Jeremiah 52:31-34
English Standard Version

Jehoiachin Released from Prison
31 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 34 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.

We have reached the end of the book of Jeremiah.  The book ends telling us of the release of King Jehoiachin from prison.  The king of Babylon mentioned here had a very short reign (from extra-biblical sources, he was also known as Amel-Marduk and reigned from 562 B.C. to 560 B.C.)  He was the son of Nebuchadnezzar.  (See Topical Bible: Evil-Merodach).  We don't hear anything about him in the book of Daniel, but we would imagine that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had great influence on him.  The only thing that this king of Babylon is known for is releasing Jehoiachin, king of Judah from prison and treating him like one of the royal family for the rest of the days of his natural life.  Jehoiachin was given regular clothes and allowed to eat at the king's table and given daily provisions--whatever he needed was taken care of so that he was in need of nothing for the rest of his days.  As were his needs for the day, so was his allowance for that day, just as it would be for one of the kings or princes of the royal family.  There certainly had been a change in heart in the leadership of the Babylonian Empire, but that did not continue to future generations as we see in the book of Daniel.  The LORD did everything as he promised by the prophet Jeremiah and the other prophets.  He disciplined His people and put down the rebellion that was going on in the priesthood and the palace, but He preserved a remnant so that His covenant promises could be fulfilled.

Jeremiah 52:24-30
English Standard Version

The People Exiled to Babylon
24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

28 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600.

The priests are not saved from the exile and conquest of Babylon.  Just as Jeremiah promised, all of the chief priests who had heard the prophecy of the LORD and rebelled against it and tried to stir the people up to fight and resist the Word of the LORD were captured and executed by the Babylonians.  The text gives the number of exiles from Judah and Jerusalem from the various campaigns carried out by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians and Chaldeans as 4,600.   This is an extremely small number (less than 1% based off of the last census taken by David).  The others would have died in battle or from the plagues or pestilence or famine promised by the LORD.  Certainly those who escaped into captivity had much to mourn and we see that in the book of Daniel when they hung up their harps and lyres and refused to sing the Psalms because their heart was grieved.

Jeremiah 52:12-23
English Standard Version

The Temple Burned
12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

17 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; 19 also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 20 As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. 22 On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around

The most unbelievable part of the LORD's prophecy through Jeremiah was that the Temple would be destroyed.  They might be willing to believe that invaders would come, and even that some of them would die, and maybe that some cities would be taken.  All this had happened in the past, but it was pretty hard for them to believe that Jerusalem would fall and that if Jerusalem fell that the LORD would allow His Temple to be desecrated and destroyed.  Yet, that is exactly what happens in this passage, exactly as the LORD said it would.

The Temple was burned with fire as was every great house that the rich lived in.  All the walls around Jerusalem were broken down so that there was nothing left of the city but a burning, shouldering heap of rubble.  The king of Babylon carried away everyone who was left who had not been taken captive during the first campaign.  Even the poor and those who had tried to escape the first time and the artisans that had been left behind.  Everyone now was shipped off into Exile with the exception of some of the poorest people that were left to work the farmland, vineyards and orchards as slave laborers.

Bronze is a very strong metal, and the Babylonians destroyed the pillars of bronze from the Temple and the Sea of Bronze that held all the water for the ceremonial washing.  They took away the smaller bronze items as well as the items of silver and gold that were used in the service of the LORD.  They put these objects into the treasuries of the temples of their gods.  The text reminds us of how beautiful this Temple was--so beautiful is was considered one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, and the Babylonians destroyed it to desecrate it in an attempt to show the people of Judah that the LORD was too weak to save them from their gods.

Jeremiah 52:1-11
English Standard Version

The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted
52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 5 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

The end of the last chapter was the end of the writings of Jeremiah the prophet, but there is one final chapter that has a theme of "Everything happened exactly the way the LORD said it would."  In this passage, we recount the fall and destruction of the city of Jerusalem (with the exception of the Temple, which is in the next section of text).  The passage is written in a similar style as that of the book of Chronicles, which we know was written by the priests.  The author wants us to know first and foremost that Zedekiah was a bad king who did evil in the eyes of the LORD.  He followed in the footsteps of Jehoiakim, and it was at this time that the LORD finally allowed Jerusalem to be captured and destroyed and its people to be taken into exile.

