Bible Strands
2 Kings 25:5
but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative describes the moment after Jerusalem’s breach when the king and his remaining forces flee toward the Arabah. The Chaldean forces catch up to the king in the plains of Jericho while his entire army abandons him.
The words — וַ/יִּרְדְּפ֤וּ (yirdəfū) translates literally as “and they pursued,” and וַ/יַּשִּׂ֥גוּ (yaśśîgū) means “and they overtook.” These consecutive verbs mark the Chaldean troops closing in on the fleeing monarch.
The thread — The same pursuit and capture at Jericho appears in Jeremiah 39:5, while Isaiah 30:16 and Jeremiah 24:8 parallel the theme of futile flight and the judgment pronounced on Zedekiah.
Why it lands — The text records the factual collapse of royal resistance without explanation, leaving the reader to observe the complete failure of military flight and the certainty of the king’s capture.
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 army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 30:16 “No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
- Jeremiah 24:8 But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.
- Jeremiah 39:5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
- Jeremiah 52:8 but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him.
- Amos 2:14 Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.