בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְמָלְכוֹ וְאַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ חֲמוּטַל בַּת־יִרְמְיָהוּ מִלִּבְנָה

Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old at the onset of his reign, and eleven years he reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Livna. With the exception of Ahaz, the names of the mothers of the kings of Judah are always noted alongside the kings’ names; the identity of the father, the previous king in the dynasty, is generally well known.

וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי ה' כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂה יְהוֹיָקִם

He performed evil in the eyes of the Lord, in accordance with everything that Yehoyakim had done. Tzidkiyahu is depicted in the book of Jeremiah as a complex individual who wished to do good but, ultimately, under the pressure of his ministers and advisors, brought the country to ruin. The evil deeds mentioned here should therefore be understood in the context of his public activities, rather than as a description of his personality.

כִּי עַל־אַף ה' הָיְתָה בִּירוּשָׁלִַם וִיהוּדָה עַד־הִשְׁלִיכוֹ אוֹתָם מֵעַל פָּנָיו וַיִּמְרֹד צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְּמֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל

For it was to cause the wrath of the Lord in Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them from His presence, and Tzidkiyahu rebelled against the king of Babylon. The general deterioration did not abate until it came time to exile Judah. The event which most directly brought about this tragedy was Tzidkiyahu’s rebellion. Although Tzidkiyahu had sworn loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar, who appointed him king, on the advice of his ministers he joined other kings in a rebellion against the king of Babylon.

וַיְהִי בַשָּׁנָה הַתְּשִׁעִית לְמָלְכוֹ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָעֲשִׂירִי בֶּעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ בָּא נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל הוּא וְכָל־חֵילוֹ עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִַם וַיַּחֲנוּ עָלֶיהָ וַיִּבְנוּ עָלֶיהָ דָּיֵק סָבִיב

It was in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, Tevet, on the tenth of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, he and his entire army, came upon Jerusalem and encamped against it. This was not an easy war, as Tzidkiyahu had a considerable force with which to fight the Babylonians. And they built a siege tower against it all around, a kind of small wall or raised construction opposite the wall of the city.

וַתָּבֹא הָעִיר בַּמָּצוֹר עַד עַשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה לַמֶּלֶךְ צִדְקִיָּהוּ

The city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu. The siege lasted roughly a year and a half. The king of Babylon did not appear to be in a hurry, and did not try to break through into the city. Instead, he slowly strangled it, knowing that it did not have the strength to withstand the pressure indefinitely.

בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרְבִיעִי בְּתִשְׁעָה לַחֹדֶשׁ וַיֶּחֱזַק הָרָעָב בָּעִיר וְלֹא־הָיָה לֶחֶם לְעַם הָאָרֶץ

In the fourth month, Tamuz, on the ninth of the month, the famine intensified in the city. And although the nobles and wealthy people might still have had some provisions stored away, there was no bread left for the people of the land, the general populace.

וַתִּבָּקַע הָעִיר וְכָל־אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה יִבְרְחוּ וַיֵּצְאוּ מֵהָעִיר לַיְלָה דֶּרֶךְ שַׁעַר בֵּין־הַחֹמֹתַיִם אֲשֶׁר עַל גַּן הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכַשְׂדִּים עַל־הָעִיר סָבִיב וַיֵּלְכוּ דֶּרֶךְ הָעֲרָבָה

The city wall was breached, and all the men of war, who accompanied the royal household, fled and went out from the city at night via the gate between the two walls, the double wall, which was by the king’s garden, under the cover of night, and the Chaldeans were upon the city all around. Although the city was surrounded by the siege, apparently the Chaldeans neglected that point of the wall or did not see fit to expend troops on its protection. Consequently, the men were able to escape, and they went via the Arava. Perhaps they intended to request asylum from a neighboring country in Transjordan.

וַיִּרְדְּפוּ חֵיל־כַּשְׂדִּים אַחֲרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיַּשִּׂיגוּ אֶת־צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְּעַרְבֹת יְרֵחוֹ וְכָל־חֵילוֹ נָפֹצוּ מֵעָלָיו

The army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Tzidkiyahu in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army, all his soldiers, who were swifter and could flee easier than he, had scattered from him. Their king, who was not a man of war, and who was also slowed down by the members of his family, was left far behind them.

