9th of Tammuz (the fourth month), the city wall was breached. On the 9th of Av (the fifth month), the temple is destroyed, and the Jewish captives are taken.

SECOND PROOF OF GOD’S WORD:

After Herod’s temple (the second temple) was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, the Jews were shocked to realize both the first temple (destroyed by Babylon) and the second temple were destroyed on the same day of the Jewish calendar, the 9th of Av; the ninth day of the fourth month. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Jewish temple in 586 BC, Titus destroyed the Jewish temple in 70 AD.

Is the Bible just history, or is it the miraculous Word of God? Is God giving the Jews a message since the day has become the saddest day in all of Jewish history?

Historically, this date marks an extensive list of tragedies for the Jewish people: (including):

1444 BC: The spies returned from the Promised Land with a bad report, leading to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.
586 BC: The First Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed
70 AD: The Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
133 AD: The fall of Betar, ending the Bar Kokhba revolt.
1290 AD: The expulsion of Jews from England.
1492 AD: The expulsion of Jews from Spain.
1914 AD: Germany declared war starting WWI
1942 AD: Mass deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto began.

Jeremiah 39:³ Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer Rabmag (A title, probably Troop Commander; see v. 13), with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.

• The meaning of names:
  • Nergal-Sharezer (meaning “prince of fire”, Nergal is an idol diety, perhaps Mars).
  • Samgar-Nebo (“sword of Nebo”, Nebo is an idol diety, the planet Mercury).
  • Sarsechim (“prince of the eunuchs”) Rabsaris (a Chief Officer; see v. 13)
  • Nergal-Sarezer “prince of fire” Rabmag (A title, probably Troop Commander; see v. 13)

• There are two Nergal-Sharezer/Sarezers. One is probably a Troop Commander.

• ►Note: See Genealogy Chart of Nebuchadnezzar towards the bottom of this page for Evil-Merodach and Nergal Sharezer.

• ►At Nebuchadnezzer’s death, Evil Merodach takes the throne as Nebuchadnezzar’s son (in-law) having married his daughter. He only reigned two years before being murdered by Nergal-Sharezer, who then took the throne.
  
• ►Nergal-Sharezer was the brother-in-law of Evil Merodach.

• ►The prophet Daniel probably influenced Evil-Merodach, who released the prisoner Jehoiachin, who had been held in the Babylon prison for 37 years until Evil-Merodach released him.
  
• The descendants of Hezekiah to Zedekiah are as follows: (The prophecy was given 716-687 BC and fulfilled in 586 BC, a difference of ~100 to 130 years). *Prophecy Alert. A proof of God and Scripture.
  
  • See Timeline Below:
    
    • Hezekiah 716-687 BC ▼
    • Mannasseh 697-643 BC ▼
    • Amon 643-641 BC ▼
    • Josiah 641-609 BC (Good King) ▼
    • Shallum (Jehoahaz) 609 BC ▼
    • Eliakim (Jehoiakim) 609-598 BC ▼
    • Coniah/Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) 598-597 BC ▼
    • Mattanyahu (Zedekiah) 597-586 BC (Captured, Blinded, Taken to Babylon)

Jeremiah 39:⁴ So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain (Or Arabah; the Jordan Valley).

Jeremiah 39:⁵ But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.

 Jeremiah 39:⁶ Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah.

Jeremiah 39:⁷ Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze fetters (chains) to carry him off to Babylon.

Jeremiah 39:⁸ And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 39:⁹ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained.

Jeremiah 39:¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time (Lit. on that day).

Jeremiah Goes Free

Jeremiah 39:¹¹ Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,

Jeremiah 39:¹² “Take him and look after him, and do him no harm; but do to him just as he says to you.”

Jeremiah 39:¹³ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers;

• Note: It was Nergal-Sharezer who murdered his brother-in-law, Evil-Merodach, the King of Babylon, following Nebuchadnezzar’s death.

Jeremiah 39:¹⁴ then they sent someone to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.

• Note: In Jeremiah 36 (Quantum Study Bible’s: Who’s Who): A Gemariah is listed as the son of Shaphan. (Is there a connection?)

• According to a Babylonian edict, Jeremiah went to Mizpah in Benjamin with Gedaliah, who had been made governor of Judea. (Jeremiah 40:5-6) Gedaliah was assassinated, historically replaced with Johanan, who fled to Egypt with Jeremiah, Baruch, and King Zedikiah’s daughters.

• In II Maccabees 2:4ff Jeremiah is credited with hiding the Ark, incense altar, and tabernacle on the mountain of Moses.

Jeremiah 39:¹⁵ Meanwhile the word of the Lord (yᵊhōvâ) had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

Jeremiah 39:¹⁶ “Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts (yᵊhōvâ ṣāḇā’), the God (‘ĕlōhîm) of Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you.

Jeremiah 39:¹⁷ But I will deliver you in that day,” says the Lord (yᵊhōvâ) “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.

Jeremiah 39:¹⁸ For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,” says the Lord (yᵊhōvâ).’ ”

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{1 of 4} Jeremiah 39 – “Seven Proofs of God and Scripture” [Nebuchadnezzar’s Line]
{2 of 4} Jeremiah 39 – “Seven Proofs of God and Scripture” [Historical Narrative]
{3 of 4} Jeremiah 39 – “Seven Proofs of God and Scripture” [Prophesies for Babylon]
{4 of 4} Jeremiah 39 – “Seven Proofs of God and Scripture” [Names and Archeology]