Jeremiah 52

1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king; he was king for eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

Zedekiah 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.

2 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done.

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

3 And because of the wrath of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had sent them away from before him: and Zedekiah took up arms against the king of Babylon.

For 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.

4 And in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem with all his army and took up his position before it, building earthworks all round it.

So 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.

5 So the town was shut in by their forces till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

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

6 In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the store of food in the town was almost gone, so that there was no food for the people of the land.

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

7 Then an opening was made in the wall of the town, and all the men of war went in flight out of the town by night through the doorway between the two walls which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldaeans were stationed round the town: ) and they went by the way of the Arabah.

Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had 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,

8 And the Chaldaean army went after King Zedekiah and overtook him on the other side of Jericho, and all his army went in flight from him in every direction.

but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was separated from him.

9 Then they made the king a prisoner and took him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath to be judged.

The 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.

10 And the king of Babylon put the sons of Zedekiah to death before his eyes: and he put to death all the rulers of Judah in Riblah.

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

11 And he put out Zedekiah's eyes; and the king of Babylon, chaining him in iron bands, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

Then 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.

12 Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, a servant of the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem.

On 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.

13 And he had the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned with fire:

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

14 And the walls round Jerusalem were broken down by the Chaldaean army which was with the captain.

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

15 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took away as prisoners the rest of the people who were still in the town, and those who had given themselves up to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the workmen.

Then 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.

16 But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, let the poorest of the land go on living there, to take care of the vines and the fields.

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

17 And the brass pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the wheeled bases and the great brass water-vessel in the house of the Lord, were broken up by the Chaldaeans, who took all the brass away to Babylon.

Moreover, 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.

18 And the pots and the spades and the scissors for the lights and the spoons, and all the brass vessels used in the Lord's house, they took away.

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

19 And the cups and the fire-trays and the basins and the pots and the supports for the lights and the spoons and the wide basins; the gold of the gold vessels, and the silver of the silver vessels, the captain of the armed men took away.

The 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.

20 The two pillars, the great water-vessel, and the twelve brass oxen which were under it, and the ten wheeled bases, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.

As 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.

21 And as for the pillars, one pillar was eighteen cubits high, and twelve cubits measured all round, and it was as thick as a man's hand: it was hollow.

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

22 And there was a crown of brass on it: the crown was five cubits high, circled with a network and apples all of brass; and the second pillar had the same.

The 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.

23 There were ninety-six apples on the outside; the number of apples all round the network was a hundred.

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

24 And the captain of the armed men took Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three door-keepers;

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

25 And from the town he took the unsexed servant who was over the men of war, and seven of the king's near friends who were in the town, and the scribe of the captain of the army, who was responsible for getting the people of the land together in military order, and sixty men of the people of the land who were in the town.

Of 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.

26 These Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took with him to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

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

27 And the king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken prisoner away from his land.

There 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.

28 These are the people whom Nebuchadrezzar took away prisoner: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews:

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

29 And in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he took away as prisoners from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons:

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

30 In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took away as prisoners seven hundred and forty-five of the Jews: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

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

31 And in the thirty-seventh year after Jehoiachin, king of Judah, had been taken prisoner, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the first year after he became king, took Jehoiachin, king of Judah, out of prison.

On 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 pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison.

32 And he said kind words to him and put his seat higher than the seats of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

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

33 And his prison clothing was changed, and he was a guest at the king's table every day for the rest of his life.

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

34 And for his food, the king gave him a regular amount every day till the day of his death, for the rest of his life.

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