2 Kings 24:19

Zedekiah was twenty years old when he began to reign,.... So that he was but between nine and ten years of age when his father Josiah died; for Jehoahaz reigned three months, Jehoiakim eleven years, and his son three months and ten days: and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah; by which it appears that he was the brother of Jehoahaz by father and mother's side, 2 Kings 23:31. This and the two following verses are expressed in the same words as in Jeremiah 52:1, (see Gill on Jeremiah 52:1, Jeremiah 52:2, Jeremiah 52:3), in 2 Chronicles 36:10, besides what is here said, is written, that he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet of the Lord, that spoke in his name, but opposed him; and rebelling against the king of Babylon, broke his oath, and hardened his neck and heart against the Lord, and was obstinate, stubborn, and self-willed.

24:8-20 Jehoiachin reigned but three months, yet long enough to show that he justly smarted for his fathers' sins, for he trod in their steps. His uncle was intrusted with the government. This Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah. Though the judgments of God upon the three kings before him might have warned him, he did that which was evil, like them. When those intrusted with the counsels of a nation act unwisely, and against their true interest, we ought to notice the displeasure of God in it. It is for the sins of a people that God hides from them the things that belong to the public peace. And in fulfilling the secret purposes of his justice, the Lord needs only leave men to the blindness of their own minds, or to the lusts of their own hearts. The gradual approach of Divine judgments affords sinners space for repentance, and believers leisure to prepare for meeting the calamity, while it shows the obstinacy of those who will not forsake their sins.

He did that which was evil - The character of Zedekiah seems to have been weak rather than wicked. Consult Jeremiah 34 ; Jeremiah 37 :His chief recorded sins were: (1) his refusal to be guided in his political conduct by Jeremiah's counsels, while nevertheless he admitted him to be a true Yahweh-prophet; and (2) his infraction of the allegiance which he had sworn to Nebuchadnezzar.

THE REIGN OF ZEDEKIAH, the last KING OF JUDAH ( 2Kings 24:17 to 2Kings 25:7 ; comp. 2Chronicles 36:11 seq.; Jeremiah 52). This section and the parallel in Jeremiah appear to have been derived from the same historical work. The text of Jeremiah is generally, though not always, the best. (19) And he did that which was evil . . .—The evidence of the prophet Jeremiah should be compared with this statement. (See especially Jeremiah 24:8; Jeremiah 37:1-2; Jeremiah 38:5, and Comp. Note on 2Chronicles 36:13.) The contemporary state of religion is vividly reflected in the pages of Ezekiel (2Kings viii—11); who, moreover, denounces Zedekiah’s breach of faith with the king of Babylon (Ezekiel 17:11-21). According to all that Jehoiakim . . .—He is not compared with Jehoiachin, who only reigned three months.

2Ki 24:17-20. Zedekiah's Evil Reign. 17-19. the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, his father's brother, king in his stead—Adhering to his former policy of maintaining a show of monarchy, Nebuchadnezzar appointed the third and youngest son of Josiah (1Ch 3:15), full brother of Jehoahaz, and uncle of the captive Jehoiachin. But, according to the custom of conquerors, who changed the names of the great men they took captives in war, in token of their supremacy, he gave him the new name of Zedekiah—that is, "The righteous of God." This being a purely Hebrew name, it seems that he allowed the puppet king to choose his own name, which was confirmed. His heart towards God was the same as that of Jehoiakim, impenitent and heedless of God's word.

Verse 19. - And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. Keil says, "His attitude towards the Lord exactly resembled that of his brother Jehoiakim, except that Zedekiah does not appear to have possessed so much energy for that which was evil." He allowed the people to continue their "pollutions" and" abominations" ( 2 Chronicles 36:14 ). He let the "princes" have their way, and do whatever they pleased ( Jeremiah 38:5 ), contenting himself with sometimes outwitting them, and counteracting their proceeding ( Jeremiah 38:14-28 ). He fell into the old error of "putting trust in Egypt" ( Jeremiah 37:5-7 ), and made an alliance with Apries (Pharaoh-Hophra), which was an act of rebellion, at once against God and against his Babylonian suzerain. He was, upon the whole, rather weak than wicked; but his weakness was as ruinous to his country as active wickedness would have been. 2 Kings 24:19

(Note: To this section the historical appendix to the book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 52 ) furnishes a parallel, which agrees with it for the most part word for word, omitting only the short account of the murder of Gedaliah and of the flight of the people to Egypt ( 2 Kings 25:22-26 ), and adding instead a computation of the number of the people who were led away to Babel by Nebuchadnezzar ( Jeremiah 52:28-30 ). Apart from the less important variations, which have arisen in part simply from copyists' errors, we have in Jeremiah 52:18 , and especially in Jeremiah 52:21 and Jeremiah 52:22 , by no means unimportant notices concerning the vessels of the temple, especially concerning the ornaments of the brazen pillars, which do not occur anywhere in our books. It is evident from this that our text was not derived from Jer (Hvernick), and that Jer was not borrowed from our books of Kings and appended to the book of Jeremiah's prophecies (Ros., Maur., Ew., Graf).

On the contrary, the two accounts are simply brief extracts from one common and more elaborate history of the later times of the kingdom of Judah, possibly composed by Jeremiah or Baruch, analogous to the two extracts from the history of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18-20 and Isaiah 36-39 . - More minute accounts of this space of time are given in the historical portions of the prophecies of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 39-44 ), which form an explanatory commentary to the section before us.) 2 Kings 24:18-19 Length and spirit of Zedekiah's reign (cf. Jeremiah 52:1-3, and 2 Chronicles 36:11-13). - Zedekiah's mother Hamital, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, was also the mother of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31); consequently he was his own brother and the half-brother of Jehoiakim, whose mother was named Zebidah (2 Kings 23:36). His reign lasted eleven years, and in its attitude towards the Lord exactly resembled that of his brother Jehoiakim, except that Zedekiah does not appear to have possessed so much energy for that which was evil. According to Jeremiah 38:5 and Jeremiah 38:24., he was weak in character, and completely governed by the great men of his kingdom, having no power or courage whatever to offer resistance. but, like them, he did not hearken to the words of the Lord through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 37:2), or, as it is expressed in 2 Chronicles 36:12, "he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spake to him out of the mouth of the Lord."