2 Re 25
1 E Sedekia si ribellò al re di Babilonia. L’anno nono del regno di Sedekia, il decimo giorno del decimo mese, Nebucadnetsar, re di Babilonia, venne con tutto il suo esercito contro Gerusalemme; s’accampò contro di lei, e le costruì attorno delle trincee.
On January 15 of the ninth year that Zedekiah had been ruling, King Nebuchadnezzar arrived with his whole army, and they surrounded Jerusalem. They built ramps [made of dirt against the walls of the city], so that they could climb up the ramps and attack the city.
2 E la città fu assediata fino all’undecimo anno del re Sedekia.
They did that for two years.
3 Il nono giorno del quarto mese, la carestia era grave nella città; e non c’era più pane per il popolo del paese.
After Zedekiah had been ruling for eleven years, the (famine/shortage of food) had become very bad. All their food was gone.
4 Allora fu fatta una breccia alla città, e tutta la gente di guerra fuggì, di notte, per la via della porta fra le due mura, in prossimità del giardino del re, mentre i Caldei stringevano la città da ogni parte. E il re prese la via della pianura;
On July 18 of that year, the Babylonian soldiers broke through part of the city wall, [and that enabled them to enter the city]. All the soldiers of Judah [wanted to escape]. But the Babylonian soldiers surrounded the city, so the [king and] the soldiers of Judah waited until it was nighttime. Then they fled through the gate that was between the two walls near the king’s park. They ran across the fields and started to go down to the Jordan [River] Valley.
5 ma l’esercito dei Caldei lo inseguì, lo raggiunse nelle pianure di Gerico, e tutto l’esercito di lui si disperse e l’abbandonò.
But the Babylonian soldiers chased/ran after them. They caught the king when he was by himself in the valley near the Jordan River. He was by himself because all his soldiers had abandoned him.
6 Allora i Caldei presero il re, e lo condussero al re di Babilonia a Ribla, dove fu pronunziata sentenza contro di lui.
The Babylonian soldiers took King Zedekiah to Riblah [city] in Babylon. There the king of Babylon decided what they would do to punish him.
7 I figliuoli di Sedekia furono scannati in sua presenza; poi cavaron gli occhi a Sedekia; lo incatenarono con una doppia catena di rame, e lo menarono a Babilonia.
There the king of Babylon forced Zedekiah to watch as the Babylonian soldiers killed all of Zedekiah’s sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes. They put bronze chains on [his hands and feet] and then they took him to Babylon.
8 Or il settimo giorno del quinto mese era il diciannovesimo anno di Nebucadnetsar, re di Babilonia Nebuzaradan, capitano della guardia del corpo, servo del re di Babilonia, giunse a Gerusalemme,
On August 14 of that year, after Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling for 19 years, Nebuzaradan arrived in Jerusalem. He was one of king Nebuchadnezzar’s officials and captain of the men that guarded the king.
9 ed arse la casa dell’Eterno e la casa del re, e diede alle fiamme tutte le case di Gerusalemme, tutte le case della gente ragguardevole.
He [commanded his soldiers to] burn down the temple of Yahweh, the king’s palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. So they burned down all the important buildings in the city.
10 E tutto l’esercito dei Caldei ch’era col capitano della guardia atterrò da tutte le parti le mura di Gerusalemme.
Then Nebuzaradan supervised all the soldiers of the Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem.
11 Nebuzaradan, capitano della guardia, menò in cattività i superstiti ch’erano rimasti nella città, i fuggiaschi che s’erano arresi al re di Babilonia, e il resto della popolazione.
Then he and his soldiers took to Babylon the people who were still living in the city, the other people [who lived in that area], and the soldiers who had previously surrendered to the Babylonian army.
12 Il capitano della guardia non lasciò che alcuni dei più poveri del paese a coltivar le vigne ed i campi.
But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the very poor people to stay in Judah to take care of the vineyards and [to plant crops in] the fields.
13 I Caldei spezzarono le colonne di rame ch’erano nella casa dell’Eterno, le basi, il mar di rame ch’era nella casa dell’Eterno, e ne portaron via il rame a Babilonia.
The Babylonian soldiers broke into pieces the bronze pillars, the bronze carts with wheels, and the huge bronze basin, all of which were in the temple courtyard, and they took all the bronze to Babylon.
14 Presero le pignatte, le palette, i coltelli, le coppe e tutti gli utensili di rame coi quali si faceva il servizio.
They also took the pots, the shovels, the instruments for (snuffing out/extinguishing) [the wicks of] the lamps, the dishes, and all the other bronze items that the Israeli priests had used for offering sacrifices at the temple.
15 Il capitano della guardia prese pure i bracieri, i bacini: l’oro di ciò ch’era d’oro, l’argento di ciò ch’era d’argento.
The soldiers also took away the (firepans/trays for carrying burning coals), the basins, and [all the other] items made of pure gold or pure silver.
16 Quanto alle due colonne, al mare e alle basi che Salomone avea fatti per la casa dell’Eterno, il rame di tutti questi oggetti aveva un peso incalcolabile.
