2 Kings 25:1-12
Jerusalem Is Breached
1So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.
2And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.
3By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
4Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah,
5but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him.
6The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment on him.
7And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
8On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.
9He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
10And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
11Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population.
12But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
Berean Standard Bible
In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar comes against Jerusalem with his entire army. They build siege ramps around the city and maintain the siege until the eleventh year. The long waiting turns the city into a place where ordinary survival becomes impossible.
The famine becomes severe, and there is no food for the people. The city wall is breached, and all the men of war flee by night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden. Zedekiah leaves by way of the Arabah, but the Chaldean army pursues him.
Zedekiah is captured in the plains of Jericho, and his soldiers scatter. He is brought to Riblah, where the king of Babylon pronounces judgment on him. Zedekiah's sons are killed before his eyes, the nobles of Judah are killed, and then his eyes are put out.
Zedekiah is bound in bronze chains and taken to Babylon. The king's attempted escape ends in the loss of sight, family, freedom, and land. The passage is a record of national catastrophe, not a scene for celebrating the suffering of an enemy.
How We Know
This account is best tested by reading it alongside the surrounding witness. The events in 2 Kings 25:1-12 belong to the royal history also preserved in 2 Chronicles and interpreted by the prophets. Where the account names Assyria, Babylon, kings, cities, or temple practice, those details sit within the wider history of the ancient Near East; the parallel biblical records help us test the sequence while retaining the passage's covenant meaning.
Questions
1 How long is Jerusalem besieged?
AnswerJerusalem remains under siege from the ninth year of Zedekiah until the eleventh year of his reign.
2 Why do the people suffer?
AnswerThe famine becomes severe during the siege, and the city runs out of food for its people.
3 Where is Zedekiah captured?
AnswerZedekiah is captured in the plains of Jericho after his soldiers scatter and he is pursued by the Chaldeans.
4 What happens to Zedekiah's sons and nobles?
AnswerThe king of Babylon kills Zedekiah's sons and the nobles of Judah before putting out Zedekiah's eyes.
What This Means for Us
The siege makes the cost of political collapse bodily and personal: hunger, flight, family loss, blindness, and captivity. The text does not invite us to admire the conqueror's power.
Let reports of war retain the people inside them. Pray and act for those facing hunger, displacement, and family separation, and resist language that turns suffering into a scoreboard.
Prayer
God of mercy, remember people trapped by siege, hunger, and war. Protect families from separation, bring relief to those without food, and keep our hearts from celebrating the suffering of people caught in political collapse. Amen.