Rashi on Tanakh2 Kings 25

In the ninth year of his reign. Of Tzidkiyohu.¹Which corresponds to Nevuchadnetzar's seventeenth year.—Radak

Siege towers. [Targum Yonoson] rendered כרקום [=works of siege].

By way of the gate between the two walls. A cave went from his house until the Plains of Yericho, and he fled through the cave. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, ordained a deer walking on the roof of the cave. and the Kasdim pursued the deer, and when they reached the cave's entrance in the Plains of Yericho, they saw him and captured him. This is what [Scripture] states, ”And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare.”²Yechezkeil 12:13.

And called him to account. He debated with him concerning the oath.³Tzidkiyohu violated his oath of allegiance to Nevuchadnetzar.—Radak ⁴The Gemara in Maseches Nedarim 65a states that Tzidkiyohu had discovered Nevuchadnetzar eating a live, or according to other opinions, an uncooked rabbit. He had him swear that he would never reveal what he had seen. However, Tzidkiyohu had his oath nullified and revealed Nevuchadnetzar's uncivilized behavior. When Nevuchadnetzar found out that people were making fun of him, he realized that Tzidkiyohu had broken his promise.

And all the houses of the dignitaries. [This includes] synagogues wherein Torah and prayer are aggrandized, and the houses of the princes.⁵See Maseches Megillah 27a.

And the defectors. [Those] who obeyed Nevuchadnetzar and went out to him from the city, as in, “When he went to Tziklag, [members] of Menashe defected to him, etc.”⁶I Divrei Hayomim 12:21.

And farmers. Diggers of the earth, an expression of wine vats [=יקבים]⁷The ‘ג’ of ‘יגבים’ and the ‘ק’ of ‘יקבים’ are interchangeable. which are diggings in the ground.⁸Alternatively, יקבים are wine pressers.—Metzudas Tzion Or יקבים refer to fishermen who catch the חלזון which was pressed to extract its blood from which the blue dye [for תכלת] is obtained. Nevuchadnetzar used the dye for his robes and therefore allowed these people to remain.

The height of the crown was three amohs. And in the beginning of the Book [of Melochim] it states, ”five amohs [high].”⁹Melochim 7:16. I reconciled the verses there.¹⁰Rashi reconciled the difference as follows: The crown was actually five amohs high but its two lower amohs are not counted because the column was inserted into the crown two amohs deep and it served as a base for the crown.

And a netting. (Coife, in O.F.) a type of hat.

Had the same. Pomegranates.

The scribe of the general of the army. Who knew the number of each city, how many men it enlists into the army.

All the officers of the armies. Who had left the city to hide in the strongholds, boulders, rocks and forests.

Evil Merodach … elevated. For Nevuchadnetzar died, and Evil Merodach reigned in his place.

On the twenty-seventh day of the month. But in Yirmiyohu it states, “On the twenty-fifth.”¹¹Yirmiyahu 52:31. Rather, on the twenty-fifth Nevuchadnetzar died and he was buried on the twenty-sixth. On the twenty-seventh, Evil Merodach removed him from his grave and dragged him about,¹²Evil Merodach was afraid that his father was not really dead and would return to claim his throne. This happened before when Nevuchadnetzar became insane. He left his throne and lived as a wild beast for seven years. See Daniel 4:29-34. In the interim one of his sons was appointed in his place. When Nevuchadnetzar came back he imprisoned his son. Evil Merodach wanted to make sure that would not happen again, and he therefore had Nevuchadnetzar's body removed from his grave and dragged along the ground, thus fulfilling Yeshayohu's prophecy.—Radak in order to nullify his decrees, as it is stated in Yeshayohu, ”and you have been cast out of your grave like a despised sapling, etc.”¹³Yeshayohu 14:19.

He spoke kindly with him. Words of consolation.