Jeremiah 52

Chapter 52

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.2 But Zedekiah did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.

3 These things happened because of the LORD’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile.

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.4 So on January 15,t during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzart of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.

5 Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.
6 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.

7 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
8 But the Babylonian troops chased King Zedekiah and caught him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.9 They took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.10 He made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons and all the other officials of Judah.

11 Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. Zedekiah remained there in prison until the day of his death.

The Temple Destroyed

12 On August 17 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.13 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.14 Then he supervised the entire Babyloniant army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, then took as exiles some of the poorest of the people, 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 craftsmen.

16 But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in Judah to care for the vineyards and fields.
17 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.18 They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.

19 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, also took the small bowls, incense burners, basins, pots, lampstands, dishes, bowls used for liquid offerings, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.
20 The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea with the twelve bronze oxen beneath it, 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.21 Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.t They were hollow, with walls 3 inches thick.t22 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.

23 There were 96 pomegranates on the sides, and a total of 100 on the network around the top.
24 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.25 And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; seven of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

27 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.
28 The number of captives taken to Babylon in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reignt was 3,023.29 Then in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth yeart he took 832 more.

30 In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third yeart he sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who took 745 more—a total of 4,600 captives in all.

Hope for Israel’s Royal Line

31 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 March 31 of that year.t32 He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.33 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.

34 So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. This continued until the day of his death.

Jeremiah 52

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 s Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalems for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutalt daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.

2 He did what displeased the Lordt just as Jehoiakim had done.
3 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger when he drove them out of his sight.t Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.4 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it.t They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah.s5 The city remained under siege until Zedekiah’s eleventh year.6 By the ninth day of the fourth months the famine in the city was so severe the residentst had no food.7 They broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king’s garden.s (The Babylonians had the city surrounded.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.s8 But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho,s and his entire army deserted him.9 They captured him and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblahs in the territory of Hamath and he passed sentence on him there.10 The king of Babylon had Zedekiah’s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah.

11 He had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains.t Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.
12 On the tentht day of the fifth month,s in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guardt who servedt the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem.13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house.14 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took into exile some of the poor,t the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the rest of the craftsmen.

16 But het left behind some of the poort and gave them fields and vineyards.
17 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord, as well as the movable stands and the large bronze basin called the “The Sea.”s They took all the bronze to Babylon.18 They also took the pots, shovels,s trimming shears,s basins, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests.t19 The captain of the royal guard took the gold and silver bowls, censers,s basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and vessels.s20 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple (including the two pillars, the large bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” and the movable standss) was too heavy to be weighed.21 Each of the pillars was about 27 feett high, about 18 feett in circumference, three inchest thick, and hollow.22 The bronze top of one pillar was about seven and one-half feett high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate-shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its pomegranate-shaped ornaments was like it.

23 There were ninety-six pomegranate-shaped ornaments on the sides; in all there were one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments over the latticework that went around it.
24 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers.s25 From the city he took an official who was in charge of the soldiers, seven of the king’s advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizenst for military service, and sixty citizens who were discovered in the middle of the city.26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

27 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executedt at Riblah in the territory of Hamath.
So Judah was taken into exile away from its land.28 Here is the official record of the number of peoplet Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: In the seventh year,s 3,023 Jews;29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year,s 832 people from Jerusalem;

30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year,s Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, carried into exile 745 Judeans. In all 4,600 people went into exile.

Jehoiachin in Exile

31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-fifths day of the twelfth month,s Evil-Merodach, in the first year of his reign, pardonedt King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison.32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position thant the other kings who were with him in Babylon.33 Jehoiachint took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.

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