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25 And it cometh to pass, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth of the month, come hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he and all his force, against Jerusalem, and encampeth against it, and buildeth against it a fortification round about.

And the city entereth into siege till the eleventh year of king Zedekiah,

on the ninth of the month -- when the famine is severe in the city, and there hath not been bread for the people of the land,

then the city is broken up, and all the men of war [go] by night the way of the gate, between the two walls that [are] by the garden of the king, and the Chaldeans [are] against the city round about, and [the king] goeth the way of the plain.

And the force of the Chaldeans pursue after the king, and overtake him in the plains of Jericho, and all his force have been scattered from him;

and they seize the king, and bring him up unto the king of Babylon, to Riblah, and they speak with him -- judgment.

And the sons of Zedekiah they have slaughtered before his eyes, and the eyes of Zedekiah he hath blinded, and bindeth him with brazen fetters, and they bring him to Babylon.

And in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month (it [is] the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners, servant of the king of Babylon, come to Jerusalem,

and he burneth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem, yea, every great house he hath burned with fire;

10 and the walls of Jerusalem round about have all the forces of the Chaldeans, who [are] with the chief of the executioners, broken down.

11 And the rest of the people, those left in the city, and those falling who have fallen to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, hath Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners removed;

12 and of the poor of the land hath the chief of the executioners left for vine-dressers and for husbandmen.

13 And the pillars of brass that [are] in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the sea of brass, that [is] in the house of Jehovah, have the Chaldeans broken in pieces, and bear away their brass to Babylon.

14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they minister they have taken,

15 and the fire-pans, and the bowls that [are] wholly of silver, hath the chief of the executioners taken.

16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases that Solomon made for the house of Jehovah, there was no weighing of the brass of all these vessels;

17 eighteen cubits [is] the height of the one pillar, and the chapiter on it [is] of brass, and the height of the chapiter [is] three cubits, and the net and the pomegranates [are] on the chapiter round about -- the whole [is] of brass; and like these hath the second pillar, with the net.

18 And the chief of the executioners taketh Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold,

19 and out of the city he hath taken a certain eunuch who is appointed over the men of war, and five men of those seeing the king's face who have been found in the city, and the head scribe of the host, who mustereth the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who are found in the city,

20 and Nebuzaradan chief of the executioners taketh them, and causeth them to go unto the king of Babylon, to Libnah,

21 and the king of Babylon smiteth them, and putteth them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he removeth Judah from off its land.

22 And the people that is left in the land of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath left -- he appointeth over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.

23 And all the heads of the forces hear -- they and the men -- that the king of Babylon hath appointed Gedaliah, and they come in unto Gedaliah, to Mizpah, even Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maachathite -- they and their men;

24 and Gedaliah sweareth to them, and to their men, and saith to them, `Be not afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans, dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it is good for you.'

25 And it cometh to pass, in the seventh month, come hath Ishmael son of Nathaniah, son of Elishama of the seed of the kingdom, and ten men with him, and they smite Gedaliah, and he dieth, and the Jews and the Chaldeans who have been with him in Mizpah.

26 And all the people rise, from small even unto great, and the heads of the forces, and come in to Egypt, for they have been afraid of the presence of the Chaldeans.

27 And it cometh to pass, in the thirty and seventh year of the removal of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty and seventh of the month hath Evil-Merodach king of Babylon lifted up, in the year of his reigning, the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, out of the house of restraint,

28 and speaketh with him good things and putteth his throne above the throne of the kings who [are] with him in Babylon,

29 and hath changed the garments of his restraint, and he hath eaten bread continually before him all days of his life,

30 and his allowance -- a continual allowance -- hath been given to him from the king, the matter of a day in its day, all days of his life.

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. The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

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. 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] 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) and he was captured.(H)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah,(I) where sentence was pronounced on him. 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)

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. 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