2 Kings 25:12

Modern

But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

Traditional

But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

Literal

And the captain of the guards left behind some of the poor of the land to tend the vineyards and to be farmers.

Latin

Et de pauperibus terræ reliquit vinitores et agricolas.

Hebrew

English

But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

The Babylonians exiled most of the population, including some who willingly joined them (Jeremiah 39:9; 52:15).
They left the poorest people behind because they were unlikely to cause trouble and could work the vineyards and fields.

Nebuchadnezzar II attacked Judah at least three times, in 605 BC, 597 BC, and 586 BC.

He took treasures from Jerusalem and captured people to bring to Babylon (see 2 Kings 24:1, 10–17; 25:1–21).

Theme notes and profiles

Jeremiah 40:7
When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and children who were the poorest of the land and had not been exiled to Babylon,
2 Kings 24:14
He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
Ezekiel 33:24
“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’
Jeremiah 52:16
But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.
Jeremiah 39:10
But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.