The bronze from the two pillars, the carts with wheels, and the huge basin were very heavy; they could not be weighed. (Those things had been made/A man named Hiram had made these things) for the temple when Solomon [was the king of Israel].
17 L’altezza di una di queste colonne era di diciotto cubiti, e v’era su un capitello di rame alto tre cubiti; e attorno al capitello v’erano un reticolato e delle melagrane, ogni cosa di rame; lo stesso era della seconda colonna, munita pure di reticolato.
Each of the pillars was (27 feet/8 meters) tall. The bronze capital/top of each pillar was (7-1/2 feet/2.3 meters) high. They were each decorated all around with something that looked like a net made of bronze chains connecting bronze pomegranates.
18 Il capitano della guardia prese Seraia, il sommo sacerdote, Sofonia, il secondo sacerdote,
Nebuzaradan took with him to Babylon Seraiah the Supreme Priest, Zephaniah his assistant, and the three men who guarded the entrance [to the temple].
19 e i tre custodi della soglia, e prese nella città un eunuco che comandava la gente di guerra, cinque uomini di fra i consiglieri intimi del re che furon trovati nella città, il segretario del capo dell’esercito che arrolava il popolo del paese, e sessanta privati che furono anch’essi trovati nella città.
And they found people who were still hiding in Jerusalem. From those people he took one officer from the Judean army, five of the king’s advisors, the chief secretary of the army commander who was in charge of recruiting men to join the army, and 60 other important Judean men.
20 Nebuzaradan, capitano della guardia, li prese e li condusse al re di Babilonia a Ribla;
Nebuzaradan took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah [city].
21 e il re di Babilonia li fece colpire a morte a Ribla, nel paese di Hamath. Così Giuda fu menato in cattività lungi dal suo paese.
There at Riblah, in Hamath province, the king of Babylon commanded that they all be executed. That is what happened when the people of Judah were (taken forcefully/exiled) from their land [to Babylon].
22 Quanto al popolo che rimase nel paese di Giuda, lasciatovi da Nebucadnetsar, re di Babilonia, il re pose a governarli Ghedalia, figliuolo di Ahikam, figliuolo di Shafan.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah, who was the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to be the governor of the people who were still living in Judah.
23 Quando tutti i capitani della gente di guerra e i loro uomini ebbero udito che il re di Babilonia avea fatto Ghedalia governatore, si recarono da Ghedalia a Mitspa: erano Ismael figliuolo di Nethania, Johanan figliuolo di Kareah, Seraia figliuolo di Tanhumet da Netofah, Jaazania figliuolo d’uno di Maacah, con la loro gente.
When all the army captains of Judah and their soldiers who had not surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar found out that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to be the governor, they met with him at Mizpah [town]. These army captains were Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth from Netophah [town], and Jaazaniah from the Maacah region.
24 Ghedalia fece ad essi e alla loro gente, un giuramento, dicendo: “Non v’incutano timore i servi dei Caldei: restate nel paese, servite al re di Babilonia, e ve ne troverete bene”.
Gedaliah solemnly promised them [that the officials from Babylon were not planning to harm them]. He said, “You may live in this land [without being afraid] and serve the king of Babylon, and [if you do], everything will go well for you.”
25 Ma il settimo mese, Ismael, figliuolo di Nethania, figliuolo di Elishama, di stirpe reale, venne accompagnato da dieci uomini e colpirono a morte Ghedalia insieme coi Giudei e coi Caldei ch’eran con lui a Mitspa.
But in October of that year, Ishmael, whose grandfather Elishama was one of the relatives of the descendants of King David, went to Mizpah along with ten other men and assassinated/killed Gedaliah and all the men who were with him. There were also men from Judah and men from Babylon whom they assassinated.
26 E tutto il popolo, piccoli e grandi, e i capitani della gente di guerra si levarono e se ne andarono in Egitto, perché avean paura dei Caldei.
Then many [HYP] of the people from Judah, important people and unimportant ones, and the army captains, were very afraid of [what] the Babylonians [would do to them], so they fled to Egypt.
27 Il trentasettesimo anno della cattività di Joiakin, re di Giuda, il ventisettesimo giorno del dodicesimo mese, Evilmerodac, re di Babilonia, l’anno stesso che cominciò a regnare, fece grazia a Joiakin, re di Giuda, e lo trasse di prigione;
Thirty-seven years after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken to Babylon, [Nebuchadnezzar’s son] Evil-Merodach became the king of Babylon. He was kind to Jehoiachin, and on April 2 of that year, he released/freed Jehoiachin from prison.
28 gli parlò benignamente, e mise il trono d’esso più in alto di quello degli altri re ch’eran con lui a Babilonia.
He always spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and honored him more than the other kings who had been taken/exiled to Babylon.
29 Gli fece mutare le vesti di prigione; e Joiakin mangiò sempre a tavola con lui per tutto il tempo ch’ei visse:
He gave Jehoiachin new clothes to replace the clothes that he had been wearing in prison, and he allowed Jehoiachin to eat at the king’s table every day for the rest of his life.
30 il re provvide continuamente al suo mantenimento quotidiano, fintanto che visse.
The king of Babylon also gave him money every day, so that he could buy the things that he needed. The king continued to do that until Jehoiachin died.
