John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 34:3

"and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon." — Jeremiah 34:3 (ASV)

As Zedekiah saw the people still doing their duty, he despised his enemy; for as the city was very strongly fortified, he hoped to be able to preserve it a little time longer. This was the source of his false hope of deliverance, for he thought that the enemy, being weary, would return to Chaldea.

He was deceived by this expectation. But the Prophet immediately assailed him and declared that he would become a captive, which Zedekiah indeed deserved through his ingratitude: for Nebuchadnezzar had put him in the place of his nephew when Jeconiah was led away to Babylon and had made him king.

He later revolted from the king of Babylon, to whom he had pledged his faith and to whom he became tributary. But the Prophet did not regard these intermediate causes, but the primary cause, the fountain—namely, because the people had not ceased to add sins to sins, because they had been wholly untamable and had rejected all promises, and had also closed their ears against all wise counsel.

Then God, resolving to inflict extreme punishment on a people so perverse and desperate, blinded their king, as we have said before, so that he revolted from the king of Babylon and thus brought destruction on himself, the city, and the whole country. Thus God overruled the intermediate causes which are apparent to us; but He had His hidden purpose which He executed through external means.

He then says, Thou shalt not be freed from his hand, for thou shalt be taken; and then he adds, Thou shalt be delivered into his hand. What he says in many words might have been expressed in one sentence, but it was necessary to rouse the king’s stupor, by which he was intoxicated, so that he might be awakened to dread the punishment which was near. This, however, was not the case; but he was thereby rendered more inexcusable.

Thus the threats which God repeats by His servants are never useless; for if the ears of those who are reproved are deaf, yet what God declares will be a testimony against them, so that every excuse on the ground of ignorance is removed.

He says later, Thine eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon. And this happened, but his eyes were afterward pulled out. He met, indeed, with exceptional disgrace, for he was taken to Riblah and tried as a criminal. He was not treated as a king, nor did he retain any of his former dignity; but he was taken before the tribunal of the king of Babylon as a thief or a wrongdoer.

Then after he was convicted of ingratitude and treachery, the Chaldean king ordered his children to be slain before his eyes, and also his chief men and counselors, and himself to be bound with chains and his eyes to be pulled out; and he brought him to Babylon. It was, then, a most cruel punishment which the king of Babylon inflicted on Zedekiah.

And the Prophet seems to have indirectly referred to what happened, Thine eyes, he says, shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon: he was forced to look with his eyes on the proud conqueror, and then his eyes were pulled out; but he had first seen his own children slain.

He adds, and his mouth shall speak to thy mouth, that is, “You shall hear the dreadful sentence pronounced upon you, after you are convicted of a capital offense; the king himself shall degrade you with all possible disgrace.”

Now, this was a harder fate than if Zedekiah had been secretly put to death. He was dragged into the light; he then underwent many terrible things when led into the presence of his enemy.

This, then, the Prophet related, so that Zedekiah might understand that he in vain defended the city, for its miserable end was near. He later adds—