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The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he killed also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
Jeremiah 52:10 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
  • BSB There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah.
  • NKJV Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
  • NASB And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the commanders of Judah in Riblah.
  • NLT The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah.

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

Nebuchadnezzar slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his eyes and executed Judah's princes. The royal house and leadership were brutally destroyed.

Overview

This act both crushed Zedekiah's dynastic hopes and inflicted lasting trauma, the last thing he would ever see. It fulfilled the dire warnings of judgment on the house of Judah for its persistent rebellion. The horror of the scene exposes the bitter wages of sin, deepening the longing for a King whose throne and offspring would endure forever, fulfilled in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • 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.”
  • 2 Kgs 25:7They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him 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.”
  • Ezek 11:7–11“‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Your slain whom you have laid in the middle of it, they are the meat, and this is the cauldron; but you will be brought out of the middle of it.
  • 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 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.
  • 2 Kgs 25:18–21The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold;
  • Jer 52:24–27The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
  • Ezek 9:6Kill utterly the old man, the young man, the virgin, little children and women; but don’t come near any man on whom is the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” Then they began at the old men who were before the house.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 52:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.

How Jeremiah 52:10 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.