JeremiahChapter 52

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¹Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother's name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ²Zedekiah did what was evil in the LORD's eyes, just as Jehoiakim had done. ³All this happened in Jerusalem and Judah because the LORD was angry. In the end he sent them away from his presence. And Zedekiah also turned against the king of Babylon. ⁴So Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. It was the ninth year that Zedekiah was king, on the tenth day of the tenth month. They set up camp outside the city. They built a siege wall all around it. ⁵The city was kept under attack until the eleventh year King Zedekiah ruled. ⁶By the ninth day of the fourth month, the hunger in the city was very bad. The people had no food left. ⁷Then the enemy broke through the city wall. The Chaldeans were all around the city. But all the soldiers ran away from the city at night. They went out through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden. They headed toward the Arabah. ⁸But the Chaldean army chased the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains near Jericho. All his soldiers left him and ran. ⁹The Chaldeans grabbed the king. They brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon decided what to do to Zedekiah. ¹⁰There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah's sons while Zedekiah watched. He also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes. He tied him up with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. He kept him in prison there until the day he died. ¹²Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem on the tenth day of the fifth month. It was the nineteenth year that Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon. Nebuzaradan was the captain of the guard. He served the king of Babylon. ¹³He burned down the LORD's house and the king's palace. He burned all the houses of Jerusalem. He burned every important building. ¹⁴The whole Chaldean army was under the captain of the guard. They broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took some people away as captives. He took some of the poorest people and those who were left in the city. He took the people who had gone over to the side of the king of Babylon. He also took the rest of the skilled workers. ¹⁶But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land. They stayed to take care of the vineyards and fields. ¹⁷The Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars in the LORD's house. They also broke up the stands and the huge bronze bowl called the Sea. They carried all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸They also took the pots, shovels, and wick cutters. They took the sprinkling bowls and dishes. They took all the bronze things used for the work in the temple. ¹⁹The captain of the guard also took away the basins and incense pans. He took the sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, and bowls for drink offerings. He took everything made of pure gold or fine silver. ²⁰King Solomon had made two pillars, the Sea, and the twelve bronze bulls under it. He had also made the stands that could be moved. He made them for the LORD's house. There was too much bronze in all these things to weigh. ²¹Each pillar was 27 feet tall. It was 18 feet around. Each was hollow, and its metal was about 3 inches thick.a ²²The bronze top on one pillar was 7 and a half feet high. It had a net of bronze pomegranates all around it. The second pillar and its pomegranates were the same.b ²³Each top had 96 pomegranates on the sides. In all there were 100 pomegranates above the net that went around it. ²⁴The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest. He took Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank. He took the three gatekeepers too. ²⁵He took some people who were still in the city. He took an officer who was in charge of the soldiers. He took seven trusted men who gave advice to the king. He also took the army commander's secretary, who signed up the people of the land for the army. And he took 60 men who were found in the city. ²⁶Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them. He brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them struck down and killed. So Judah was taken away as captives from its own land. ²⁸These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took away as captives. In the seventh year he took 3,023 Jews. ²⁹In Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year he took 832 people from Jerusalem. ³⁰In Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away 745 Jews. In all, 4,600 people were taken away. ³¹Jehoiachin king of Judah had been a captive for 37 years. In that year, Evil-merodach became king of Babylon. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah. He let him out of prison. ³²He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin. He gave him a seat of honor higher than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³So Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes. For the rest of his life he ate meals at the king's table. ³⁴The king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a set amount of food each day. He did this for the rest of his life, until the day he died.