The words At that time, which occur also in 2 Kgs 20.12, refer to the short period of Jehoiachin’s three-month reign. Compare “It was during the reign of Jehoiachin that…” (Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).

The servants of Nebuchadnezzar probably refers to the officers in the Babylonian army; and, of course, wherever the officers went, the rest of the army followed. Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Contemporary English Version translate servants as “troops.” But the meaning is not significantly different in either case.

For king of Babylon, see verse 1.

The verb came up is again an ordinary verb used in a rather technical sense to describe a military action. As in verse 1, it may be translated “advanced on” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) or “attacked” (New American Bible). In the Masoretic Text the verb came up is third person singular. But a singular verb makes no sense here, so nearly all translators follow the reading in the margin of the Masoretic Text, which is third person plural. The Septuagint omits the words the servants of and says simply that Nebuchadnezzar came up to Jerusalem, but the Septuagint text does not represent the original text here.

The passive expression the city was besieged (literally “the city came under siege”) may be made active since the agents of this action were clearly the members of the Babylonian army. Some may have to say “they surrounded the city [to cut off all contact with others].” See the comments at 1 Kgs 15.27 and 2 Kgs 6.24.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .