2 Kings 24:20

2Ki 24:20 For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Ver. 20. For through the anger of the Lord.] Who hardened Zedekiah’s heart, that he "humbled not himself before Jeremiah," &c. {2Ch 36:12}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 24:20. For through the anger of the Lord, &c. — God was so highly displeased with this wicked people, that he permitted Zedekiah to break his faith with Nebuchadnezzar, and to rebel against him, forgetting for what cause he changed his name. Unto this revolt, it is probable, he was persuaded by the ambassadors which the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Zidon, sent unto him, to solicit him to throw off the yoke of the king of Babylon, Jer 27:2-4, &c.; which was the greater crime, because he had taken a solemn oath that he would be true to him, 2Ch 36:13. The king of Egypt also, it is likely, promised him help, Eze 17:15; and Hananiah, a false prophet, assured him God would, in two years time, break the yoke of the king of Babylon, and bring back all the vessels of the house of God, with Jehoiachin and all the captives: see Jer 28:1-4. Jeremiah indeed proved that he made them trust in a lie, by predicting his death that very year, which accordingly came to pass, 2Ki 24:15-17. But they still persisted in their vain hopes, there being other deceivers that prophesied falsely in God’s name, Jer 29:8-9 : and they most of all deceived themselves with proud conceits that they were the true seed of Abraham, who had a right to that land, Eze 33:24. The people’s sins, therefore, as Poole has justly observed, were the true cause why God gave them wicked kings, whom he suffered to act wickedly, that they might bring the long-deserved and threatened punishments upon themselves and their people.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Out of Jerusalem and Judah into Babylon.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

through the anger of the Lord . . . he cast them out from his presence--that is, in the course of God's righteous providence, his policy as king would prove ruinous to his country.

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon--instigated by ambassadors from the neighboring states who came to congratulate him on his ascension to the throne (compare Jer 17:3, with Jer 28:1), and at the same time get him to join them in a common league to throw off the Assyrian yoke. Though warned by Jeremiah against this step, the infatuated and perjured (Eze 17:13) Zedekiah persisted in his revolt.

Next: 2 Kings Chapter 25

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. Zedekiah rebelled] This was in the eighth year of his reign: and he is strongly reproved for having violated the oath he took to the king of Babylon: see 2Ch 36:13. This was the filling up of the measure of iniquity; and now the wrath of God descends upon this devoted king, city, and people, to the uttermost. See the catastrophe in the next chapter.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(20) For through . . . in Jerusalem.—Literally, for upon the anger of Jehovah it befel Jerusalem. That which fell upon Jerusalem and Judah like a ruinous disaster was the evil doing of Zedekiah, mentioned in 2Ki_24:19. That such a prince as Zedekiah was raised to the throne was itself a token of Divine displeasure, for his character was such as to hasten the final catastrophe.

Until he had cast them out.—See Note on 2Ki_17:23.

That Zedekiah rebelled.—Rather, and Zedelciah rebelled. There should be a full stop after “presence.” Zedekiah expected help from Pharaoh Hophra (Apries), king of Egypt, to whom he sent ambassadors (Eze_17:15; comp. Jer_37:5; Jer_44:30.) Moreover the neighbouring peoples of Edom, Ammon, and Moab, as well as Tyre and Zidon, were eager to throw off the Babylonian yoke, and had proposed a general rising to Zedekiah (Jer_27:3 seq.) The high hopes which were inspired by the negotiations may be inferred from the prophecy of Hananiah (Jeremiah 28). Jeremiah opposed the project of revolt to the utmost of his power; and the event proved that he was right. In the early part of his reign Zedekiah had tried to procure the return of the exiles carried away in the last reign (Jer_29:3); and in his fourth year he visited Babylon himself, perhaps with the same object, and to satisfy Nebuchadnezzar of his fidelity (Jer_51:59). The date of his open revolt cannot be fixed.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. For through the anger of the Lord it came [did it come] to pass] Still the same language as in 2Ki_23:27 and in 2Ki_21:12-14, and all pointing to the evil practices of Manasseh and his times. The picture in 2Ch_36:14-16, sets before us the way in which the evil doings had corrupted all classes. ‘The chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen and polluted the house of the Lord. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up betimes and sending, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling-place. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy’. God was deemed to be specially present in the temple at Jerusalem, hence the captivity was a removal from His sight.

that [R.V. and] Zedekiah rebelled] It is better to translate the conjunction as the mere copulative, putting a strong stop after ‘presence’. There were several stages in Zedekiah’s progress to complete revolt. The Chronicler (2Ch_36:12) says that Nebuchadnezzar had made the new king swear unto him by God, perhaps thinking such an oath would be more binding than if he sware by any other oath. We know (Jer_29:3) that Zedekiah sent an embassy to the king of Babylon, apparently with the desire of getting back the captives who had been taken away with Jeconiah. If this were really his wish it did not succeed, and thus the wish to revolt may have arisen. A little later Zedekiah went himself in the company of Seraiah (Jer_51:59) to Babylon. This was in the fourth year of his reign. Amid all these communications with the conqueror, we learn (Jer_27:3) that messengers came to Jerusalem from the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon, who all seemed anxious to form a league against Babylon. Zedekiah listened to false prophets like Hananiah (Jer_28:1-4), who told him that the yoke of the king of Babylon was to be broken and the captives all to be brought back, and along with them the vessels of the house of the Lord. Disappointed of his petitions, and encouraged by the kings round about him, and by the smooth things he heard at home, Zedekiah revolted, probably refusing to pay the yearly tribute and sending (Eze_17:15) down to Egypt to obtain help in horses and chariots. Presently afterwards the Babylonian armies came once more against Jerusalem.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It came to pass - Some prefer “came this to pass:” in the sense. “Through the anger of the Lord was it that another had king ruled in Jerusalem and in Judah:” concluding the chapter with the word “presence;” and beginning the next chapter with the words, “And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.”

