Bible Strands
2 Kings 25:9
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records Nebuzaradan’s actions in Jerusalem during the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, immediately after the city’s fall. The text describes the systematic destruction of Judah’s central institutions.
The words — וַ/יִּשְׂרֹ֥ף (va/yis.rof) translates literally as “and he burned,” while בֵּית־יְהוָ֖ה (beit-Yahweh) means “house of Yahweh.” These terms anchor the verse in the physical act of temple destruction.
The thread — The destruction of sacred and royal centers appears in Psalms 74:3, the prophetic warning of fire on Jerusalem’s citadels in Amos 2:5, and the covenant curse regarding the temple becoming a heap of rubble in 1 Kings 9:8.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that covenant failure produces tangible historical consequences. It places the reader before the reality of divine judgment executed through human agents.
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 he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire.
Cross-references
- Psalms 74:3 Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
- Amos 2:5 So I will send fire upon Judah to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”
- 1 Kings 9:8 And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
- 2 Chronicles 36:19 Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value.
- Psalms 79:1 A Psalm of Asaph. The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
- Micah 3:12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded ridge.
- Isaiah 64:10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wasteland and Jerusalem a desolation.
- Jeremiah 34:22 Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
- Jeremiah 37:8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.
- Jeremiah 37:10 Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans that is fighting against you, and only wounded men remained in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.”