Jer 52 | NASB1995 | STEP | Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king , and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem ; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah .

Jeremiah 52

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 ^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^{▼▼ Another reading is Hamital
,} ^cHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of ^dLibnah. 2 He did ^eevil in the sight of the Lord like all that ^fJehoiakim had done. 3 For through the ^ganger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah ^hrebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 ⁱNow it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a ^jsiege wall all around ^{▼▼ Lit against it}it. 5 ^lSo the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the ^mfourth month the ⁿfamine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was ^obroken into, and all the ^pmen of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were ^{▼▼ Lit against the city on every side
,} ^rall around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and ^sovertook Zedekiah in the ^{▼▼ Lit Arabah}plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and ^ubrought him up to the king of Babylon at ^vRiblah in the land of ^wHamath, and he ^{▼▼ Lit spoke judgments with}passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon ^yslaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the ^{▼▼ Or commanders}princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he ^aablinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

12 ^abNow on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the ^acnineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ^adNebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, ^{▼▼ Lit stood before the king}who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He ^afburned the house of the Lord, the ^agking’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^ahbroke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard ^aicarried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ^{▼▼ Lit fallers who had fallen
,} ^akdeserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. 16 But ^alNebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and ^{▼▼ Or unpaid laborers}plowmen.

17 Now the bronze ^anpillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the ^aostands and the bronze ^apsea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the ^aqpots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the ^{▼▼ Or spoons for incense}pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took away the ^asbowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the ^{▼▼ Or spoons for incense}pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under ^{▼▼ So Gr and Syriac; Heb omits the sea}the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was ^avbeyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the ^awheight of each pillar was eighteen ^{▼▼ I.e. One cubit equals approx 18 in.}cubits, and ^{▼▼ Lit a line of 12 cubits would encircle it}it was twelve cubits in ^azcircumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Now a ^bacapital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and ^bbpomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six ^{▼▼ Lit windward}exposed pomegranates; all ^bdthe pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around.

24 Then the captain of the guard took ^beSeraiah the chief priest and ^bfZephaniah the second priest, with the three ^{▼▼ Lit keepers of the door
,} ^bhofficers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven ^{▼▼ Lit men of those seeing the king’s face}of the ^bjking’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and ^bkbrought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon ^blstruck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was ^bmled away into exile from its land.

28 These are the people whom ^bnNebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the ^{▼▼ Or possibly seventeenth}seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, ^bpNebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.

31 ^bqNow 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 ^{▼▼ Or Awil-Marduk (“Man of Marduk”)}Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, ^{▼▼ Lit lifted up the head of
,} ^btshowed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 ^buThen he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So ^{▼▼ Lit he}Jehoiachin ^bwchanged his prison clothes, and ^{▼▼ Lit ate
,} ^byhad his meals in ^{▼▼ Lit his presence}the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 For his allowance, a ^caregular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.