And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up.

JEREMIAH 39:2KJV
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Jeremiah 39:2 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 39:2 mean?

Jeremiah 39:2 records the exact date when Jerusalem was breached by the Babylonian army: in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign, on the ninth day of the fourth month. This verse marks the moment when the city’s defenses failed and the Babylonians broke into Jerusalem.

The verse is part of a historical account, with the prophet Jeremiah describing the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. Jeremiah is reporting a factual event to his readers, not speaking directly to anyone in the verse. The specific date highlights the seriousness and reality of the disaster, showing that this was a real moment of crisis for the people of Judah.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 39:2

  • עָשָׂר (ʿāśār, "eleventh") and שָׁנָה (shānāh, "year"): These words set the timing precisely, emphasizing the historical accuracy and importance of the event.
  • צִדְקִיָּהוּ (Tsidqiyyāhū, "Zedekiah"): Naming Zedekiah connects the event to a specific ruler, grounding the fall of Jerusalem in a particular reign.
  • רְבִיעִי (rĕvîʿî, "fourth") and חֹדֶשׁ (ḥōdesh, "month"): The mention of both the month and the day (תְּשִׁעִי, tĕshiʿî, "ninth") shows the precision with which this disaster was remembered.
  • נִבְקְעָה (nibqāʿāh, "was broken up"): This verb means to be split or breached, vividly describing the city walls being broken through by the enemy, not just a general defeat but a physical breach.

Why Jeremiah 39:2 matters

  • The verse clears up any uncertainty about when Jerusalem fell, giving a precise date that anchors the event in history.
  • By naming Zedekiah and the exact time, the verse connects the fall of Jerusalem to earlier warnings Jeremiah gave, showing that what was prophesied actually happened.
  • The detail about the city being "broken up" highlights the severity of the event—the defenses were not just overcome, but physically shattered, marking the end of Jerusalem’s resistance.

Where else these words appear

“eleventh” Hebrew H6249 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 26:7 And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
  • Numbers 29:20 And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish;
  • 1 Chronicles 27:14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

“up” Hebrew H1234 · used in 50 verses

  • Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
  • 1 Chronicles 11:18 And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD,
  • Isaiah 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

“fourth” Hebrew H7243 · used in 54 verses

  • Genesis 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
  • 2 Samuel 3:4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
  • 1 Chronicles 26:11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

“ninth” Hebrew H8672 · used in 57 verses

  • Genesis 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
  • Numbers 34:13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:
  • 2 Kings 25:3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.