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2 Kings 25
New American Standard Bible

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 (A)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, (B)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and (C)built a siege wall all around [a]it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month (D)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 (E)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside (F)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And [b]they went by way of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then (G)they captured the king and (H)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (I)Riblah, and he [c]passed sentence on him. 7 And (J)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then (K)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

8 (L)Now on the seventh day of the (M)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And (N)he burned the house of the Lord, (O)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards (P)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile (Q)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the [d]people. 12 But the captain of the bodyguards left some of (R)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

13 (S)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and (T)the bronze [e]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the [f]bronze to Babylon. 14 (U)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the [g]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils [h]which were used in temple service. 15 The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—[i](V)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. 17 (W)The height of the one pillar was [j]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was [k]three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.

18 Then the captain of the bodyguards took (X)Seraiah the chief priest and (Y)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [l]doorkeepers. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (Z)five [m]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [n]scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at (AA)Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (AB)So Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed (AC)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 (AD)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at (AE)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

25 (AF)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal [o]family, came [p]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 (AG)Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

27 (AH)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of (AI)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, [q](AJ)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he (AK)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So [r]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and [s](AL)had his meals in [t]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30 and as his (AM)allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 25:1 Lit against it
  2. 2 Kings 25:4 As in some mss and ancient versions; MT he
  3. 2 Kings 25:6 Lit spoke judgment with him
  4. 2 Kings 25:11 Lit multitude
  5. 2 Kings 25:13 I.e., a very large basin
  6. 2 Kings 25:13 Lit bronze of them
  7. 2 Kings 25:14 I.e., wick trimmers
  8. 2 Kings 25:14 Lit with which they served
  9. 2 Kings 25:16 Lit there was no weight for the bronze of
  10. 2 Kings 25:17 About 27 ft. or 8 m
  11. 2 Kings 25:17 About 4.5 ft. or 1.3 m
  12. 2 Kings 25:18 Lit keepers of the threshold
  13. 2 Kings 25:19 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
  14. 2 Kings 25:19 Or scribe, a captain
  15. 2 Kings 25:25 Lit seed
  16. 2 Kings 25:25 Lit and ten men with him
  17. 2 Kings 25:27 Lit raised the head of
  18. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit he
  19. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit ate bread
  20. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit his presence
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2 Kings 25
New International Version

25 So in the ninth(A) year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar(B) king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works(C) all around it. 2 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

3 By the ninth day of the fourth[a] month the famine(D) in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 4 Then the city wall was broken through,(E) and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians[b] were surrounding(F) the city. They fled toward the Arabah,[c] 5 but the Babylonian[d] army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,(G) 6 and he was captured.(H)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah,(I) where sentence was pronounced on him. 7 They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.(J)

8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 He set fire(K) to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.(L) 10 The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls(M) around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile(N) the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon.(O) 12 But the commander left behind some of the poorest people(P) of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

13 The Babylonians broke(Q) up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes(R) and all the bronze articles(S) used in the temple service. 15 The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—all that were made of pure gold or silver.(T)

16 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the movable stands, which Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed. 17 Each pillar(U) was eighteen cubits[e] high. The bronze capital on top of one pillar was three cubits[f] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its network, was similar.

18 The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah(V) the chief priest, Zephaniah(W) the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.(X) 19 Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and five royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of the conscripts who were found in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 There at Riblah,(Y) in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.(Z)

So Judah went into captivity,(AA) away from her land.(AB)

22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah(AC) son of Ahikam,(AD) the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah. 23 When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men. 24 Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.”

25 In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated(AE) Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.(AF) 26 At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt(AG) for fear of the Babylonians.

Jehoiachin Released(AH)

27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin(AI) king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. 28 He spoke kindly(AJ) to him and gave him a seat of honor(AK) higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.(AL) 30 Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.(AM)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 25:3 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Jer. 52:6); Masoretic Text does not have fourth.
  2. 2 Kings 25:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 13, 25 and 26
  3. 2 Kings 25:4 Or the Jordan Valley
  4. 2 Kings 25:5 Or Chaldean; also in verses 10 and 24
  5. 2 Kings 25:17 That is, about 27 feet or about 8.1 meters
  6. 2 Kings 25:17 That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters
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