The narrative portion of Jeremiah is complete. This is titled a historical supplement.
This appendix or epilogue follows Jeremiah's prophesies to fulfillment and is almost identical to II Kings 24-25.
The Fate of Jerusalem
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began the final independent reign of the kingdom of Judah. He reigned eleven years. And, of course, he did evil in the sight of the Lord- as was a family tradition. The Lord cast him out of his presence and then he also rebelled against the king of Babylon.
In Zedekiah's ninth year, Nebuchadnezzar showed up with his army and camped outside of Jerusalem while the Chaldeans built a siege wall. It stayed under siege through Zedekiah's eleventh year—from January of 587 BC to July of 586 BC. The people of Jerusalem completely ran out of food.
Finally, the Chaldeans broke in and the mighty men of Judah fled out the back gate. The Chaldean army chased Zedekiah down and his men scattered. Zedekiah was taken captive , charged, and sentenced by Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar slaughtered Zedekiah's son's in front of him, along with his princes of Judah. then Nebuchadnezzar blinded Zedekiah and hauled hm off to Babylon where he stayed captive until he died.
One of Nebuchadnezzar's captains, Nebuzaradan, went to Jerusalem and burned all the large houses, including the house of the Lord. Then they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. they hauled off poor people and left those who switched loyalty to Babylon and some artisans. The very poorest were left to be vine dressers and plowmen.
Then the Chaldeans starting breaking down the bronze pieces and other valuables connected to the Temple and hauled it off to Babylon, as well as sacred implements used in Temple service.
The Fate of Certain People
Starting in verse 24, the topic changes to specific people.
The Chaldeans rounded up the religious, military, and civic leaders, brought them to where Nebuchadnezzar had set up headquarters and had them all killed. The rest of citizens of Judah were hauled off to Babylon.
He hauled off over 3,000 Jews (probably counting the adult males). Then a little over a decade later, he hauled off another batch. And another five years later, he took the last (third) batch.
That's the end of Nebuchadnezzar's portion of the story. In 562 BC, his son, Evil-merodach was in his first year of his reign. He showed kindness to the king of Judah, Jehoiachin, and brought him out of prison. My Ryrie NASB study bible has a footnote stating that this kindness has been proven historically through tablets recovered in Babylonian ruins. He gave Jehoiachin a throne set above the other kings in Babylon, received new clothes, and regularly dined with the king of Babylon. He also received an allowance.
Kind of an odd note to end the book; but it is an odd book and an odd prophet. And I liked it. I think Jeremiah is my favorite prophet because of the unique relationship he has with the Lord. The Lord used him in such concrete ways—object lessons that were personal in their hand off to Jeremiah and personal in Jeremiah's presentations to those hearing them. That how my brain works, very concrete, so I appreciate that. I feel like God speaks to me in metaphors and symbolism, so I love to see such a prominent figure communicate with God that way.
Sadly, now we move to Lamentations.