2 Kings 25:4

2 Kings 25:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And the king went by way of the plain.

Context of 2 Kings 25:4

2The city came under siege [for nearly two years] until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine [caused by the siege] was severe in the city; there was no food for the people of the land. Then the city [wall] was broken into [and conquered]; all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah (the plain of the Jordan). 5The army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Then his entire army was dispersed from him. 6So they seized the king (Zedekiah) and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah [on the Orontes River], and sentence was passed on him.

2 Kings 25:4 word by word

וַתִּבָּקַ֣ע הָעִ֗יר וְכָל־אַנְשֵׁ֨י הַמִּלְחָמָ֤ה׀ הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ דֶּ֜רֶךְ שַׁ֣עַר׀ בֵּ֣ין הַחֹמֹתַ֗יִם אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־גַּ֣ן הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְכַשְׂדִּ֥ים עַל־הָעִ֖יר סָבִ֑יב וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ דֶּ֥רֶךְ הָעֲרָבָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• was broken upבָּקַעbâqa‛ · to break up/openH1234
• and all the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• of warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
• by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• by the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
• of the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• between two wallsחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• by the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• gardenגַּןgan · gardenH1588
• now the Chaldeesכַּשְׂדִּיםkaώdîy kaώdîymâh · ChaldeaH3778
• round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
• wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• toward the plainעֲרָבָה‛ărâbâh · ArabahH6160

Cross-references for 2 Kings 25:4

• 2 Kings 25:27Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison;
• Jeremiah 5:10“Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy [them], But do not completely destroy everything. Strip away her branches and the tendrils [of her vines], For they are not the Lord’s.
• Jeremiah 39:2and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, they breached the wall and broke into the city.
• Jeremiah 52:6In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
• Ezekiel 33:21In the twelfth year of our exile [in Babylon], on the fifth of the tenth month, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city has been captured.”
• Leviticus 26:17I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.
• Deuteronomy 28:25“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out against them one way, but flee before them seven ways, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth [when they see your destruction].
• Deuteronomy 32:24They will be wasted by hunger, and consumed by plague And a bitter destruction; And I will send the teeth of beasts against them, With the venom of crawling things of the dust.
• Jeremiah 39:4When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and escaped from the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls; and the king went out toward the Arabah (Jordan Valley).
• 2 Kings 25:5The army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Then his entire army was dispersed from him.
• Ezekiel 12:12The prince who is among them will load his provisions and supplies on his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig a hole through the wall to go out. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 25:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The city was broken up - Rather, “broken into,” i. e., A breach was made about midnight in the northern wall Ezekiel 9:2, and an entry effected into the second or lower city (see the 2 Kings 22:14 note), which was protected by the wall of Manasseh 2 Chronicles 33:14. Precipitate flight followed on the advance of the Babylonians to the “middle gate,” or gate of communication between the upper and the lower cities. This position was only a little north of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The Babylonians used battering rams (Ezekiel 4:2) to break a part of Jerusalem's wall and enter the city. At nightfall, King Zedekiah and the remaining troops escaped through the gate at the southeastern corner of the city into the Kidron Valley, trying to reach the Jordan Valley.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. the city was broken up--that is, a breach was effected, as we are elsewhere informed, in a part of the wall belonging to the lower city (2Ch 32:5; 33:14). the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden--The king's garden was (Ne 3:15) at the pool of Siloam, that is, at the mouth of the Tyropæon. A trace of the outermost of these walls appears to be still extant in the rude pathway which crosses the…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 25:4

• Jerusalem
• Prophecy
• Walls, of the Cities
• Zedekiah

In the dictionaries

• King's Garden
• Chaldees
• Fast
• Gardens
• Jerusalem
• Kings, The Books of
• Pharaoh
• Rate
• Zedekiah
• Alliance

Commentaries on 2 Kings 25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings