The Fall of Jerusalem
12 Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who [g]was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So the entire army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
17 Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the stands and the bronze [h]sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans smashed to pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the [i]pans, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the [j]pans, and the drink offering bowls, whatever was fine gold, and whatever was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one [k]sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under [l]the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was [m]eighteen cubits, and [n]it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Also, a capital of bronze was on top of it; and the height of each capital was [o]five cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six [p]exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the latticework all around.
24 Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [q]officers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the warriors, seven [r]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land who were found inside the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led into exile from its land.
28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the [s]seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 people in all.
31 Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that [t]Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, [u]showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So [v]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and [w]had his meals in [x]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 And as his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day, all the days of his life until the day of his death.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 52:1 Another reading is Hamital
- Jeremiah 52:4 I.e., a defensive wall
- Jeremiah 52:4 Lit against it
- Jeremiah 52:7 Lit against the city on every side
- Jeremiah 52:8 Heb Arabah
- Jeremiah 52:9 Lit spoke judgments with
- Jeremiah 52:12 Lit stood before the king
- Jeremiah 52:17 I.e., large basin
- Jeremiah 52:18 Or spoons for incense
- Jeremiah 52:19 Or spoons for incense
- Jeremiah 52:20 As in LXX and Syriac; MT omits the sea; i.e., large basin
- Jeremiah 52:20 As in LXX and Syriac; MT omits the sea; i.e., large basin
- Jeremiah 52:21 About 27 ft. high and 18 ft. in circumference or 8 m and 5.4 m
- Jeremiah 52:21 Lit a thread of 12 cubits would encircle it
- Jeremiah 52:22 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
- Jeremiah 52:23 Lit windward
- Jeremiah 52:24 Lit keepers of the door
- Jeremiah 52:25 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
- Jeremiah 52:28 Or possibly seventeenth
- Jeremiah 52:31 Or Awil-Marduk (“Man of Marduk”)
- Jeremiah 52:31 Lit lifted up the head of
- Jeremiah 52:33 Lit he
- Jeremiah 52:33 Lit ate bread
- Jeremiah 52:33 Lit his presence