וַיִּתְפְּשׂוּ אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיַּעֲלוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל רִבְלָתָה בְּאֶרֶץ חֲמָת וַיְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ מִשְׁפָּטִים

They seized the king and brought him up north, to the king of Babylon, to Rivla that is in the land of Hamat, northern Syria. Nebuchadnezzar himself was not near Jerusalem. Rather, he managed the battle from Rivla, which was closer to his center of power in Babylon. And he, King Nebuchadnezzar, issued a judgment upon him. He spoke harshly to Tzidkiyahu due to his rebellion, and because he had betrayed the oath taken in the name of God, to be loyal to the one who had appointed him king (see 39:5). It was perhaps out of anger at his duplicity that Nebuchadnezzar judged Tzidkiyahu especially harshly.

וַיִּשְׁחַט מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל אֶת־בְּנֵי צִדְקִיָּהוּ לְעֵינָיו וְגַם אֶת־כָּל־שָׂרֵי יְהוּדָה שָׁחַט בְּרִבְלָתָה

The king of Babylon commanded his men, who slaughtered the sons of Tzidkiyahu before his eyes, and also all the princes of Judah, who remained with their king, or who were caught by themselves, he slaughtered in Rivla, in Tzidkiyahu’s presence.

וְאֶת־עֵינֵי צִדְקִיָּהוּ עִוֵּר וַיַּאַסְרֵהוּ בַנְחֻשְׁתַּיִם וַיְבִאֵהוּ מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל בָּבֶלָה וַיִּתְּנֵהוּ בֵית־הַפְּקֻדֹּת עַד־יוֹם מוֹתוֹ

After Tzidkiyahu had seen all the horrors committed upon his family members and those close to him, he blinded Tzidkiyahu’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains. Although the blinded king presented no danger, he was led off in the manner of criminals, in order to humiliate him. And the king of Babylon brought him to Babylon, and he placed him in prison, where he remained until the day of his death.

ובַחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי בֶּעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ הִיא שְׁנַת תְּשַׁע־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה לַמֶּלֶךְ נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל בָּא נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב־טַבָּחִים עָמַד לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל בִּירוּשָׁלִָם

Roughly a month after the defeat of Jerusalem, during which time its residents had presumably been subject to looting and killing, as is usual for a conquered city, in the fifth month, the month of Av, on the tenth of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, Nevuzaradan captain of the guards came; he stood before the king of Babylon and received instructions as to how to deal with the Israelites in Jerusalem. Nevuzaradan was a loyal agent of the king, and his presence in Jerusalem was viewed as if Nebuchadnezzar was there himself as well. The captain of the guards was tasked with imposing order as he saw fit.

וַיִּשְׂרֹף אֶת־בֵּית־ה' וְאֶת־בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֵת כָּל־בָּתֵּי יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֶת־כָּל־בֵּית הַגָּדוֹל שָׂרַף בָּאֵשׁ

He burned the House of the Lord, the Temple, and the house of the king, and all the smaller houses of Jerusalem; every great house, the houses of the great, important people, he burned in fire. It is possible that the verse mentions the great houses because they were more easily burnt. Since they were built from a combination of stone and wood, like the Temple, their kindling led to their complete destruction.

וְאֶת־כָּל־חֹמוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם סָבִיב נָתְצוּ כָּל־חֵיל כַּשְׂדִּים אֲשֶׁר אֶת רַב־טַבָּחִים

All the Chaldean soldiers who were with the captain of the guards smashed all the walls of Jerusalem all around. The destruction of the walls was designed to prevent the reestablishment of the city in its previous form. Indeed, the walls remained destroyed until the days of Nehemiah, at the beginning of the Second Temple period.