Rebelled - The Book of Jeremiah explains the causes of rebellion. In Zedekiah’s early years there was an impression, both at Jerusalem Jer 28:1-11 and at Babylon Jer. 29:5-28, that Nebuchadnezzar was inclined to relent. By embassy to Babylon Jer 29:3, and a personal visit Jer 51:59, Zedekiah strove hard to obtain the restoration of the captives and the holy vessels. But he found Nebuchadnezzar obdurate. Zedekiah returned to his own country greatly angered against his suzerain, and immediately proceeded to plot a rebellion. He sought the alliance of the kings of Tyre, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Edom Jer 27:3, and made overtures to Hophra, in Egypt, which were favorable received Eze 17:15, whereupon he openly revolted, apparently in his ninth year, 588 B.C. Tyre, it must be remembered, was all this time defying the power of Nebuchadnezzar, and thus setting an example of successful revolt very encouraging to the neighboring states. Nebuchadnezzar, while constantly maintaining an army in Syria, and continuing year after year his attempts to reduce Tyre (compare Eze 29:18) was, it would seem, too much occupied with other matters, such, probably, as the reduction of Susiana Jer 49:34-38, to devote more than a small share of his attention to his extreme western frontier. In that same year, however (588 B.C.), the new attitude taken by Egypt induced him to direct to that quarter the main force of the Empire, and to take the field in person.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Revolted. Literally, "departed;" (Haydock) "broke his covenant;" (Septuagint) acting contrary to his oath, (Paralipomenon) and to the dictates of prudence. God permitted this to take place, in the 8th year of Sedecias. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thus the people’s sins were the true cause why God gave them wicked kings, whom he suffered to do wickedly, that they might bring the long deserved and threatened punishments upon themselves and their people.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. Zedekiah rebelled — In what year is not said, but probably in the eighth year of his reign. Chronicles says, that the king of Babylon “had made him swear by God” — that is, had bound him by the most solemn oath — (compare Eze_17:13,) to keep the peace by fidelity to the conqueror who had set him on the throne; and in Jer_29:3; Jer_51:59, mention is made of two embassies of Zedekiah to Babylon, with one of which Zedekiah went in person. In Jer_27:3, we find messengers from the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Zidon, consulting with Zedekiah, perhaps concerting a plan to throw off the Babylonian yoke; and in Eze_17:15, Zedekiah is represented as “sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people.” Thus he seems to have laid broad plans for his rebellion, and in all this he was encouraged by the false prophets of his time. Jeremiah 28.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For through the anger of the Lord it came to pus in Jerusalem and Judah. It was "through the auger of the Lord" at the persistent impenitence of the people, that that came to pass which actually came to pass the rejection of the nation by God and the casting of it out of his presence. In his anger he suffered the appointment of another perverse and faithless monarch, who made no attempt at a reformation of religion, and allowed him to run his evil course unchecked, and to embroil himself with his suzerain, and to bring destruction upon his nation. God"s anger, long provoked, (2Ki_21:10-15 2Ki_23:26, 27 24:3, 4) lay at the root of the whole series of events, not causing men"s sins, but allowing them to go on until the cup of their iniquities was full, and the time had arrived for vengeance. Until he had east them out from his presence. (2Ki_17:18, 20 23:27 24:3) To be "cast out of God"s presence" is to lose his protecting care, to be separated off from him, to be left defenseless against our enemies. When Israel was once finally cast off, its fate was sealed; there was no further hope for it; the end was come. That Zedekiah rebelled against the King of Babylon; rather, And Zedekiah rebelled, etc. The sentence is a detached one, and would, perhaps, better commence 2Ki 25. than terminate, as it does, 2Ki 24. Zedekiah, when he received his investiture at the hands ofNebuchadnezzar (ver. 17), took a solemn oath of allegiance and fidelity (2Ch_36:13; Eze_17:13) to him and to his successors; but almost immediately afterwards he began to intrigue with Egypt, sent a contingent of troops to help Psamatik II in his wars (Wiediemann, "Geschichte Aegyptens," p. 159), and thus sought to pave the way for an Egyptian alliance, on the strength of which he might venture upon a revolt. It was probably owing to the suspicions which these acts aroused that, in the fourth year of his reign, B.C. 594, he had to visit Babylon, (Jer_51:59) where, no doubt, he renewed his engagements and assured the Babylonian monarch of his fidelity. But these proceedings were nothing but a blind. On the accession of Hophra (Apries) to the throne of Egypt in B.C. 591, Zedekiah renewed his application to the Egyptian court, openly sending ambassadors, (Eze_17:15) with a request for infantry and cavalry. Thus was his rebellion complete, his "oath despised," and his "covenant broken". (Eze_17:15, Eze_17:16) The war with Babylon, and the siege of Jerusalem, were the natural consequences.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Came to pass - Thus the peoples sins were the true cause why God gave them wicked kings, whom he suffered to do wickedly, that they might bring the long-deserved, and threatened punishments upon themselves and their people.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Indeed the wrath of Adonoy was, etc. Therefore, Tzidkiyohu rebelled against the king of Bavel. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, gave him the desire to rebel against him in order that he would be exiled.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.