Jeremiah 52

1 One and twenty years was Zedekiah old when he became king, and eleven years did he reign in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Chamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

Zedekiah was twenty-one when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah She came from Libnah.

2 And he did what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, in accordance with all that Jehoyakim had done.

He did evil in the Lord's sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.

3 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass against Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out of his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

All this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, because of the Lord's anger, until he eventually banished them from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and they encamped against it, and built against it works of attack round about.

In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. He set up camp around the city and built siege ramps against the walls.

5 So the city was placed in a state of siege until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

6 And in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, when the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land:

By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so bad that the people had nothing left to eat.

7 The city was broken in, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was near the king's garden; [while the Chaldeans were round about the city; ] and they went by the way of the plain.

Then the city wall was broken through, and all the soldiers ran away, escaping at night through the gate between the two walls by the king's garden, even though the Babylonians had the city surrounded. They went in the direction of the Arabah,

8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and all his army was scattered from him.

but the Babylonian army chased after the king and caught up with him on the plains of Jericho. His whole army had scattered and left him.

9 And they caught the king, and they brought him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Chamath: and he called him to account.

They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where he sentenced him.

10 And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: and also all the princes of Judah did he slaughter in Riblah.

The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's sons while he watched, and also killed the officials of Judah there at Riblah.

11 And the eyes of Zedekiah did he blind; and the king of Babylon bound him with brazen fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in the ward-house till the day of his death.

Then he gouged out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him in bronze shackles. The king of Babylon took him to Babylon and imprisoned him there until the day he died.

12 And in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, [who] served the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem.

On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, an officer of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

13 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house: and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, did he burn with fire:

He burned down the Lord's Temple, the royal palace, and all the large buildings of Jerusalem.

14 And all the walls of Jerusalem round about did all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, pull down.

The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the guard knocked down all the walls around Jerusalem.

15 And certain of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people that had been left in the city, and the deserters, that had run away to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away into exile.

Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, deported some of the poor people and those who were left in the city, even those who had gone over to the side of the king of Babylon, as well as the rest of the craftsmen.

16 But certain of the poorest of the land did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard leave for vine-dressers and for husbandmen.

But Nebuzaradan allowed others of the poor people who were left in the country to stay and take care of the vineyards and the fields.

17 Also the pillars of copper that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the copper sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldeans break, and they carried off all their copper to Babylon.

The Babylonians broke into pieces the bronze pillars, the movable carts, and the bronze Sea that belonged to the Lord's Temple, and they took all the bronze to Babylon.

18 And the pots, and the shovels, and the knives, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of copper wherewith they used to perform the service, did they take away.

They also took all the pots, shovels, lamp snuffers, sprinkling bowls, and all the other bronze items used in the Temple service.

19 And the basins, and the censers, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the purifying-tubes: of what was of gold the gold, and of what was of silver the silver, did the captain of the guard take away.

The commander of the guard removed the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls, anything that was made of pure gold or silver.

20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve copper oxen that served instead of the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of the Lord: the copper of all these vessels could not be weighed.

The amount of bronze that came from the two columns, the Sea, the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable carts, which Solomon had made for the Lord's Temple, all of this weighed more than could be measured.

21 And as regardeth the pillars, eighteen cubits was the height of each one pillar; and a thread of twelve cubits would compass it; and its thickness was four fingers: it was hollow.

Each column was eighteen cubits tall and twelve cubits around. They were hollow with walls four fingers thick.

22 And a capital was upon it of copper; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of copper. And the like was the case with the second pillar and the pomegranates.

The bronze capital on top of one column was five cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates around it. The second column was the same, and also had a decorative network.

23 And the pomegranates were ninety and six on every side: all the pomegranates upon the network were one hundred round about.

There were ninety-six bronze pomegranates around each column. Above the network were a total of one hundred pomegranates.

24 And the captain of the guard took Serayah the chief priest, and Zephanyah the priest second in rank, and the three door-keepers;

The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah, the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest, second in rank, and the three Temple doorkeepers.

25 And out of the city he took a certain court-officer, who had the supervision of the men of war: and seven men of those that had free access to the kings presence, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the chief of the army, who ordered to the army the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city;

From those left in the city he took the officer in charge of the soldiers, and seven of the king's advisors. He also took the secretary to the army commander who was in charge of calling up the people for military service, and sixty other men who were present in the city.

26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and led them away unto the king of Babylon to Riblah.

Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, took them and brought them before the king of Babylon at Riblah.

27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Chamath. Thus Judah was carried away into exile out of his own country.

The king of Babylon had them executed at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So the people of Judah had to leave their land.

28 This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty and three Jews;

This is a record of the number of people Nebuchadnezzar took into exile. In the seventh year of his reign he took 3,023 Judeans.

29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar from Jerusalem, eight hundred thirty and two persons;

In his eighteenth year Nebuchadnezzar took another 832 from Jerusalem.

30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away into exile of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons; all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

In his twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard, took another 745 Judeans, making a total of 4,600.

31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the exile of Jehoyachin the king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the five and twentieth day of the month that Evil-merodach the king of Babylon in the [first] year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoyachin the king of Judah, and brought him forth out of the prison-house;

In the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison. This happened on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah.

32 And he spoke kindly with him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,

The king of Babylon treated him well him and gave him a position of honor higher than the other kings there with him in Babylon.

33 And he changed his prison-garments: and he ate bread before him continually all the days of his life.

So Jehoiachin was able to remove his prison clothes, and he ate frequently at the king's table for the rest of his life.

34 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king, the necessary ration for the day on its day, until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

The king provided Jehoiachin with a daily allowance for the rest of his life until he died.