2 Kings 25:7

2Ki 25:7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

Ver. 7. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah.] Who were, likely, taken with him, and consenting to his rebellion. {a}

Before his eyes.] To his greater grief. The like befell Mauricius, the emperor, a better man.

And put out the eyes of Zedekiah.] The eyes of whose mind had been put out long before; else he might have foreseen and prevented this evil - as prevision is the best means of prevention, - had he taken warning by what was foretold. {Jer 32:4; Jer 34:3; Eze 12:13} The Dutchmen have a proverb, When God intends to destroy a man, he first puts out his eyes. This punishment of putting out the eyes of an enemy, was practised by the Philistines upon Samson; by Irene, the empress, upon her son Constantinus Copronymus; by our Henry I upon his brother Robert, duke of Normandy; by Amidas, king of Tunis, upon his own father Muleasses; by Amurath VI, king of Turks, upon his wife’s brethren, the two young Servian princes, Gregory and Stephen, whose eyes he cruelly burnt out with a bason made red hot; {b} a common unmerciful practice among the Turks.

{a} Josephus

{b} Turk. Hist., 262.

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 25:7. They slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes — Though they were but children, that this spectacle, the last he was to behold, might leave a deep and durable impression of grief and horror upon his spirit. And in slaying his sons they in effect declared that the kingdom was no more, and that neither he nor any of his breed were fit to be trusted: therefore not fit to live. And put out his eyes, and carried him to Babylon — Thus two prophecies were fulfilled, which seemed contrary the one to the other. Jeremiah foretold, That he should be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and should speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes should behold his eyes, and that he should go to Babylon, Jer 32:4; Jer 34:3; and Ezekiel prophesied, That he should never see Babylon, though he should die there, Eze 12:13. This seeming contradiction, Zedekiah the false prophet could not reconcile, and therefore concluded that both prophecies were false, and, if we may credit Josephus, Zedekiah the king stumbled at this difficulty. Both, however, were literally accomplished. The reflection which Josephus makes on this event, is worthy of the reader’s attention: “This may serve to convince even the ignorant, of the power and wisdom of God; and of the constancy of his counsels through all the various ways of his operations. It may likewise show us that God’s foreknowledge of things is certain; and his providence regular in the ordering of events; and besides, it holds forth a most exemplary instance of the danger of our giving way to the motions of sin and infidelity, which deprive us of the means of discerning God’s judgments, even though ready to fall upon us.” — Antiq., lib. 10., cap. 11.

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

25:7 gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes: Rebellious leaders were commonly blinded in the ancient Near East. However, Zedekiah’s blinding seems especially cruel; the last image he had was of his sons being slaughtered. • True to the prophetic word, Zedekiah was taken into captivity, where he died (Jer 32:4-5; 34:3; 52:11; Ezek 12:11-14).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(7) And they slew . . .—The verbs are all singular in Jer_39:6; Jer_52:10-11; so that the acts in question are attributed directly to Nebuchadnezzar, to whose orders they were due. (So the versions, except that the Targum has “they slew.”) The blinding of Zedekiah need not have been done by the conqueror himself, although in the Assyrian sculptures kings are actually represented as blinding and otherwise torturing their captives. It is no argument against the singular, “he carried him to Babylon,” to say with Thenius that Zedekiah was sent to Babylon at once, while Nebuchadnezzar remained at Riblah. “Qui facit per alium, facit per se.”

The sons.—Who fled with him (Comp. Jer_41:10). In Jeremiah it is added that all the nobles or princes. of Judah were slain also.

Put out the eyes.—A Babylonian punishment (Herod, vii. 18). This was the meaning of Ezekiel’s prediction; “I will bring him to Babylon . . . yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there” (Eze_12:13).

With fetters of brass.—Literally, with the double brass (2Ch_33:12); i.e., with manacles and fetters, as represented on the Assyrian monuments.

Carried him to Babylon.—Jer_52:11; “and put him in prison till the day of his death.” So the Arabic of Kings.

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

7. slew the sons of Zedekiah] This was done to prevent the rise of a new revolt under a successor. To do it in the sight of the father was to break down all his hope of any rightful successor taking his throne. The narrative in Jeremiah adds that Nebuchadnezzar ‘slew all the nobles of Judah’. Not only was the royal family destroyed, but the men of power and influence were all extinguished.

put out the eyes of Zedekiah] This punishment the Philistines inflicted on Samson (Jdg_16:21) before they put him in the prison-house. The LXX. had this instance so much in mind that they say Zedekiah was put εἰς οἰκίαν μύλωνος. The deprivation of the eyes was not uncommon in the East as a punishment (cf. Herod. 2Ki_7:18).

It is very striking to put side by side the two prophecies concerning Zedekiah uttered the one by Jeremiah, the other by Ezekiel. The former said (Eze_34:3) ‘Thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon (cf. Jer_32:4); the latter (2Ki_12:13) says of this king ‘I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldæans, yet shall he not see it though he shall die there’.

and bound him with fetters of brass] R.V. in fetters. There is no need to express the metal of which the fetters were made. In English on the contrary we speak of ‘putting a man in irons’ and omit ‘fetters’. The Hebrew word is dual, and properly signifies ‘double fetters’. His legs as well as his hands were shackled.

and carried him to Babylon] The narrative in Jeremiah adds ‘and put him in prison till the day of his death’.

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.

Before his eyes - This refinement of cruelty seems to have especially shocked the Jews, whose manners were less barbarous than those of most Orientals. It is noted by Jeremiah in two places Jer 39:6; Jer 52:10.

