John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 39:3-4

"that all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, [to wit], Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. 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." — Jeremiah 39:3-4 (ASV)

It is proved here that the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled, so that it became really evident that he had not spoken rashly, but from the mouth of God. And so what is said as a common proverb was also fulfilled: that fools become wise too late, for they never obey good and wise counsels while they can, but eventually they learn by their own miseries and their teacher, experience, that what they despised is true, but without any benefit. This happened to Zedekiah, who had often been exhorted by the Prophet to surrender himself to King Nebuchadnezzar. Since, then, he had obstinately refused the yoke, he was eventually forced to reap the fruit of his obstinacy.

Now Jeremiah says that the princes of King Nebuchadnezzar, that is, those he had set over his forces, entered the city, the wall being broken down, and sat in the middle gate; for it was necessary for them to be wary, in case there were ambushes. Even conquerors do not immediately penetrate into every part when a city is taken, but search whether all the places are free from enemies. This then was done by the leaders of the army, for they stood in the middle gate, so that they might exercise authority over the city and yet be safe from all ambushes. Jeremiah mentions some of them by name, but it is uncertain whether he adds a surname to some of them. But as this is doubtful and is of no great importance, it is enough for us that the chief leaders are named in order to accredit the narrative.

He then adds, After Zedekiah saw them, etc.; not that he came to that part, but after he understood that that part of the city was occupied by the enemies, for the situation had then become desperate. Then he fled with his men of war. And here a sad spectacle is set before us: men in no way trained for war were left in the city; women and children were also left there, while the men of war fled, since their own condition was worse because they had delayed the capture of the city.

So they fled, as is common in such situations. We still see that ungodly men, after long despising heavenly truth, flee in time of danger and are so filled with terror that they cast themselves headlong into many perils. This is a just reward for those who are not terrified by the threats of God but become so hardened that they acknowledge too late that they should have feared; and, being stunned, as it were, they do not see what is expedient and cannot follow any fixed course.

The Prophet adds that they fled in the night, that they went out by the way of the king’s garden, and lastly, that they came to the gate which was between the two walls. There is nothing superfluous in this passage. For he meant to show us that although the king thought he could escape from the hands of his enemies, he was still taken, as God had predicted.

For if, after the city was taken, he had come as a suppliant of his own accord, he might probably have obtained mercy. This counsel, we know, was given while the situation was not yet desperate, but he put no faith in God’s word. Meanwhile, he thought he could thwart his enemies if he quickly fled through some secret way.

Some think that there was a subterranean passage, which had a door in the middle of the garden and also an exit at the other end in the plain of Jericho, as we will see later. That region was barren and therefore solitary. Thus, the king felt confident, but he eventually discovered how certain prophetic truth was, for it is said later that the Chaldeans followed and took him.

But this circumstance, as I have said, should be carefully observed: that the king, as the Prophet tells us, fled through a secret way during the darkness of the night and escaped.