ירמיהו, פרק נ״ב, פסוק ט׳

After the defense of Jerusalem collapses and the king attempts to flee, his desperate escape abruptly ends. The fleeing king is seized by sheer force and brought to face his conqueror [מצודת ציון]. He is taken north to meet the king of Babylon in Riblah, a location identified as Antioch [רש״י] in northern Syria [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Nebuchadnezzar had not remained near Jerusalem throughout the siege. As the military campaign dragged on, he relocated to manage the war from Riblah, a command post that was closer and more convenient to his seat of power in Babylon [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

When Zedekiah is brought before the Babylonian king, he is met with severe rebuke. The judgment is a harsh confrontation filled with difficult words [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary focus of this piercing accusation is Zedekiah's rebellion. He is condemned for breaking the oath of loyalty he had sworn in the name of God when Nebuchadnezzar originally placed him on the throne. Fueled by intense anger over this deep betrayal, the Babylonian king subjects Zedekiah to an unusually severe punishment [ביאור שטיינזלץ].