וּמִדַּלּוֹת הָעָם וְאֶת־יֶתֶר הָעָם הַנִּשְׁאָרִים בָּעִיר וְאֶת־הַנֹּפְלִים אֲשֶׁר נָפְלוּ אֶל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וְאֵת יֶתֶר הָאָמוֹן הֶגְלָה נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב־טַבָּחִים

And some of the impoverished of the people, and the remainder of the people, the middle classes, who remained in the city and those who had given themselves up to the king of Babylon, as the war was long and hard and the people did not retain much hope, and the rest of the multitude, Nevuzaradan captain of the guards exiled. In the manner of the Babylonians, and unlike the Assyrians, Nevuzaradan did not take with him all the residents of Judah. Rather, he chose as captives the important people and only some of the poor.

וּמִדַּלּוֹת הָאָרֶץ הִשְׁאִיר נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב־טַבָּחִים לְכֹרְמִים וּלְיֹגְבִים

Nevuzaradan captain of the guards left some of the impoverished of the land as vine growers and farmers. Some of the poor were left to work the land, so that it should not become entirely desolate.

וְאֶת עַמּוּדֵי הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר לְבֵית־ה' וְאֶת־הַמְּכֹנוֹת וְאֶת־יָם הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵית־ה' — שִׁבְּרוּ כַשְׂדִּים וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־כָּל־נְחֻשְׁתָּם בָּבֶלָה

The Chaldeans broke the bronze pillars that were in the House of the Lord, which King Solomon placed there as ornaments, and which he called Yakhin and Boaz, and the trolleys on which the basins rested, and the bronze sea, a large water container, that were in the House of the Lord, and carried all their bronze to Babylon. They had no interest in these vessels themselves, as they found no use for them and did not consider them of importance. Since carrying them to Babylon in their current state would have been a difficult task, they broke them into many valuable but manageable pieces, which they took with them back to Babylon.

וְאֶת־הַסִּרוֹת וְאֶת־הַיָּעִים וְאֶת־הַמְזַמְּרוֹת וְאֶת־הַמִּזְרָקֹת וְאֶת־הַכַּפּוֹת וְאֵת כָּל־כְּלֵי הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר־יְשָׁרְתוּ בָהֶם לָקָחוּ

They took the pots, the shovels, the musical instruments, the basins for collecting and sprinkling the blood, the ladles, and all the bronze vessels with which they, the priests, served in the Temple.

וְאֶת־הַסִּפִּים וְאֶת־הַמַּחְתּוֹת וְאֶת־הַמִּזְרָקוֹת וְאֶת־הַסִּירוֹת וְאֶת־הַמְּנֹרוֹת וְאֶת־הַכַּפּוֹת וְאֶת־הַמְנַקִּיּוֹת אֲשֶׁר זָהָב זָהָב וַאֲשֶׁר־ כֶּסֶף — כָּסֶף לָקַח רַב־טַבָּחִים

The cups, or jugs, the fire pans, the basins, the pots, the candelabra, the ladles, and the supports, which were stood upright on the sides of the table, whatever was of gold, gold, and whatever was of silver, silver, the captain of the guards took. The golden and silver vessels were plundered and taken to Babylonia as they were, to be used in the Babylonian palace. Some of them later remained on display in the palace of the Persian king. When Cyrus permitted the Jews to ascend to the Land of Israel and rebuild the Temple, he also gave them the few vessels that were still in his possession.

הָעַמּוּדִים שְׁנַיִם הַיָּם אֶחָד והַבָּקָר שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר נְחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר־תַּחַת הַמְּכֹנוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה לְבֵית ה' לֹא־הָיָה מִשְׁקָל לִנְחֻשְׁתָּם כָּל־הַכֵּלִים הָאֵלֶּה

The pillars, of which there were two, and the sea, of which there was one, and the statues of twelve bronze bulls bearing the sea, that were instead of the bases, or that were alongside the bases, as the base of the sea was designed in the form of bronze bulls, which King Solomon had made for the House of the Lord, there was no weight for the bronze of all these vessels. The enormous amount of bronze was neither weighed nor measured.

וְהָעַמּוּדִים — שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה קוֹמַת הָעַמֻּד הָאֶחָד וְחוּט שְׁתֵּים־עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה יְסֻבֶּנּוּ וְעָבְיוֹ אַרְבַּע אֶצְבָּעוֹת נָבוּב

The pillars were massive: Eighteen cubits, roughly nine meters, was the height of the one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits would encircle it; this was its circumference, and its thickness was four fingerbreadths, hollow, like a kind of immense tube, decorated on the outside.

וְכֹתֶרֶת עָלָיו נְחֹשֶׁת וְקוֹמַת הַכֹּתֶרֶת הָאַחַת חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת וּשְׂבָכָה וְרִמּוֹנִים עַל־הַכּוֹתֶרֶת סָבִיב — הַכֹּל נְחֹשֶׁת וְכָאֵלֶּה לָעַמּוּד הַשֵּׁנִי וְרִמּוֹנִים

A capital was upon it, each pillar, also made of bronze, and the height of the one capital was five cubits. The structure of these capitals and their decorations is described in detail in I Kings (7:15–22). And a screen and pomegranates were upon the capital all around, all of bronze, and like these also were for the second pillar, as the two capitals were identical, and similarly the metal pomegranates of the two pillars.

וַיִּהְיוּ הָרִמֹּנִים תִּשְׁעִים וְשִׁשָּׁה רוּחָה כָּל־הָרִמּוֹנִים מֵאָה עַל־הַשְּׂבָכָה סָבִיב

The pomegranates were ninety-six on the side, in one direction, perhaps in a spiral around the pillar. In sum, all the pomegranates were one hundred upon the screen all around. There were also several other pomegranates that were not arrayed in that line.

וַיִּקַּח רַב־טַבָּחִים אֶת־שְׂרָיָה כֹּהֵן הָרֹאשׁ וְאֶת־צְפַנְיָה כֹּהֵן הַמִּשְׁנֶה וְאֶת־שְׁלֹשֶׁת שֹׁמְרֵי הַסַּף

In addition to the war plunder which Nevuzaradan appropriated, the captain of the guards also took Seraya the chief priest, the High Priest, and Zephanya the deputy priest, and the three gatekeepers, the senior officers in the Temple, in whose possession the keys to the chambers and the treasuries were entrusted.

וּמִן־הָעִיר לָקַח סָרִיס אֶחָד אֲשֶׁר־הָיָה פָקִיד עַל־אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה וְשִׁבְעָה אֲנָשִׁים מֵרֹאֵי פְנֵי־הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר נִמְצְאוּ בָעִיר וְאֵת סֹפֵר שַׂר הַצָּבָא הַמַּצְבִּא אֶת־עַם הָאָרֶץ וְשִׁשִּׁים אִישׁ מֵעַם הָאָרֶץ הַנִּמְצְאִים בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר

From the city itself, apart from the king’s house and the Temple, he took one senior official [saris], which generally refers to a eunuch in Hebrew, but which means an officer in Akkadian, who was appointed over the men of war, the official commander of the army, or the one who was in charge of the men of war in practice, and seven men of those who see the king’s face, those close to the king, who were found in the city, who had not fled, or who escaped but had returned in the meantime, and the scribe of the commander of the army, who directs the people of the land, who would recruit and count the soldiers, and also sixty men of status, perhaps members of the Great Sanhedrin from the people of the land, who were found inside the city. Apparently, Nevuzaradan was commanded to take captive any members of the leadership class whom he found in the city.

וַיִּקַּח אוֹתָם נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב־טַבָּחִים וַיֹּלֶךְ אוֹתָם אֶל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל רִבְלָתָה

Nevuzaradan captain of the guards took them, and he led them to the king of Babylon, to Rivla.

וַיַּכֶּה אוֹתָם מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וַיְמִתֵם בְּרִבְלָה בְּאֶרֶץ חֲמָת וַיִּגֶל יְהוּדָה מֵעַל אַדְמָתוֹ

The king of Babylon smote them, and he put them to death in Rivla in the land of Hamat. Since they were effectively members of the government and advisors of King Tzidkiyahu, Nebuchadnezzar killed them all, as accomplices to the rebellion. Thus Judah was exiled from upon its land.

