Bible Strands
2 Kings 25:21
There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death. So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records the Babylonian king executing captured Judahite leaders at Riblah after Nebuzaradan transports them there. This judicial act formally ends Judah’s political independence and initiates the nationwide exile.
The words — The Hebrew verbs וַ/יַּ֣ךְ (va/i.Yakh) and וַ/יְמִיתֵ֛/ם (va/y.mi.Te/m) literally mean “he struck down” and “he put to death.” These terms specify the method and finality of the Babylonian king’s execution order.
The thread — The pattern of territorial loss and forced dispersal recurs in Leviticus 26:33, 2 Kings 23:27, and Deuteronomy 28:64. These texts collectively document the historical fulfillment of covenant warnings regarding Judah’s removal from its land.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that political survival and territorial possession are contingent on covenant fidelity. It requires readers to confront the concrete consequences of national rebellion without minimizing the historical reality of exile.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 28:64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
- 2 Kings 23:27 For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”
- Leviticus 26:33 But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Deuteronomy 4:26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 28:36 The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
- 2 Kings 17:20 So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.
- Jeremiah 24:9 I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
- Jeremiah 25:9 behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
- Ezekiel 12:25 because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass, declares the Lord GOD.’”
- Ezekiel 24:14 I, the LORD, have spoken; the time is coming, and I will act. I will not refrain or show pity, nor will I relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds,’ declares the Lord GOD.”