The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted

¹Zedekiah 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.

²And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done.

³For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence.And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.

⁴So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.

⁵And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

⁶By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

⁷Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeanshad surrounded the city, all the men of war fled the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden.They headed toward the Arabah,

⁸but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him.

⁹The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on Zedekiah.

¹⁰There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the officials of Judah.

¹¹Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon, where he kept him in custody until his dying day.

The Temple Destroyed

¹²On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

¹³He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.

¹⁴And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.

¹⁵Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the craftsmen.

¹⁶But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

¹⁷Moreover, the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and stands and the bronze Sea in the house of the LORD, and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.

¹⁸They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service.

¹⁹The captain of the guard also took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, and drink offering bowls—anything made of pure gold or fine silver.

²⁰As for the two pillars, the Sea, the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands that King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the weight of the bronze from all these articles was beyond measure.

²¹Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall and twelve cubits in circumference;each was hollow, four fingers thick.

²²The bronze capital atop one pillar was five cubits high,with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar.

²³Each capital had ninety-six pomegranates on the sides, and a total of a hundred pomegranates were above the surrounding network.

Captives Carried to Babylon

²⁴The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

²⁵Of those still in the city, he took a court official who had been appointed over the men of war, as well as seven trusted royal advisers. He also took the scribe of the captain of the army, who had enlisted the people of the land, and sixty men who were found in the city.

²⁶Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

²⁷There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death. So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land.

²⁸These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away:in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;

²⁹in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem;

³⁰in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away 745 Jews.So in all, 4,600 people were taken away.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

³¹On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardonedJehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison.

³²And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

³³So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life.

³⁴And the king of Babylon provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life, until the day of his death.

Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

¹So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and builta siege wall all around it.

²And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.

³By the ninth day of the fourth month,the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

⁴Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeanshad surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden.They headed toward the Arabah,

⁵but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and his whole army deserted him.

⁶The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment on him.

⁷And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

The Temple Destroyed

⁸On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

⁹He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.

¹⁰And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.

¹¹Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population.

¹²But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

¹³Moreover, the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and stands and the bronze Sea in the house of the LORD, and they carried the bronze to Babylon.

¹⁴They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service.

¹⁵The captain of the guard also took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—anything made of pure gold or fine silver.

¹⁶As for the two pillars, the Sea, and the movable stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the weight of the bronze from all these articles was beyond measure.

¹⁷Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall.The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high,with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar.

Captives Carried to Babylon

¹⁸The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

¹⁹Of those still in the city, he took a court official who had been appointed over the men of war, as well as five royal advisors. He also took the scribe of the captain of the army, who had enlisted the people of the land, and sixty men who were found in the city.

²⁰Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

²¹There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death. So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land.

Gedaliah Governs in Judah

²²Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over the people he had left behind in the land of Judah.

²³When all the commanders of the armies 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, and Jaazaniahson of the Maacathite, as well as their men.

²⁴And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, assuring them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

The Murder of Gedaliah

²⁵In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

²⁶Then all the people small and great, together with the commanders of the army, arose and fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

²⁷On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he releasedKing Jehoiachin of Judah from prison.

²⁸And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

²⁹So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life.

³⁰And the king provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life.

The Fall of Jerusalem

¹In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.

²And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.

³Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekimthe Rabsaris,Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag,and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they went out along the route to the Arabah.

⁵But the army of the Chaldeanspursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.

⁶There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah.

⁷Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.

⁸The Chaldeans set fire to the palace of the king and to the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

⁹Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried away to Babylon the remnant of the people who had remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to him.

¹⁰But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

Jeremiah Delivered

¹¹Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying,

¹²“Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.”

¹³So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, Nebushazbanthe Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon

¹⁴had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.

¹⁵And while Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD had come to him:

¹⁶“Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to fulfill My words against this city for harm and not for good, and on that day they will be fulfilled before your eyes.

¹⁷But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you will not be delivered into the hands of the men whom you fear.

¹⁸For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’”

The LORD Exalts the Humble

¹Hallelujah!Give praise, O servants of the LORD;praise the name of the LORD.

²Blessed be the name of the LORDboth now and forevermore.

³From where the sun rises to where it sets,the name of the LORD is praised.

⁴The LORD is exalted over all the nations,His glory above the heavens.

⁵Who is like the LORD our God,the One enthroned on high?

⁶He humbles Himself to beholdthe heavens and the earth.

⁷He raises the poor from the dustand lifts the needy from the dump

⁸to seat them with nobles,with the princes of His people.

⁹He settles the barren woman in her homeas a joyful mother to her children.Hallelujah!