Zedekiah refused to surrender to the Babylonians as the LORD commanded and instead rebelled against the king of Babylon, so Nebuchadnezzar made war against Zedekiah and Jerusalem.  Zedekiah ran for his life, but was captured and then passed judgment on him (more on that in a second).  The king of Babylon slaughtered all the government officials that went along with the king and did not heed the word of the LORD given through the prophet Jeremiah, but he kept the king alive.  He gouged out the eyes of the king of Judah and put him in prison so that he would be unable to lead any king of rebellion or revolt.  He was kept in prison until the day of his death.

If only he had listened to the LORD when Jeremiah spoke to him.  Things could have gone much better for him and the people of Judah.

Jeremiah 51:59-64
English Standard Version

59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.’”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

Though there is another chapter at the end of the book of Jeremiah telling how the prophecies spoken by Jeremiah came true, it seems these are the final words spoken or penned by Jeremiah the prophet.  He gave the words of this book to the quartermaster for King Zedekiah and made him promise to read the words of this prophecy (because they were promises of hope and deliverance for the people of God and promises of recompense and wrath for those who attacked and mistreated the people of God) once the Exiles made it to Babylon.  It would be these words that the prophet Daniel would study that would cause him to fast and pray for his people that they might be ready to return to the Land once the 70 years of Exile had been completed.

Jeremiah wanted the words of the book read and then to have a stone tied to it and have it cast into the midst of the mighty Euphrates River.  This would be a sign of what the LORD was going to do to the king and kingdom of Babylon.  They would sink, never to rise again.  The LORD is going to bring disaster upon them, and it will wear them out so that they become exhausted.  This is the word of the LORD given through the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 51:52-58
English Standard Version
​
52 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,
    when I will execute judgment upon her images,
and through all her land
    the wounded shall groan.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,
    and though she should fortify her strong height,
yet destroyers would come from me against her,
    declares the LORD.

54 “A voice! A cry from Babylon!
    The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the LORD is laying Babylon waste
    and stilling her mighty voice.
Their waves roar like many waters;
    the noise of their voice is raised,
56 for a destroyer has come upon her,
    upon Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
    their bows are broken in pieces,
for the LORD is a God of recompense;
    he will surely repay.
57 I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,
    her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,
    declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

58 “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
The broad wall of Babylon
    shall be leveled to the ground,
and her high gates
    shall be burned with fire.
The peoples labor for nothing,
    and the nations weary themselves only for fire.”

The LORD is going to destroy Babylon and all of its idols.  The people that worshiped them and put their hope in them are going to suffer greatly and not be saved by them--in fact, many will die.  Though they mount up a defense as tall as the Tower of Babel (which was the origins of their rebellious people and kingdom), they will not prevail against the LORD.  They will be destroyed, though all the demons of the kingdom of darkness unite to fight alongside side these wicked men, the darkness cannot prevail against the Light.

A voice, a shout, a cry of pain and mourning and maybe a shout of triumph and victory.  The voice announces the LORD's destruction of Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans.  None of the warriors of Babylon are left standing because not even their combined strength could contend with the LORD.  Their bows are broken so that they have lost their strength and can no longer make war.  The LORD is going to repay them for atrocities they have committed and they will have to drink of the cup of the wrath of God to the dregs.  All of the leaders and government officials will be made to pay for what they did and what they allowed to happen.  Even if they did not actively participate, they capitulated by their silence.  Therefore, the LORD is going to put them all to death (a perpetual sleep they will not wake up from).

The thick walls around the capital city could not save them.  It will be broken and leveled to the ground.  Its gates will be burned with fire.  All the work the people had done to build up the defenses of this once-great city were for nothing once the LORD had marked it for destruction.  There were no natural defenses that could save or preserve them.  Notice the similarities and differences between Babylon and Jerusalem with the prophecies of this book.  The people were given a chance to surrender to the LORD and His plan, yet the LORD promises He will not completely destroy Judah.  He does not make the same promise to Babylon because Israel and Judah have a special place in history in the gospel of Jesus Christ that would be taken t to the whole world and in being witnesses and ambassadors for the kingdom of God t to the very end of days.  God will continue to save a remnant from every tribe, tongue and nation, but He will specifically continue to act to defend the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whom He has made an eternal, unconditional covenant with.  He has chosen to use this people to accomplish His plans here on earth that will have eternal ramifications.  Even though the wickedness of the people of Israel may have been just as bad or worse than that of the Canaanites or the Babylonians, the LORD would discipline and punish them differently because He will not completely destroy Israel and Judah as He did with the Canaanites and the Babylonians.  This by no means gave Israel a free pass though.  Look at all the suffering they went through while they were in the midst of their rebellion that was unnecessary and the 70 years of Exile that could have been avoided and the loss of many lives that could have been saved if they would have listened to the LORD and His Prophets and repented.  We need to hear this message and learn this lesson as well.

