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 remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 3By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food. The enemy broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden. (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. 5But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him. 6They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where he passed sentence 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 25:27In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison.
• Jeremiah 5:10The Lord commanded the enemy, “March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches for these people do not belong to the Lord.
• Jeremiah 39:2It lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year. On that day they broke through the city walls.
• Jeremiah 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food.
• Ezekiel 33:21In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, a refugee came to me from Jerusalem saying, “The city has been defeated!”
• Leviticus 26:17I will set my face against you. You will be struck down before your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when there is no one pursuing you.
• Deuteronomy 28:25“The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
• Deuteronomy 32:24They will be starved by famine, eaten by plague, and bitterly stung; I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.
• Jeremiah 39:4When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king’s garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.
• 2 Kings 25:5But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him.
• Ezekiel 12:12“The prince who is among them will raise his belongings onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. 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