1. In the ninth year of Zedekiah. According to the notation here and in the next verse, the siege lasted about a year and a half, from the winter of 587 B.C.E. to midsummer 586.

2. in the fourth month on the ninth of the month. This is the ninth of Av, traditionally marked by Jews as a fast-day to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

3. Nergal-Sarezer. This name occurs twice in this verse, which must be a scribal duplication. Note as well that, understandably, all the Akkadian names in this list are somewhat distorted by the Hebrew transliteration.

high magus. The Hebrew is rav-mag, and as with other titles of the officials here, the precise function is uncertain.

4. they fled and went out by night from the city through the king’s garden. The spatial indication in this clause suggests that they used some sort of secret exit, as many commentators have proposed.

the Arabah. This is the north-south rift through which the Jordan runs. They are fleeing to the south, perhaps trying to reach Egypt.

5. the desert country of Jericho. The Hebrew uses a plural of Arabah, which could refer either to the north-south rift or, as here, to a kind of terrain.

Riblah. This is far to the north, in Syria, where the Babylonian emperor was contending with other enemies.

he spoke harshly with him. Literally, “he spoke judgments with him.” This translation understands the plural noun mishpatim to have an adverbial sense.

7. And the eyes of Zedekiah he blinded. This was, sad to say, a common treatment of prisoners of war in the ancient Near East. But Nebuchadrezzar has added to it a sadistic gesture: first he slaughters Zedekiah’s sons “before his eyes,” and with this last horrific sight lingering in the mind of the Judahite king, he has him blinded. Nebuchadrezzar wants to make clear to all that he does not tolerate the rebellion of vassal kings.

8. the people’s houses. The Hebrew reads “the people’s house,” which sounds like a public institution, one that actually did not exist in ancient Israel. This translation adopts David Kimchi’s plausible proposal that the noun is collective.

9. the high chamberlain. The literal sense of the Hebrew title is “chief butcher,” though it is obvious that the term was extended far beyond its origins to indicate some sort of important political or military function. Potiphar in Genesis 39 bears the same title.

10. gave them vineyards and plots of land. This redistribution of property to the destitute was calculated to enlist their loyalty to the conquerors.

12. do him no harm. Nebuchadrezzar accords Jeremiah special treatment because he has heard—probably from the Judahite deserters—that the prophet had been preaching capitulation to the Babylonians.

14. Gedaliah. He would then be appointed by Nebuchadrezzar to serve as governor of the conquered province.

the house. Many commentators, medieval and modern, conclude that this is Gedaliah’s house.

17. the men by whom you are terrified. These would be the men who wanted to fight to the bitter end and so sought to kill Jeremiah, whom Ebed-Melech saved, as a traitor.

18. and your life shall be your booty. It will not be the booty of others. This is a way of saying that you will escape with your life.