They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
Parallel translations
- KJV And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
- BSB 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.
- NKJV Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
- NASB And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
- NLT They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zedekiah's sons are killed before his eyes, then he is blinded and taken to Babylon in chains. The last king suffers a terrible judgment.
Overview
The execution of his sons and the gouging out of his eyes are acts of brutal Babylonian justice, harmonizing the prophecies that he would see the king of Babylon (Jer. 32:4) yet not see Babylon itself (Ezek. 12:13). The Davidic throne in Jerusalem is extinguished in horror. Yet God's covenant with David is not finally destroyed; it awaits fulfillment in the eternal King, Jesus.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Jer 32:4–5and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes;
- Jer 52:10–11The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he killed also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
- Ezek 7:27The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with desolation. The hands of the people of the land will be troubled. I will do to them after their way, and according to their own judgments will I judge them; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.’”
- Jer 39:6–7Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes. The king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah.
- Deut 28:34so that the sights that you see with your eyes will drive you mad.
- Ps 149:8To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
- 2 Chr 36:6Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon.
- Ezek 12:13–16I will also spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, though he will die there.
- Judg 16:21The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
- Gen 21:16She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, “Don’t let me see the death of the child.” She sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
- Jer 22:30Yahweh says, “Record this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his offspring prosper, sitting on David’s throne, and ruling in Judah.”
- Ezek 17:16–20“‘As I live,’ says the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the middle of Babylon he will die.
- Ps 107:10–11Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
- Jer 34:3You won’t escape out of his hand, but will surely be taken, and delivered into his hand. Your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with you mouth to mouth. You will go to Babylon.”’
- Gen 44:34For how will I go up to my father, if the boy isn’t with me? — lest I see the evil that will come on my father.”
- 2 Chr 33:11Therefore Yahweh brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 25:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.