New International Version
2 Kings 25:4
4Then 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,
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, the soldiers waited for nightfall and escaped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley.
Context of 2 Kings 25:4
2The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 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, 5but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 6and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him.
Read all of 2 Kings 252 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 Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month.
- Jeremiah 5:10“Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely. Strip off her branches, for these people do not belong to the Lord.
- Jeremiah 39:2And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through.
- Jeremiah 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.
- Ezekiel 33:21In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”
- Leviticus 26:17I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.
- Deuteronomy 28:25The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.
- Deuteronomy 32:24I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.
- Jeremiah 39:4When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah.
- 2 Kings 25:5but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,
- Ezekiel 12:12“The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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