Judah’s last king was not chosen by Judah. Babylon put him on the throne and even changed his name, which is what you do to a man you own.
Eleven years later he rebelled anyway, and the account of what followed is the bleakest stretch in the book of Kings. It ends with a burned temple, a broken wall, and a blind man in chains.
The Story of Zedekiah
The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, his predecessor’s uncle, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. He was twenty-one, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
Then one line explains the whole chapter before it happens: for through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, Nebuchadnezzar came with all his host against Jerusalem and pitched against it, and they built forts against it round about. The text dates it to the day, the way you record something you never want argued about. The city was besieged until the eleventh year of Zedekiah – roughly eighteen months.
On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden. The king went the way toward the plain.
The army of the Chaldees pursued after the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army were scattered from him. They took him and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they gave judgment upon him. 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. The order of those clauses is deliberate: the last thing he ever saw was chosen for him.
A month later Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, came to Jerusalem. He burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. The army broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about, and carried the people away. But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. The kingdom ends with a note about who was left to tend the vines.
Key Verses
“Made Mattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah” 2 Kings 24:17
“Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon” 2 Kings 24:20
“The famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land” 2 Kings 25:3
“They slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah” 2 Kings 25:7
“He burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house” 2 Kings 25:9
“Left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen” 2 Kings 25:12
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Zedekiah Teaches Us
The writer refuses to let you read this as bad luck or bad strategy. The rebellion itself is placed inside God’s anger, and the warning had been running since 2 Kings 17, when the northern kingdom fell for the same reasons. Judah watched that happen and did it anyway.
Zedekiah’s name was given to him by the man who owned him, and he spent eleven years pretending otherwise. The rebellion looks like courage until you notice it was timed by someone else’s calendar and ended in the plains of Jericho with his army scattered.
The last detail is the one that stays. The poor were left behind to work the land – the people nobody bothered to deport. Judah as a kingdom ends here, but the story does not, and it carries on through exactly the people the empire did not think worth taking.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Zedekiah?
The last king of Judah. His birth name was Mattaniah; the king of Babylon made him king in place of his nephew Jehoiachin and changed his name to Zedekiah. He was twenty-one and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
How long was Jerusalem besieged?
The siege began in the ninth year of Zedekiah, in the tenth month on the tenth day, and the city held until the eleventh year – about eighteen months. Famine prevailed and there was no bread for the people of the land.
What happened to Zedekiah?
He fled by night but the Chaldean army overtook him in the plains of Jericho. He was brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, where they slew his sons before his eyes, put out his eyes, bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon.
What happened to the temple?
Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, burnt the house of the LORD, the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem, and the army broke down the walls of the city round about.
Was anyone left in Judah?
Yes. The captain of the guard carried away the rest of the people, but left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.