Jeremiah 52:24

ZEDEKIAH'S ADVISORS EXECUTED

"And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold: and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and seven of them that saw the king's face, that were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land."

This paragraph deals with the execution of the priests, that is, the false priests who had pressured Zedekiah into rebellion against Babylon, threatening death to Jeremiah who opposed their views. Those wicked priests dominate this list. The high priest, his deputy, and the three keepers of the threshold in the temple were included.

The other important officers mentioned here were presumed to have been responsible either for urging or approving the king's rebellious behavior.

"The people of the land ..." (Jeremiah 52:25). By the fact of their being in the midst of the city, probably in some of those "great houses' "they burned, suggests that these were the wealthy aristocrats who had sided with the king in his rebellion. If that was not the case, these were executed merely as reprisals against Jerusalem.

"The king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death ..." (Jeremiah 52:27). This indicates that the men mentioned here were first beaten without mercy, and then executed. Such was Babylonian "justice."