2 Kings 25 (ESV)
Fall and Captivity of Judah
25:1 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.
8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month — that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon — Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that 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 cubits,1 and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander 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 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “ Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison
27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed2 Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.
Footnotes
2 Kings 25 Commentary
In 2 Kings 25, in the 9th year of King Zedekiah’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem, which lasted until Zedekiah’s 11th year (2 Kings 25:1-2). By the 4th month, famine struck the city, leading to the warriors fleeing at night (2 Kings 25:3-4). Zedekiah was captured by the Chaldeans, who executed his sons before blinding him and taking him to Babylon (2 Kings 25:5-7). On the 7th day of the 5th month, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, entered Jerusalem, burning the temple, the king’s palace, and other significant buildings, while demolishing the city walls (2 Kings 25:8-10).
He deported the remaining population, except for the poorest, who were left to tend the land (2 Kings 25:11-12). The Chaldeans dismantled the bronze items from the temple and took them to Babylon, including significant pillars and basins (2 Kings 25:13-17). They also captured key officials and executed them in Riblah (2 Kings 25:18-21). Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor over the remaining people in Judah (2 Kings 25:22).
However, in the 7th month, Gedaliah was assassinated by Ishmael, leading the people to flee to Egypt out of fear of the Chaldeans (2 Kings 25:25-26). Later, King Jehoiachin of Judah was pardoned by Evil-merodach, the new Babylonian king, and was treated kindly for the rest of his life, receiving a daily allowance (2 Kings 25:27-30).
Undoing Of Eden And Exodus
The book of 2 Kings opens with the faithful prophet Elijah being taken up into heaven (symbolizing blessing for obedience). It ends with the people of Judah being taken into exile, symbolizing judgment for rebellion. When the temple is burned and the holy vessels taken, this is not just a military defeat, but a cosmic reversal. The temple symbolized God dwelling with His people, like Eden had in the beginning (Exo 25:8, 1 Ki 8:10-13). Its destruction signals a return to spiritual exile, like Adam and Eve being driven from God’s presence.
Theologically, the destruction of Solomon’s temple is also the undoing of the covenantal blessings from Sinai. It marks the end of an era when God dwelled among His people in visible, sacramental form. This devastation sets the stage for a shift from ritual to heart-centered faith, which the prophets (especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel) will emphasize (Jer 31:31-34, Ezk 36:25–27).
Zedekiah is taken to Riblah, a strategic military outpost where Nebuchadnezzar pronounced judgment. Biblically, Riblah becomes a kind of symbolic courtroom for divine justice. It’s here that the last Davidic king sees the end of his line and his kingdom.
Historically, Riblah lies near the Orontes River in present-day Syria. It became Nebuchadnezzar’s command center during the siege campaigns. Theologically, it becomes a grim echo of Eden’s eastward exile. Zedekiah is driven east, blinded, and bound, a tragic Adam-figure leaving the sanctuary he could not keep. Humanity’s sin has driven them out once again.
The Pillars
Verse 17 mentions that the Babylonians broke up the two bronze pillars from Solomon’s temple, Jachin (“He will establish”) and Boaz (“In Him is strength”). These were deeply symbolic of the stability and strength of God’s covenant with Israel (1 Ki 7:21).
Their destruction represents the crumbling of what Israel had come to trust. It was not the presence of God Himself, but the symbols of it. The people had put their faith in the outward form of religion (the temple, the city, the throne) rather than in the presence of the living God. Good grief! This is still happening today! Some trust in the building or the tradition instead of Christ. Others trust in the symbol (cross) or language (Christianese) but remain unchanged in their hearts.
Removing these symbols underscores the prophetic warnings that no object, however sacred, can protect a people who have abandoned God (Jer 7:4-14). All of these modern “pillars” (churches, traditions, success, leaders) can be gifts from God, just as the temple was. But when they become substitutes for real faith, they become dangerous. The Lord’s message through the fall of Jerusalem is clear: no symbol can replace relationship. No structure, person, or heritage can substitute for genuine trust, obedience, and love toward the living God.
Ezekiel And Jeremiah
The events of 2 Kings 25 are anticipated and echoed in detail by Ezekiel 8, Ezekiel 17, Ezekiel 21, and Ezekiel 24, and Jeremiah 27, Jeremiah 28, Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah 34, Jeremiah 39, and Jeremiah 52. What’s remarkable is that both prophets, speaking from different locations (Jeremiah in Jerusalem, Ezekiel among the exiles), proclaim the same divine message with complementary imagery and tone.
This consistency shows that God’s Word is coherent, sovereign, and unifying, even across national borders and differing prophetic personalities. Their warnings were not just national but profoundly theological, calling the people to covenant faithfulness and true repentance.
Some have pointed out that Ezekiel and Jeremiah seem to give conflicting words about Zedekiah. Jeremiah says he will see the king of Babylon and be taken to Babylon (Jer 32:4-5), while Ezekiel writes he will be taken to Babylon but not see it (Ezk 12:13).
Both are fulfilled literally: Zedekiah sees Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, where he watches his sons killed, then has his eyes put out and is taken blind to Babylon. This horrific moment becomes a chilling affirmation that God’s word (no matter how paradoxical it may seem) is always fulfilled precisely.
A Subtle Glimmer Of Hope
Though 2 Kings ends with judgment, it does not end in silence. The final verses about Jehoiachin (2 Kings 25:27-30) have a redemptive tone. He is not only released from prison but also eats at the king’s table continually, which evokes earlier biblical patterns of grace shown to fallen figures (like Mephibosheth in 2 Sam 9:7-13).
This meal in exile prefigures the banquet grace of God, the kind that will come to full expression in the New Covenant. It whispers that God has not forgotten David’s house, and that a table will one day be spread in the presence of enemies (Psa 23:5), even in Babylon.
“He took Jehoiachin from his dungeon, changed his garments, spoke words of encouragement to him, gave him a place at his own table, assigned to him a regular allowance from his own banquet, and set his throne above the throne of all the other captive kings who were with him in Babylon. It might seem a trivial act of mercy, yet the Jews remembered in their records the very day of the month on which it had taken place, because they regarded it as a break in the clouds which overshadowed them-as “the first gleam of heaven’s amber in the Eastern grey.”
Expositor’s Bible Commentary