And put out the eyes of Zedekiah - Blinding has always been among the most common of secondary punishments in the East (compare Jdg 16:2 l). The blinding of Zedekiah reconciled in a very remarkable way prophecies, apparently contradictory, which had been made concerning him. Jeremiah had prophesied distinctly that he would be carried to Babylon Jer 32:5; Jer 34:3. Ezekiel had said that he should not “see Babylon” Eze 12:13. His deprivation of sight before he was carried to the conqueror’s capital fulfilled the predictions of both prophets.

With fetters of brass - literally, (see Jer 39:7 margin), “with two chains of brass.” The Assyrians’ captives are usually represented as bound hand and foot - the two hands secured by one chain, the two feet by another. According to Jewish tradition Zedekiah was, like other slaves, forced to work in a mill at Babylon. Jeremiah tells us that he was kept in prison until he died Jer 52:11.

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

Eyes; after they had been excruciated by the sight of his slaughtered children. He thus might be convinced, that there was no reason to despise the predictions of Jeremias and of Ezechiel, (xii. 13.) as contradictory, because the latter informed him that he should not see Babylon; though the other said that he should die there. --- Babylon, where he was honourably buried, by order of Nabuchodonosor. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] x. 11.) --- Seder (Olam xxviii.) records that his attendants sung, at his funeral, "Alas! king Sedecias is dead, having drunk the dregs of all ages;" as he suffered also for the crimes of his predecessors. (Genebrard) (Tirinus) --- This is not indeed specified in Scripture: (Haydock) but it is highly probable that Nabuchodonosor would thus "revere royalty, even in its ruins," if Daniel and the other Jews in power, had not been careful to shew this mark of respect to their deceased monarch, conformably to the prediction of Jeremias; (xxxiv. 3.) who foretold that he should die, not by a violent death, the usual fate of captive kings, but in peace, or on his bed, though in a prison. (Watson, let. 6.)

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 two prophecies were fulfilled, which seemed contrary one to the other, that he should go to Babylon, Jer 32:5; 34:3, and that he should never see Babylon; which seeming contradiction, because Zedekiah the false prophet could not reconcile, he concluded both were false, and that Jeremiah was a false prophet; and it seems Zedekiah the king might stumble at this difficulty.

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

7. Slew the sons… before his eyes — This was not only to intensify Zedekiah’s woes by making his sons’ execution the last sight of his eyes, but also to end his dynasty.

Put out the eyes of Zedekiah — This barbarous and cruel punishment was practised by various ancient nations. Thus the Philistines punished Samson when he fell into their power, (Jdg_16:21,) and thus the Persians tortured great offenders. It was done by thrusting hot irons or a sharp lance into the eyes. On the monuments of Nineveh is the picture of a king piercing with a lance the eyes of some royal captive.

Fetters of brass — Literally, double brass. See note on Jdg_16:21.

Carried him to Babylon — But being sightless, he did not see Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans, so that Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning him came literally to pass, (Eze_12:13,) as well as that of Jeremiah, (Jer_32:4,) that he should “surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes should behold his eyes.” This latter was fulfilled at Riblah. He died in the land of his captivity, (Eze_12:13,) probably in prison, and not long after his capture and imprisonment. Josephus says he was honoured with a magnificent burial.

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

And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes (comp. Herod., 3:14, and RAPC 2Ma 7., for similar aggravations of condemned persons" sufferings). As Zedekiah was no more than thirty-two years of age, (2Ki_24:18) his sons must have been minors, who could not justly be held responsible for their father"s doings. It was usual, however, in the East, and even among the Jews, to punish children for the sins of their fathers (see Jos_7:24, Jos_7:25; 2Ki_9:26 2Ki_14:6; Dan_6:24) And put out the eyes of Zedekiah. This, too, was a common Oriental practice. The Philistines blinded Samson. (Jud_1:16:21) Sargon, in one of his sculptures, seems to be blinding a prisoner with a spear (Botta, "Monumens de Ninive," pl. 18). The ancient Persians often blinded criminals (Xen., "Anab.," 1:9. Ammian. Mare., 27:12; Procop., "De Bell. Pers.," 1:11. p. 80). In modern Persia, it was, until very lately, usual for a king, on his accession, to blind all his brothers, in order that they might be disqualified from reigning. The operation was commonly performed in Persia by means of a red-hot iron rod (see Herod., 7:18). Zedekiah"s loss of eyesight reconciled the two apparently conflicting prophecies that he would be carried captive to Babylon, (Jer_22:5, etc.) and that he would never see it (Eze_12:13) in a remarkable manner. And bound him with fetters of brass; literally, with a pair of brazen fetters. Assyrian fetters consisted of two thick rings of iron, joined together by a single long link (Botta, l.s.c. ); Babylonian were probably similar. Captives of importance are usually represented as fettered in the sculptures. And carried him to Babylon. Jeremiah adds (Jer_52:11) that Nebuchadnezzar "put him in prison till the day of his death:" and so Josephus ("Ant. Jud:," 10:8. The latter writer further tells us that, at his death, the Babylonian monarch gave him a royal funeral (comp. Jer_34:5).

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

Slew, &c. - Tho' they were but children, that this spectacle, the last he was to behold, might leave a remaining impression of grief and horror upon his spirit. And in slaying his sons they in effect declared, that the kingdom was no more, and that he nor any of his breed were fit to be trusted: therefore not fit to live. Babylon - Thus two prophecies were fulfilled, which seemed contrary one to the other, that he should go to Babylon, Jer. xxxii, 5, xxxiv, 3, and that he should never see Babylon: which seeming contradiction, because Zedekiah the false prophet could not reconcile, he concluded both were false, and it seems Zedekiah the king might stumble at this difficulty.

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