Jeremiah 39:2-3
In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The precise date—the fourth month, the ninth day—isn't just historical detail; it marks the exact moment the seemingly impenetrable city walls, a symbol of Judah's false security, were finally shattered. This single, stark fact reveals how quickly even the strongest defenses can crumble when God withdraws His protection, a profound warning about trusting in outward strength rather than inward faithfulness.
After a brutal siege that lasted a year and a half, the Babylonians finally broke through Jerusalem's defenses. This catastrophic event, the breaching of the city walls, marks the culmination of years of prophetic warnings ignored and a king who refused to heed God's call to surrender. The text is setting the stage for the tragic fall of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.
Imagine a city under siege for a year and a half. What does it take for those walls, once symbols of strength, to finally crumble?
Jeremiah 39:2 pinpoints a specific, devastating date: the ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah's eleventh year as king. This wasn't just any day; it was the day the mighty walls of Jerusalem were 'broken up.'
The Breach
Why would God allow His own city, the place of His temple, to be so brutally conquered?
The fall of Jerusalem wasn't a random tragedy; it was a direct consequence of God's judgment on His people's persistent disobedience.
A Nation's Reckoning
Understand the original words
beqiah · Hebrew Noun
A breakthrough in a defensive wall; prophetically and historically, it represents the moment of total collapse for the city's defenses against the judgment of God.
The fall of Jerusalem wasn't a sudden event, but the climax of a prolonged siege following years of political tension and rebellion. This verse captures the precise moment the city's defenses finally collapsed.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar first besieges Jerusalem and carries away some of the temple treasures and members of the royal family, including Daniel. This marks the beginning of Judah's Babylonian exile.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar deports King Jehoiachin and many other prominent citizens and craftsmen to Babylon. This event sets the stage for Zedekiah's ascension to the throne.
589 BC
Siege of Jerusalem Begins
Nebuchadnezzar and his army lay siege to Jerusalem after King Zedekiah rebels against Babylonian rule. The siege will last for approximately eighteen months.
587 or 586 BC— this verse
City Walls Breached
After a prolonged siege, Babylonian forces break through the walls of Jerusalem, signaling the imminent fall of the city. This is the event described in Jeremiah 39:2.
This verse directly corroborates Jeremiah 39:2, stating the same date and event of the city walls being breached during the siege of Jerusalem.
Lamentations 2:7This passage describes God's active role in delivering the city into the hands of the enemy, echoing the sense of divine judgment behind the breach mentioned in Jeremiah 39:2.
Ezekiel 4:1-2Although a prophecy rather than a historical account, this passage describes Ezekiel's symbolic representation of Jerusalem's siege and destruction, highlighting the impending doom that the breach in Jeremiah 39:2 signifies.
2 Kings 25:4This verse provides the immediate context of the breach, describing the specific action taken by the Chaldeans to enter the city, directly leading into the tragic events that follow the breach.
pooleJeremiah 39:2: "And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up."
The siege lasted a year and half, for it was the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year before it was taken: it is said here to be broken up, because their way of taking fortified places then was by beating down the walls of the besieged with iron rams and engines, as we now do with great guns. This kingdom had now held three hundred and eighty years, from Rehoboam t…
clarkeJeremiah 39:2: "And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up."
The eleventh year - in the fourth month - This month in the Hebrew calendar is called Thammuz, and commences with the first new moon of our July. The siege had lasted just eighteen months. The city was broken up - A breach was made in the wall by which the Chaldeans entered.
The precise date—the fourth month, the ninth day—isn't just historical detail; it marks the exact moment the seemingly impenetrable city walls, a symbol of Judah's false security, were finally shattered. This single, stark fact reveals how quickly even the strongest defenses can crumble when God withdraws His protection, a profound warning about trusting in outward strength rather than inward faithfulness.
After a brutal siege that lasted a year and a half, the Babylonians finally broke through Jerusalem's defenses. This catastrophic event, the breaching of the city walls, marks the culmination of years of prophetic warnings ignored and a king who refused to heed God's call to surrender. The text is setting the stage for the tragic fall of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.
After a brutal siege that lasted a year and a half, the Babylonians finally broke through Jerusalem's defenses. This catastrophic event, the breaching of the city walls, marks the culmination of years of prophetic warnings ignored and a king who refused to heed God's call to surrender. The text is setting the stage for the tragic fall of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.
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587 or 586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians. King Zedekiah is captured, blinded, and taken to Babylon, and the city and the Temple are destroyed.
c. 582 BC
Third Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar conducts a final deportation from Judah, further diminishing the remaining population and solidifying Babylonian control.
"In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim t…" — The precise date—the fourth month, the ninth day—isn't just historical detail; it marks the exact moment the seemingly impenetrable city walls, a symbol of Judah's false security, were finally shatte…
