The Meaning of 2 Kings 25:7 Explained

2 Kings 25:7

KJV: And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

YLT: And the sons of Zedekiah they have slaughtered before his eyes, and the eyes of Zedekiah he hath blinded, and bindeth him with brazen fetters, and they bring him to Babylon.

Darby: and slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

ASV: And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they slew  the sons  of Zedekiah  before his eyes,  and put out  the eyes  of Zedekiah,  and bound  him with fetters  of brass,  and carried  him to Babylon. 

What does 2 Kings 25:7 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 25:1-12 - The Captivity Made Complete
As the final catastrophe approaches, the historian becomes more minute in his dates, marking the month and the day. From Ezekiel 24:1 we gather that on the very day when the foe made his appearance before Jerusalem, the fact was revealed to Ezekiel in Babylon, and the fate of the city made clear. Jeremiah besought Zedekiah to submit, but to no purpose, Jeremiah 38:17. The siege lasted eighteen months, and its calamities may be gathered from Lamentations 2:20-21; Lamentations 4:3-20. Finally famine triumphed, Lamentations 4:8; Lamentations 4:10; Ezekiel 5:10. A third of the population perished of hunger and plague, Ezekiel 5:12.
Such is the divine judgment upon sin. God pleads long with man, but if man will not turn, then God whets His sword, and becomes terrible in His retribution. Amid all this catastrophe, however, we recall the tears of the book of Lamentations, like those of Jesus afterward. There is that in God which sorrows as He chastises, and causes Him to say, "How shall I make thee as Admah, and set thee as Zeboim?" Deuteronomy 29:23; Hosea 11:8. Notice how, in putting out the eyes of Zedekiah, two prophecies which appeared to be contradictory were reconciled and fulfilled, Jeremiah 32:5; Jeremiah 34:3; and Ezekiel 12:13. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 25

1  Jerusalem is besieged
4  Zedekiah taken, his sons slain, his eyes put out
8  Nebuzaradan defaces the city, exiles the remnant, except a few poor laborers;
13  and carries away the treasures
18  The nobles are slain at Riblah
22  Gedaliah, who was over those who remained, being slain, the rest flee into Egypt
27  Evil-Merodach advances Jehoiachin in his court

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 25:7 mean?

And the sons of Zedekiah they killed before his eyes the eyes of Zedekiah put out and bound him with bronze fetters and took him to Babylon -
וְאֶת־ בְּנֵי֙ צִדְקִיָּ֔הוּ שָׁחֲט֖וּ לְעֵינָ֑יו עֵינֵ֤י צִדְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ עִוֵּ֔ר וַיַּאַסְרֵ֙הוּ֙ בַֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִם וַיְבִאֵ֖הוּ בָּבֶֽל ס

בְּנֵי֙  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
צִדְקִיָּ֔הוּ  of  Zedekiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִדְקִיָּה 
Sense: the last king of Judah renamed from ‘Mattaniah’ by Nebuchadnezzar; son of Josiah by wife Hamutal; placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar when he carried his nephew Jehoiakim in captivity.
שָׁחֲט֖וּ  they  killed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁחַט 
Sense: to kill, slaughter, beat.
לְעֵינָ֑יו  before  his  eyes 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, cdc, third person masculine singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
עֵינֵ֤י  the  eyes 
Parse: Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
צִדְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙  of  Zedekiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צִדְקִיָּה 
Sense: the last king of Judah renamed from ‘Mattaniah’ by Nebuchadnezzar; son of Josiah by wife Hamutal; placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar when he carried his nephew Jehoiakim in captivity.
עִוֵּ֔ר  put  out 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָוַר  
Sense: (Piel) to blind, make blind, put out the eyes of.
וַיַּאַסְרֵ֙הוּ֙  and  bound  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: אָסַר  
Sense: to tie, bind, imprison.
בַֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִם  with  bronze  fetters 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, fd
Root: נְחֹשֶׁת 
Sense: copper, bronze.
וַיְבִאֵ֖הוּ  and  took  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
בָּבֶֽל  to  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation