Jeremiah 52:16

Verse 16. The poor of the land] See Clarke on Jer 39:10.

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

Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord,.... The two pillars in the temple, called Jachin and Boaz, which were made of cast brass, Kg1 7:15;

and the bases; which were in number ten, and which were also made of cast brass, and were all of one measure and size; and on which the ten lavers of brass were set, five on the right side and five on the left side of the house, Kg1 7:37;

and the brasen sea that was in the house of the Lord; called the molten sea; a sea, because of the large quantity of water it held; and brasen and molten, because made of molten brass, Kg1 7:23;

the Chaldeans broke, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon: they broke them to pieces, that they might carry them the more easily. This account is given, and which is continued in some following verses, partly to show the accomplishment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 27:19; and partly to show that what was left in the temple, at the former captivities of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah, were now carried clear off.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Husbandmen - Men who tilled little plots of ground with the mattock.

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

See Poole "2Ki 25:8", See Poole "2Ki 25:9", See Poole "2Ki 25:10", See Poole "2Ki 25:11", See Poole "2Ki 25:12" where all this is related, only with a small difference as to the day of the month when Nebuzar-adan came to Jerusalem and burned the temple. In the Kings it is said he came the seventh day, here it is said he came the tenth day. See the solution of it in the annotations on 2Ki 25. Probably he might come into Jerusalem the seventh day, and not burn the temple till the tenth. Much of it also is related by Jer 39. The provost-marshal, about a month after the taking of the city, returned with a part of the army, burned the temple, the great men’s houses in the city, and many other houses, and carried away divers prisoners, but left some of the poorer sort of the people to dress the vineyards and till the grounds, which is a thing very usual with conquerors, for their own advantage, that their conquests may yield them some revenue.

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

Sparing the poor.

I THE FACT. Whilst the king, the nobles, the wealthy, and many others were carried into exile, certain of the poor were still left in the land. We are accustomed to speak of the hardships of poverty, but there are compensating advantages not a few. Many evils of the worst character only visit the rich. In times of public trouble the houses of the rich are attacked and the persons of the great are threatened, while the poor are left in happy neglect. Great men are beset with anxieties such as are unknown to the simpler lives of the poor. Who would be a king now that kings are all marks for the assassin? In those countries where the sovereign is compelled to take elaborate precautions for his safety, the poor citizen can move about the streets without fear. The one is a prisoner in his own palace, the other a free man with liberty to roam over the whole kingdom. Ambition aims at distinction, but that is a poor crown to win. Distinguished men have peculiar vexations and dangers of their own. There is more happiness in obscurity. The wise man will say, "Give me neither poverty nor riches;" and the Christian will add, "Not my will, but thine, be done," knowing well that for him that lot is best which his heavenly Father assigns to him.

II THE EXPLANATION. What was there in the condition of the poor to induce the Chaldeans to spare them?

1. Their innocence. The peasants had not been plotting against Nebuchadnezzar, and the vengeance that the Babylonian monarch vented on the king and the seat of his government was naturally averted from the quiet country folk. These men were also more innocent in the sight of God. The leading people had shown their faithlessness in turning from Jehovah to Egypt; they, too, had probably descended the lowest in the vices of the age, which brought upon the nation the wrath of God. Poor men may be bad men. But there are sins to which they are less liable than great men.

2. Their weakness. While the great men were removed to Babylon, there would appear to be little danger of an insurrection among the poor people scattered over the farms, who had enough to do to earn their daily bread. There is a protection in weakness. A little strength often courts danger. They who are weak in themselves may be strong in the protection of God"s providence.

3. Their usefulness. These poor people were left to work as "vine dressers and husbandmen." Nebuchadnezzar had no wish to see his newly acquired territory converted into a desert. It was for his advantage that some of the people should be spared. There is no protection like usefulness. Be serviceable and you will be safe. lie who lives for the real. good of his fellow men and the glory of his great Master may be sure that no harm can touch him so long as he is faithful to his task.

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

Disposition of the Spoil and of the Captives

v. 16. But Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, left certain of the poor of the land, of those who had no possessions in money or goods, for vine-dressers and for husbandmen, so that the country would not revert to a wilderness on account of total neglect.

v. 17. Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, on either aide of the main entrance of the Sanctuary, 1Ki 7:15, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans brake, in order to make all these pieces fit for transportation, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.

v. 18. The caldrons also, large pots used for sacrificial worship, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, vessels for incense, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away, all those used for the altar of burnt offerings in the Court of the Priests.

v. 19. And the basins, and the fire-pans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups, all these used chiefly in the ministrations of the Holy Place; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, in either case of solid metal, not of some cheap alloy or merely plated, took the captain of the guard away.

v. 20. The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, 1Ki 7:23-26, which King Solomon had made in the house of the Lord. The brass of all these vessels was without weight, its mass beyond calculation.

v. 21. And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it, that, in round numbers, being the circumference of either of the pillars; and the thickness thereof was four fingers; it was hollow. The thirty-five cubits of 2Ch 3:15 either refer to a different cubit, or they give the sum total of both pillars less the bases.

v. 22. And a ter, or capital, of brass was upon it, and the height of one ter, that is, of its upper part, where it curved away from the shaft, was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the ters round about, all of brass, in the nature of ornaments in chains or festoons. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.

v. 23. And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side, set towards the four winds or sides; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about, including those on the corners of the capitals.

v. 24. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah, the chief priest, not identical with the man named Jer 51:59, and Zephaniah, the second priest, a very important member of the hierarchy, and the three keepers of the door, officers of the Temple-guard.

v. 25. He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war, the commander of the city forces, and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, of the king’s intimate counselors, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, an officer in the direct service of the commander-in-chief, who mustered the people of the land, enrolling them for military service; and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the midst of the city, either leaders in the rebellion or such as had distinguished themselves in the defense of the city.

v. 26. So Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.

v. 27. And the king of Babylon smote them, for the part they had taken in the rebellion of Judah, and put them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the Syrian province in the extreme northern part of Palestine. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. There follows a summary or enumeration of the prominent captives.

v. 28. This is the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, at the first captivity under Jehoiachin, three thousand Jews and three and twenty, these being of the tribe of Judah only, those from other tribes being more than twice as many;

v. 29. in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, after his actual accession to the throne, but nineteen years after he had gotten into power, 2Ki 25:8, he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons;

v. 30. in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzar-adan, the captain of the guard, carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons; all the persons evidently of the tribe of Judah alone, not including any of the other tribes who had sought and found refuge in Jerusalem since the fall of the northern kingdom, were four thousand and six hundred, not including the general multitude, and the women and children.

v. 31. And it came to pass in the seven-and-thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, the decree being issued on that day, although it was not carried out till two days later, 2Ki 25:27, that Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, delivering him from the special bondage in which he had been held all these years,

v. 32. and spake kindly unto him and set his throne above the throne of the king’s that were with him in Babylon, captive monarchs of other conquered nations,

v. 33. and changed his prison-garments, witnesses of his deep humiliation; and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.

v. 34. And for his diet there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion, until the day of his death, all the days of his life. Cf 2Ki 25:27-30. The same Lord who humbles the proud transgressors is able also to exalt those who turn to Him in true repentance.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.