Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Jeremiah 52:16 - 52:34

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Jeremiah 52:16 - 52:34


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Disposition of the Spoil and of the Captives

v. 16. But Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, left certain of the poor of the land,
of those who had no possessions in money or goods, for vine-dressers and for husbandmen, so that the country would not revert to a wilderness on account of total neglect.

v. 17. Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord,
on either aide of the main entrance of the Sanctuary, 1Ki_7:15, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans brake, in order to make all these pieces fit for transportation, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.

v. 18. The caldrons also,
large pots used for sacrificial worship, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, vessels for incense, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away, all those used for the altar of burnt offerings in the Court of the Priests.

v. 19. And the basins, and the fire-pans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups,
all these used chiefly in the ministrations of the Holy Place; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, in either case of solid metal, not of some cheap alloy or merely plated, took the captain of the guard away.

v. 20. The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases,
1Ki_7:23-26, which King Solomon had made in the house of the Lord. The brass of all these vessels was without weight, its mass beyond calculation.

v. 21. And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it,
that, in round numbers, being the circumference of either of the pillars; and the thickness thereof was four fingers; it was hollow. The thirty-five cubits of 2Ch_3:15 either refer to a different cubit, or they give the sum total of both pillars less the bases.

v. 22. And a ter,
or capital, of brass was upon it, and the height of one ter, that is, of its upper part, where it curved away from the shaft, was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the ters round about, all of brass, in the nature of ornaments in chains or festoons. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.

v. 23. And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side,
set towards the four winds or sides; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about, including those on the corners of the capitals.

v. 24. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah, the chief priest,
not identical with the man named Jer_51:59, and Zephaniah, the second priest, a very important member of the hierarchy, and the three keepers of the door, officers of the Temple-guard.

v. 25. He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war,
the commander of the city forces, and seven men of them that were near the king's person, of the king's intimate counselors, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, an officer in the direct service of the commander-in-chief, who mustered the people of the land, enrolling them for military service; and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the midst of the city, either leaders in the rebellion or such as had distinguished themselves in the defense of the city.

v. 26. So Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.

v. 27. And the king of Babylon smote them,
for the part they had taken in the rebellion of Judah, and put them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the Syrian province in the extreme northern part of Palestine. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. There follows a summary or enumeration of the prominent captives.

v. 28. This is the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year,
at the first captivity under Jehoiachin, three thousand Jews and three and twenty, these being of the tribe of Judah only, those from other tribes being more than twice as many;

v. 29. in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,
after his actual accession to the throne, but nineteen years after he had gotten into power, 2Ki_25:8, he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons;

v. 30. in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons; all the persons
evidently of the tribe of Judah alone, not including any of the other tribes who had sought and found refuge in Jerusalem since the fall of the northern kingdom, were four thousand and six hundred, not including the general multitude, and the women and children.

v. 31. And it came to pass in the seven-and-thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month,
the decree being issued on that day, although it was not carried out till two days later, 2Ki_25:27, that Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, delivering him from the special bondage in which he had been held all these years,

v. 32. and spake kindly unto him and set his throne above the throne of the king's that were with him in Babylon,
captive monarchs of other conquered nations,

v. 33. and changed his prison-garments,
witnesses of his deep humiliation; and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.

v. 34. And for his diet there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion, until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
Cf 2Ki_25:27-30. The same Lord who humbles the proud transgressors is able also to exalt those who turn to Him in true repentance.