Jeremiah 39:5
But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him.
Jeremiah 39:5 belongs to the historical account of the two years before Jerusalem fell. It records the defeat of Zedekiah after his rebellion against Babylon, when the Chaldean army captured him near Jericho in the plains and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in the land of Hamath for judgment. This capture is placed within Jerusalem's final siege and fall, when Zedekiah and many of the people were taken away while the city and temple were destroyed.
It is included in the account of Jerusalem's fall and Zedekiah's capture that is placed after an account from another period to restore the events to approximate chronological order. The passage Jeremiah 39:1-14, in which the verse stands, comes in chronological order after Jeremiah 38 and after Jeremiah 39:15-18 and before Jeremiah 40-45. Jeremiah's prophecies are not placed in chronological order because of the way the manuscript rolls were gathered together into one book, but this makes no change in the teaching of Jeremiah, and the chapter itself nearly always clearly indicates its chronology. Jeremiah 22-39 contains a number of Messianic prophecies in which the prophet is carried forward through the restoration from Babylon to the more glorious restoration under Christ Jesus the Lord.
Zedekiah was the last king to sit upon the throne of David. His capture took place when the prophecy of Ezekiel 21:25-27 was uttered. The verse records part of Zedekiah's sad fate for refusing to heed God's Word. God had assured through Jeremiah that all who would yield to the king of Babylon should be spared, but Zedekiah feared the Jews more than he believed God and did not dare to act upon God's Word. The account of Zedekiah including this verse is a lesson for how people should respond to God's messages through his humble instruments and to the Testimonies, illustrating the wisdom of heeding God's Word rather than fearing men. The verse shows that Zedekiah had been captured and was a prisoner in Babylon, and his capture formed the setting for the chief men's fear that Nebuchadnezzar would return and destroy them.