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2 Kings 23:31-25:30

Jerusalem Was Broken Up

Lyrics · 2 Kings

Jerusalem Was Broken Up

2 Kings 23:31-25:30

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About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the 2 Kings collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
2 Kings
Collection
2 Kings
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Uncategorized
[Verse 1] Jehoahaz reigns three months and does evil before the LORD. Eliakim is renamed Jehoiakim and exacts silver and gold from the land. Nebuchadnezzar makes Jehoiakim servant for three years before rebellion. Jehoiakim dies, and Jehoiachin succeeds him. [Pre-Chorus] No answer came to quiet every fear, Only the weight of all that had drawn near. [Chorus] Jerusalem Was Broken Up, carry this grief through night, Tears have weight beneath the fading light. Truth still speaks when comfort has grown thin, And faith keeps breathing where the wounds begin. [Verse 2] Ten thousand captives, craftsmen, officers, and warriors are deported. Mattaniah is renamed Zedekiah and installed as king. Zedekiah rebels against Babylon after continuing Judah's evil. The wall is breached, and Zedekiah flees by night toward the plains. [Bridge] Nebuzar-adan burns the temple, palace, and houses and breaks the walls. Bronze vessels and temple furnishings are carried away. Gedaliah is appointed governor but is murdered, driving the remnant toward Egypt. In the thirty-seventh year of captivity Evil-merodach releases Jehoiachin and grants him a continual allowance. [Final Chorus] Jerusalem Was Broken Up, carry this grief through night, Tears have weight beneath the fading light. Truth still speaks when comfort has grown thin, And faith keeps breathing when the night grows thin. [Outro] The night remained, but truth remained as well. Not every wound was given words to tell.

Named in this songNebuchadnezzarJerusalemZedekiahBabylonEgypt

About the passage

2 Kings 23: A covenant renewed before the judgment falls

Josiah takes the book out of the palace and makes its words public. King, priests, prophets, elders, and people hear the covenant, and the response becomes visible across the land. Temple vessels for rival worship are burned, high places are defiled, Topheth is disabled, solar objects and old royal altars are removed, and the reform reaches Bethel, where an oracle from 1 Kings 13 is fulfilled. Passover then shows the positive side of the covenant response, not merely the destruction of forbidden things. Josiah receives exceptional praise for turning to the LORD with heart, soul, and might. Then comes the chapter's terrible hinge: “Notwithstanding.” Judgment on Judah remains. Josiah dies at Megiddo, and his sons quickly fall under Egyptian control, ending the chapter with tribute, renaming, and a return to adverse royal assessments.

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2 Kings 24: The treasures leave, and another king is renamed

Babylon takes Egypt's place as the power controlling Judah's political horizon. Jehoiakim serves Nebuchadnezzar, rebels, and faces destructive pressure that the Book of 2 Kings explicitly connects to earlier prophetic judgment and Manasseh's innocent blood. Jehoiachin inherits the throne for only three months before Jerusalem is surrounded and he surrenders with the royal household. This capture does not yet burn the city, but it empties it of treasure, soldiers, craftsmen, officials, and much of its governing capacity. Babylon installs Jehoiachin's uncle, changes his name to Zedekiah, and leaves a reduced kingdom in place. Zedekiah receives the same adverse moral assessment and eventually rebels too. The chapter ends at the edge of the final siege, with royal succession still visible but meaningful independence almost gone.

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2 Kings 25: The city burns, but the final king is fed

Jerusalem's final siege is measured in dates, hunger, breached defenses, and failed escape. Zedekiah is captured, his sons are killed before him, his eyes are put out, and he is taken to Babylon. The destruction then becomes systematic: the temple, palace, and major houses burn, the walls are broken, people are deported, temple furnishings are dismantled for metal, and leading priests, military officers, and court figures are executed at Riblah. A poor remnant remains under Gedaliah, but even that fragile settlement fractures when Ishmael assassinates him and fear drives the people toward Egypt. Then the book jumps thirty-seven years forward. Jehoiachin is released from prison, given new garments, honored at the Babylonian table, and fed continually. The city is gone, but the final image is bread for a living Davidic king.

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