Bible Strands
Jeremiah 52:10
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the execution of Zedekiah’s sons and Judah’s officials at Riblah in Hamath, occurring immediately after the Chaldean king pronounces judgment on Zedekiah.
The words — וַיִּשְׁחַט (va.yištāḥaṭ) carries the literal sense of slaughter or cutting down, indicating a decisive, violent execution. לְעֵינָיו (ləʿênāyw) translates literally as “to his eyes,” specifying that the king was compelled to witness the killing rather than be spared the sight.
The thread — The identical witnessed slaughter and subsequent blinding of Zedekiah appears in 2 Kings 25:7, while the motif of a royal line marked as childless and unprosperous runs in Jeremiah 22:30.
Why it lands — The passage presents the concrete realization of covenant judgment through historical violence, requiring the reader to acknowledge the finality of divine permission without abstracting the event into mere symbolism.
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 slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 22:30 This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”
- 2 Kings 25:7 And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
- Genesis 21:16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept.
- Genesis 44:34 For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm him.”
- Deuteronomy 28:34 You will be driven mad by the sights you see.
- 2 Kings 25:18 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Jeremiah 39:6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah.
- Jeremiah 52:24 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Ezekiel 11:7 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.
- Ezekiel 9:6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.