2 Kings 25

Chapter 25

1 So on January 15,t during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.

2 Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.
3 By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign,t the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.

4 Then a section of the city wall was broken down, and all the soldiers fled. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians,t they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.t
5 But the Babyloniant troops chased the king and caught him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.6 They took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.

7 They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.

The Temple Destroyed

8 On August 14 of that year,t which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.9 He burned down the Temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildingst in the city.10 Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, then took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.

12 But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in Judah to care for the vineyards and fields.
13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the LORD’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.14 They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.

15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.
16 The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the LORD’s Temple in the days of King Solomon.

17 Each of the pillars was 27 feett tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 71/2 feett high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.
18 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.19 And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.20 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

21 And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.

Gedaliah Governs in Judah

22 Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah.

23 When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jezaniaht son of the Maacathite, and all their men.

24 Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised.

25 But in midautumn of that year,t Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.

Hope for Israel’s Royal Line

27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind tot Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2 of that year.t28 He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.29 He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.

30 So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived.

2 Kings 25

1 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outsidet it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign.s2 The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.3 By the ninth day of the fourth monthts the famine in the city was so severe the residentst had no food.4 The enemy broke through the city walls,t and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night.t They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden.s (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.s5 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho,s and his entire army deserted him.6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah,s where het passed sentence on him.

7 Zedekiah’s sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch.t The king of Babylont then had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar Destroys Jerusalem

8 On the seventht day of the fifth month,s in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guardt who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem.s9 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house.t10 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.s

12 But het left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.
13 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the “The Sea.”s They took the bronze to Babylon.14 They also took the pots, shovels,s trimming shears,s pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests.t15 The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censerss and basins.16 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple – including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,”s and the movable stands – was too heavy to be weighed.

17 Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feett high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feett high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.
18 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers.19 From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, fivet of the king’s adviserst who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizenst for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city.20 Nebuzaradan, captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

21 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executedt at Riblah in the territoryt of Hamath. So Judah was deported from its land.

Gedaliah Appointed Governor

22 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah.t23 All of the officers of the Judahite armyt and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite.24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety.t He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.”25 But in the seventh months Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family,t came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah,t as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left fort Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do.

Jehoiachin in Babylon

27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-sevenths day of the twelfth month,s King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardonedt King Jehoiachin of Judah and released himt from prison.28 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position thant the other kings who were with him in Babylon.29 Jehoiachint took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.

30 He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died.s