Nebuzaradan was the captain of the bodyguard
in Nebuchadnezzar’s army. He had the responsibility of totally subduing the city of Jerusalem. He entered the city in the fifth month, which was a month after the city wall had been breached. It was also the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Dating this event in terms of the Babylonian king’s reign, instead of Zedekiah’s, removes any doubt about who now rules over Judah. There must be no doubt that the Lord has firmly placed the yolk of Babylon on the neck of Judah (see Jeremiah 27:12–15).
Nebuzaradan immediately burns Jerusalem to the ground. First the temple, the house of the Lord,
then the kings house, and finally all the houses of Jerusalem. This seems to imply an inferno that swept across Jerusalem. This tragic and very significant day in Israel’s history became a day of fasting and mourning for the Jews (Zechariah 7:3–5; Zechariah 8:19) .
12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.