Jeremiah 39:4

THE CAPTURE OF ZEDEKIAH

"And it came to pass that, when Zedekiah, the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out toward the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon to Riblab in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him."

"When the king ... and the men of war ... saw them ..." (Jeremiah 39:4). The word "saw" in this passage simply means, "when they perceived, or understood, what had happened." One often hears a blind person say, "we went and saw" this or that. A similar usage is found here. We may be certain that the king fled the city as soon as he definitely knew that Nebuchadrezzar's army had entered it. Nothing certain is known about the exact location of the king's garden, or the gate by which he escaped, nor can we trace the route of his departure.

"Nebuchadrezzar at Riblah in the land of Hamath ..." (Jeremiah 39:5). "This place was a stronghold on the Orontes river, 35 miles north-east of Baalbeck, in an area that provided an abundant supply of fuel and food. Pharaoh-Necho II made it his headquarters at the time of the defeat of Jehoahaz; and Nebuchadnezzar made it the base of his operations in the final campaign to destroy Jerusalem in 588-587 B.C."[6] This place was about 200 miles north and east of Jerusalem; but Nebuchadnezzar remained there and entrusted the siege of Jerusalem to his military subordinates.

At Riblah, Nebuchadnezzar was fully equipped for his murderous business of executing all of his enemies. Here he gave judgment against Zedekiah.