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

2Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign. 3By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone. 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. 5But the Babylonian troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. 6They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

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, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2 of that year.
• Jeremiah 5:10“Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines, leaving a scattered few alive. Strip the branches from the vines, for these people do not belong to the Lord.
• Jeremiah 39:2Two and a half years later, on July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, a section of the city wall was broken down.
• Jeremiah 52:6By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.
• Ezekiel 33:21On January 8, during the twelfth year of our captivity, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!”
• Leviticus 26:17I will turn against you, and you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will run even when no one is chasing you!
• Deuteronomy 28:25“The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
• Deuteronomy 32:24I will weaken them with famine, burning fever, and deadly disease. I will send the fangs of wild beasts and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust.
• Jeremiah 39:4When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken into the city, they fled. They waited for nightfall and then slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.
• 2 Kings 25:5But the Babylonian troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.
• Ezekiel 12:12“Even Zedekiah will leave Jerusalem at night through a hole in the wall, taking only what he can carry with him. He will cover his face, and his eyes will not see the land he is leaving.

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