Jeremiah 39
Big Idea
Those who trust in God find deliverance, while those who defy and rebel against God experience judgment.
Key Themes
- As Jeremiah had predicted, Jerusalem is captured and burned by the Babylonians.
- The deliverance of Ebed-Melek and Jeremiah is contrasted with the punishment of those leaders who opposed Jeremiah.
- Ebed-Melek, a foreigner from Africa, is delivered because he trusted in God.
Jeremiah 37–44 is in chronological order. Jeremiah 39, chronicling the fall of Jerusalem and the fate of those within it, is the climactic or focus chapter of this unit. After a two-year siege, in 586 BC the Babylonians breach the walls of Jerusalem and destroy the city. All the horrific things that Jeremiah has been prophesying about Jerusalem and Judah throughout Jeremiah 1–29 now actually happen. Also after chronicling the continued hostility and opposition to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 11–29, now the text describes how those who have opposed and persecuted God’s prophet are either killed or taken to Babylonia in exile.
The description of the fall of Jerusalem in 39:1–10 is very similar to the parallel descriptions in 52:4–16 and 2 Kings 25:1–12. Surprisingly, the actual fall of the city is described in very brief fashion (39:1–3). The focus of Jeremiah 39 is on the contrasting fates of those who were living in Jerusalem: Zedekiah and the nobles (39:4–7), the people (39:8–10), Jeremiah (39:11–14), and Ebed-Melek (39:15–18).
v.1
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it.
v.2
And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through.
v.3
Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon.
v.4
When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah.
The word translated as “left” (yatsa’) is the same word used in 38:17–18, where it is translated as “surrender.” Note the ironic wordplay taking place. In 38:17–18 Jeremiah tells Zedekiah that if he “goes out” (yatsa’; NIV: “surrender”) to the officers of the Babylonians, he will live and the city will not be burned. In 39:3 the Babylonian officers enter the city, at which point Zedekiah now “goes out” (yatsa’: NIV: “left”), not to surrender, but to flee (39:4), and the Babylonians do indeed burn the city (39:8). #JDanielHaysTeachTheText
v.5
But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him.
The mention of Jericho is significant because it brings the story of the Israelite conquest and life in the promised land to a complete circle (“Jericho to Jericho”). In the book of Joshua the Israelites move into the land, conquering the city of Jericho as the sign of their future success in conquering the rest of the land. Here things are in reverse, as it is the Israelites whose city (Jerusalem) is conquered, and they are then exiled out of the land.
v.6
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah.
v.7
Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.
v.8
The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
v.9
Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people.
v.10
But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
The leaders are executed, and many of the people are exiled, but the poorest of the land are given farms and vineyards, obviously a blessing. This same phrase, “that day,” is used again in 39:16.
v.11
Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard:
v.12
“Take him and look after him; don’t harm him but do for him whatever he asks.”
v.13
So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon
v.14
sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.
v.15
While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him:
v.16
“Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes.
v.17
But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear.
v.18
I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.‘”
The word translated as “life” is nepesh, which refers to one’s total being. In 38:17 Jeremiah tells Zedekiah that only if he surrendered to the Babylonians would his nepesh live. The NIV’s “will escape” does not quite capture the gist of the Hebrew words used here. Literally, God tells Ebed-Melek that “your nepesh will be to you as a prize of war” (cf. NRSV). In the context of a siege and the fall of Jerusalem, when the victorious army will be carrying off the “spoil” and “plunder” of war, God uses a similar term for Ebed-Melek and his life. The imagery is that of Ebed-Melek walking out of the city with his “spoil” or “plunder” of war being his own life.