The Fall of Jerusalem
1
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king,
and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal
daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
2
He did evil in the eyes of the LOR, just as Jehoiakim had done.
3
It was because of the LORD's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem
and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.
Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4
So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth
month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against to Jerusalem
with his whole army. They camped outside the city and built siege works
all around it.
5
The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
6
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become
so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.
7
Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.
They left the city at night throgh the gate between the two walls
nar the king's garden, though he Babylonians were surrounding the city.
They fled toward the Arabah,
8
but the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains
of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,
9
and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah
in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him.
10
There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah
before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah.
11
Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him with bronze shacles and took him
to Babylon, where e put him in prison till the day of his death.
12
On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the ninerteenth yerar of Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon, Nebuzarandan commander of the imperial guard,
who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
13
He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of
Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.
14
The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard
broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.
15
Nebuzarandan the commander of the guard carried into exile some of
the poorest and those who remained in the city, along with the rest
of the craftsmen and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon.
16
But Nebuchadnezzar left behind the rest of the people
of the land to work vineyards and fields.
17
The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea
that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.
18
They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes,
and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.
19
The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers, sprinkling
bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls used for drink offerings -
all that were made of pure gold or silver.
20
The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls under it,
and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the
LORD, was more than could be weighed.
21
Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in the circumference;
each was four fingers thick, and hollow.
22
The bronze capital on top of the one pillar wasfive cubits high and was decorated
with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around.
The other pillar with its pomegranates was similar.
23
There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides;
the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred.
24
The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest,
Zephaniah the priest next in rank and three doorkeepers.
25
Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men,
and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer
in charge of conscrpting the people of the land and sixty of his men
whowere found in the city.
26
Nebuzarandan the commander took tem all and brought them to
the king of Babylon at Riblah.
27
There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.
So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.
28
This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:
in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
29
in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem;
30
in his twenty-third year, 745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan
the commander of the imperial guard. There were 4,600 people in all.
Jehoiachin Released
31
In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah,
in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin
king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the
twelfth month.
32
He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of
the other kings who were with him in Babylon.
33
So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life
ate regularly at the king's table.
34
Day to day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance
as long as he lived, till the day of his death.
