Jeremiah 52

1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal; she was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

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.

2 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he did everything that Jehoiakim had done.

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

3 Through Yahweh's anger, all these events happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he drove them from before himself. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

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.

4 It happened that in the ninth year of the reign of King Zedekiah, in the tenth month, and on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came with all his army against Jerusalem. They camped opposite it, and they built a siege wall around it.

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.

5 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign.

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

6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

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.

7 Then the city was broken into, and all the fighting men fled and went out of the city at night by the way of the gate that was between the two walls, by the king's garden, although the Chaldeans were all around the city. So they went in the direction of the Arabah.

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.

8 But the army of Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of the Jordan River valley near Jericho. All his army was scattered away from him.

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.

9 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he passed sentence on him.

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.

10 The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his own eyes, and at Riblah he also slaughtered all the leaders of Judah.

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.

11 Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and brought him to Babylon. The king of Babylon put him in prison until the day of his death.

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.

12 Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem. He was the commander of the king's bodyguards and a servant of the king of Babylon.

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.

13 He burned the house of Yahweh, the king's palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem; also every important building in the city he burned.

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:

14 As for the walls around Jerusalem, all the army of the Babylonians who were with the commander of the bodyguards destroyed them.

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

15 As for the poorest people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen— Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguards, took some of them away into exile.

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.

16 But Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguards, left some of the poorest of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

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.

17 As for the bronze pillars that belonged to the house of Yahweh, and the stands, and the large bronze basin called “The Sea” that were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans broke them into pieces and carried all the bronze back to Babylon.

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.

18 The pots, shovels, lamp trimmers, bowls, and all the utensils of bronze with which the priests had served in the temple—the Chaldeans took them all away.

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.

19 The basins and the incense burners, the bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, and basins that were made of gold, and those made of silver—the commander of the king's guard took them away as well.

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.

20 The two pillars, the large bronze basin known as “The Sea,” and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the stands, things that Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh, contained more bronze than could be weighed.

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.

21 The pillars were eighteen cubits high each, and a line around each one measured twelve cubits. Each was four fingers thick and hollow.

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.

22 A capital of bronze was on top of it. The capital was five cubits high, with latticework and pomegranates all around. It was all made of bronze. The other pillar and its pomegranates were the same as the first.

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.

23 So there were ninety-six pomegranates on the capital's sides, and one hundred pomegranates above the surrounding latticework.

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

24 The commander of the bodyguards took prisoner Seraiah, the high priest, together with Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three gatekeepers.

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

25 From the city he took prisoner an officer who was in charge of soldiers, and seven men of those who advised the king, who were still in the city. He also took prisoner the king's army officer responsible for drafting men into the army, along with sixty important men from the land who were in the city.

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.

26 Then Nebuzaradan, the commander of the bodyguards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

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

27 The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. In this way, Judah went out of its land into exile.

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.

28 These were the people who Nebuchadnezzar exiled: In the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans.

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

29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he took 832 people from Jerusalem.

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

30 In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the king's bodyguards, exiled 745 Judean people. All the exiled people totaled 4,600.

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.

31 It happened later in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Awel-Marduk, king of Babylon released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. This happened in the year that Awel-Marduk began to reign.

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.

32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat more honorable than that of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

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.

33 Awel-Marduk removed Jehoiachin's prison clothes, and Jehoiachin ate regularly at the king's table for the rest of his life,

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

34 and a regular food allowance was given to him every day for the rest of his life until his death.

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.