Bible Strands
Jeremiah 39:3
Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Babylonian officials entering Jerusalem immediately after the city walls are breached on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year. They take their positions at the Middle Gate while the Judean king and his remaining soldiers prepare to flee at night.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יֵּשְׁב֖וּ (va/i.ye.she.Vu) means "and they sat," a term used for assuming formal judicial or administrative authority. It follows their entry into the Middle Gate, where the king of Babylon’s officials take their seats to exercise conquered dominion.
The thread — The gathering of northern rulers to execute judgment echoes Jeremiah 1:15, where the Lord summons the kings of the north. The breach of Jerusalem’s defenses and the subsequent royal entry fulfill the warnings against trusting military fortifications found in Jeremiah 21:4 and 38:17.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that human political power operates only within the boundaries of divine judgment. It asks the reader to recognize that fortified positions and royal authority yield immediately when God’s decree is executed.
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 all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal–sharezer, Samgar–nebo, Sarsechim, Rab–saris, Nergal–sharezer, Rab–mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 21:4 this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will assemble their forces in the center of this city.
- Jeremiah 38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.
- Jeremiah 1:15 For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.
- Jeremiah 39:13 So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon
- 2 Kings 17:30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,