זֶה הָעָם אֲשֶׁר הֶגְלָה נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר בִּשְׁנַת־שֶׁבַע יְהוּדִים שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וְעֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה;

The chapter tallies the exiles. These are the people whom Nebuchadrezzar exiled: In the seventh year, which was when Yehoyakhin was exiled, the first of the expulsions, three thousand and twenty-three Judeans;

בִּשְׁנַת שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה לִנְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מִירוּשָׁלִַם נֶפֶשׁ שְׁמֹנֶה מֵאוֹת שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁנָיִם

in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar, in the second conquest, after the leaders of the people had been taken with Yehoyakhin, and many in Jerusalem had been killed in battle in the meantime or died in the siege, from Jerusalem, eight hundred and thirty-two people were exiled, a relatively small number, and from a lower social class.

בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלֹשׁ וְעֶשְׂרִים לִנְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר הֶגְלָה נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב־טַבָּחִים יְהוּדִים נֶפֶשׁ שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת אַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה כָּל־נֶפֶשׁ אַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת

The last phase occurred in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadrezzar, in which Nevuzaradan captain of the guards exiled seven hundred and forty-five people, Judeans. In total, all the people exiled from Judah were four thousand and six hundred. This number is another indication that this was not a mass exile, but a calculated selection of certain people from the whole population. The Babylonians exiled the craftsmen, especially those who dealt in professions that were considered strategically important, such as blacksmiths, coppersmiths, and the like, as well as the elite, on the assumption that those left behind would be unwilling and unable to raise up any sort of revolt.

וַיְהִי בִשְׁלֹשִׁים וָשֶׁבַע שָׁנָה לְגָלוּת יְהוֹיָכִן מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה בִּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ בְּעֶשְׂרִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה לַחֹדֶשׁ נָשָׂא אֱוִיל מְרֹדַךְ מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל בִּשְׁנַת מַלְכֻתוֹ אֶת־רֹאשׁ יְהוֹיָכִין מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה וַיֹּצֵא אֹתוֹ מִבֵּית הַכְּלוּא

The Kingdom of Judah ended with the complete destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, the land of Judah, and the structure of leadership. In order not to end the book of Jeremiah on such a harsh note, the chapter relates Yehoyakhin’s fate: It was in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Yehoyakhin king of Judah, who was exiled in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, and therefore this was over forty years after the ascent of the greatest and most important king of Babylon, who turned his kingdom into an empire, in the twelfth month, Adar, on the twenty-fifth of the month, Evil Merodakh king of Babylon, who inherited the throne from his father, Nebuchadnezzar, in the year of the onset of his reign, raised the head of Yehoyakhin king of Judah, and took him out of prison, or the detention camp for war captives. Yehoyakhin had been detained there for decades, and he had children there, who were born to him either before he came to Babylonia or during his internment. The king of Babylon cared for their needs as well.

וַיְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ טֹבוֹת וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־כִּסְאוֹ מִמַּעַל לְכִסֵּא הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ בְּבָבֶל

Not only did he release Yehoyakhin, but he, Evil Merodakh, spoke kindly to him and placed his seat above the seat of the kings who were with him in Babylon. Other kings of countries conquered by Nebuchadnezzar were also held in the prison, in poor conditions. The chapter does not explain what motivated Evil Merodakh to grant Yehoyakhin preferable status.

וְשִׁנָּה אֵת בִּגְדֵי כִלְאוֹ וְאָכַל לֶחֶם לְפָנָיו תָּמִיד כָּל־יְמֵי חַיָּו

Furthermore, he changed his, Yehoyakhin’s, prison garments, and Yehoyakhin was given the clothes of a free man, and he ate bread before him, the king of Babylon, always, all the days of his life.

וַאֲרֻחָתוֹ אֲרֻחַת תָּמִיד נִתְּנָה־לּוֹ מֵאֵת מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל דְּבַר־יוֹם בְּיוֹמוֹ עַד־יוֹם מוֹתוֹ כֹּל יְמֵי חַיָּיו

His allotment, a permanent allotment, was given to him from the king of Babylon, each day’s portion on its day, until the day of his death, all the days of his life. Yehoyakhin was, in effect, the last surviving member of the dynasty of the kings of Judah, as the sons of Tzidkiyahu had been executed on Nebuchadnezzar’s order.