- 1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.
- 2And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.
- 3And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
- 4 And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.
- 5But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him.
- 6Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.
- 7Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.
- 8 And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.
- 9Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained.
- 10But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
- 11 Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying,
- 12Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
- 13So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes;
- 14Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
- 15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
- 16Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.
- 17But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.
- 18For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
KING JAMES VERSION
JEREMIAH 39
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Jeremiah 39 — Jerusalem Falls and Jeremiah Is Released.
About this illustration
The composition centers jerusalem falls and jeremiah is released as the chapter’s defining visual, using a unified, historically grounded scene while avoiding written text and any bodily depiction of God.
Scripture basis: Jeremiah 39:1–18King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Approximately 589–587/586 BC
Lachish Letters
Ink-written Hebrew messages recovered from Lachish's final Judahite gate complex preserve military orders, official anxieties, and signal-watch language from the crisis surrounding Babylon's conquest.
Jeremiah 34:6–7 · Jeremiah 37:1–10 · Jeremiah 39:1–8
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
18th day of the 11th month, Nebuchadnezzar’s tenth year (595 BC)
Nebo-Sarsekim Cuneiform Tablet
A small Babylonian receipt dated to 595 BC records Nabû-sharrussu-ukin, chief of the court officials, making a substantial gold delivery to Esagila—a rare name-and-title combination closely matching Jeremiah 39:3.
Jeremiah 39:1–3 · Jeremiah 39:13
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
Early sixth century BC, conventionally 587/586 BC
Babylonian Destruction Layer in Jerusalem
Burned monumental buildings, collapsed floors, smashed storage jars, charred food, arrowheads, and magnetic traces of intense heat preserve multiple local windows onto Jerusalem’s early-sixth-century BC destruction.
2 Kings 25:1–10 · 2 Chronicles 36:17–19 · Jeremiah 39:1–8
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
560-556 BC
Tablets of Neriglissar and the Nergal-sharezer Question
Neo-Babylonian tablets securely attest King Neriglissar, while his proposed identity with a Nergal-sharezer at Jerusalem in Jeremiah remains a philological and chronological argument.
Jeremiah 39:3 · Jeremiah 39:13
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
late 8th-early 6th century BC; deposited in the 586 BC destruction
The Jerusalem Ivories from the Givati Excavations
Nearly 1,500 burned ivory fragments from an elite late Iron Age building in Jerusalem preserve South Syrian-style furniture inlays and materially illuminate the wealth, courtly connections, and Babylonian destruction horizon of Judah's capital.
2 Kings 24:10–17 · 2 Kings 25:8–10 · Jeremiah 39:1–9
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
Late Iron Age II, destroyed in the early sixth century BC
The House of Ahiel in the City of David
The House of Ahiel is a substantial Judahite residence built on Jerusalem’s eastern slope. Its plan, household finds, inscribed names, and destruction debris provide a controlled domestic context for the city near the end of the First Temple period. The dossier connects the excavated evidence to 2 Kings 25:8-10 and Jeremiah 39:8 while keeping the historical claim narrower than the biblical narrative.
2 Kings 25:8–10 · Jeremiah 39:8