Jeremiah 51:38-51
English Standard Version

38 “They shall roar together like lions;
    they shall growl like lions' cubs.
39 While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast
    and make them drunk, that they may become merry,
then sleep a perpetual sleep
    and not wake, declares the LORD.
40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and male goats.

41 “How Babylon is taken,
    the praise of the whole earth seized!
How Babylon has become
    a horror among the nations!
42 The sea has come up on Babylon;
    she is covered with its tumultuous waves.
43 Her cities have become a horror,
    a land of drought and a desert,
a land in which no one dwells,
    and through which no son of man passes.
44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon,
    and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed.
The nations shall no longer flow to him;
    the wall of Babylon has fallen.

45 “Go out of the midst of her, my people!
    Let every one save his life
    from the fierce anger of the LORD!
46 Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful
    at the report heard in the land,
when a report comes in one year
    and afterward a report in another year,
and violence is in the land,
    and ruler is against ruler.

47 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming
    when I will punish the images of Babylon;
her whole land shall be put to shame,
    and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 Then the heavens and the earth,
    and all that is in them,
shall sing for joy over Babylon,
    for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,
declares the LORD.
49 Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,
    just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.

50 “You who have escaped from the sword,
    go, do not stand still!
Remember the LORD from far away,
    and let Jerusalem come into your mind:
51 ‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;
    dishonor has covered our face,
for foreigners have come
    into the holy places of the LORD's house.’

The LORD tells Jeremiah to prophecy that Babylon will be in the midst of a loud, drunken party when the Medes and Persians attack them.  This is exactly what we see happen in the book of Daniel.  They are right in the middle of an all-night party where they are taking the sacred objects from the Temple and using them to offer worship to their gods of wood, stone, bronze, iron, silver, and gold.  The LORD comes down in the midst of this party to write a message on the plaster that the king and the kingdom of Babylon have been weighed and found wanting and that the kingdom would be taken from him that evening and his life would be required of him.  Within moments of Daniel interpreting the words the LORD had written, the prophecy was fulfilled and the Babylonian Empire was no more.

The LORD specifically calls out the false god Bel here to whom much of the military victories of Babylon were attributed.  The LORD said that He would take out Bel's mouth the nations that he had swallowed (speaking of the demon that was at work behind this idol worship).  The LORD would reverse the damage the demon had done and release His people from their captivity and return them to their Land and the Land would once again become fruitful, though the Babylonians tried hard to destroy it.  It will be Babylon that will become a desert wasteland though the mighty Euphrates River and the Tigris River flow through its midst.

The days is coming when these idols that the Babylonians worshiped would be destroyed by the invaders from the North (the Medes and the Greeks and eventually the Romans).  None of them will tolerate the worship of other gods besides the ones they worship.  Just look at Islam which comes from the worship of the moon god Allah and how they destroy all other images and temples wherever they go.  So it was with these other kingdoms as they swept through the area.

The LORD tells all of the Babylonians that hear Him now to run for their lives and all of the Jewish people should get out from among her borders before this time comes (though the LORD is going to use the Medes and the Persians to set His people free, He doesn't want them to get caught up in the battle and killed).  None of the Jews should fight for the Babylonians against the Medes and Persians.  When this day comes, the LORD says that all of creation (including the creatures in heaven) will rejoice at the victory of the LORD over this wicked empire and the kingdom of the devil that was at work through them.  Is it any wonder that the Antichrist will associate His kingdom with the kingdom of Babylon? Once again, when Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the Devil are defeated, and the "New Babylon" falls, all creation will again rejoice at the victory of the one who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  His Kingdom is forever!

The kingdom of Babylon now and in the future will be punished for the blood of God's people that they have spilled and the persecution they have committed against them.  The LORD will avenge His people as they are told to not take vengeance themselves, but to leave room for the wrath of God.  That is what we see happening here.  The wrath of God is avenging His people in His way and in His time.  He will not let the wicked go unpunished, yet, He saves a remnant from every tribe tongue and nation and there will be people from the Kingdom of Babylon that will one day gather with us to worship the Father and the Son in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Those who escape the sword are to run and not stop running.  They may be dispersed throughout the entire world, but they are to keep Jerusalem in their hearts and always remember how the LORD loves His people and His City.  The Temple has been desecrated and that is shameful to the LORD's people right now, but the day is coming when Jerusalem and the Temple will be rebuilt (and the Medo-Persian Empire will pay for it and will return everything that the Babylonians stole from the Temple).