2 Kings 25
Legacy Standard Bible
Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
25 (A)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, (B)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his military force, against Jerusalem, and he camped against it and (C)built a siege wall all around [a]it. 2 So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month (D)the famine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 (E)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside (F)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And [b]they went by way of the Arabah. 5 But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his military force was scattered from him. 6 Then (G)they seized the king and (H)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (I)Riblah, and they spoke their judgment on him. 7 (J)And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then he (K)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.
Jerusalem Burned
8 (L)Now on the seventh day of the (M)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 (N)And he burned the house of Yahweh, (O)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the military force of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard (P)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then (Q)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the defectors who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of (R)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
13 (S)Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of Yahweh, and the stands and (T)the bronze sea which were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans shattered and carried the [c]bronze to Babylon. 14 (U)They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used to minister. 15 The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh—(V)the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 (W)The height of the one pillar was eighteen [d]cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three [e]cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.
18 Then the captain of the guard took (X)Seraiah the chief priest and (Y)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [f]doorkeepers of the temple. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (Z)five [g]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [h]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 city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and led them to the king of Babylon at (AA)Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (AB)So Judah went into exile from its land.
Gedaliah Appointed Judah’s Governor
22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed (AC)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 (AD)Then all the commanders of the military forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor. So they came to Gedaliah to (AE)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24 Then Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”
25 (AF)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came [i]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 (AG)Then all the people, both small and great, and the commanders of the military forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 (AH)Now it happened in the thirty-seventh year of (AI)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, (AJ)lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he (AK)spoke to him good words, and he set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So [j]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and [k](AL)had his meals in [l]the king’s presence continually all the days of his life; 30 and for his (AM)allowance, a continual allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 25:1 Lit against it
- 2 Kings 25:4 As in some ancient mss and versions; M.T. he
- 2 Kings 25:13 Lit bronze of them
- 2 Kings 25:17 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
- 2 Kings 25:17 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
- 2 Kings 25:18 Lit keepers of the door
- 2 Kings 25:19 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
- 2 Kings 25:19 Or scribe, a captain
- 2 Kings 25:25 Lit and ten men with him
- 2 Kings 25:29 Lit he
- 2 Kings 25:29 Lit ate bread
- 2 Kings 25:29 Lit his presence
2 Kings 25
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 25
1 It was during the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and all his army came up against Jerusalem. He camped and made siege-works all around it.[a] 2 The city was under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe that there was no food left for the people of the land.
4 There was a breach in the city wall, and all of the warriors fled at night by way of the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. They went toward the Arabah.
5 The Chaldean army chased after them and caught up with the king in the plains of Jericho, scattering his entire army. 6 They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon who was at Riblah where he pronounced his judgment. 7 They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and then they put out his eyes, bound him in brass fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.
Destruction of Jerusalem. 8 On the seventh day of the fifth month of the ninth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and a servant of the king of Babylon, came up to Jerusalem. 9 He burned down the temple of the Lord, the royal palace, all of the buildings of Jerusalem. He burned down every large building. 10 All of the Chaldean army that was with the captain of the guard broke down all of the walls surrounding Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried off the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
12 But the captain of the guard left the poorest of the people who were to be vinedressers and herdsmen.
13 The Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord and the bronze sea and its base in the temple of the Lord. They carried the bronze off to Babylon. 14 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all of the bronze vessels that were used for ministry there. 15 The captain of the guard also took away the censers and the bowls, and everything that was made with gold or silver. 16 One could not even measure the weight of the bronze from all these things: the two pillars, the sea, and its base that were made by Solomon for the temple of the Lord. 17 Each bronze pillar with its capital was eighteen cubits tall. The capital was three cubits high, along with a bronze network and pomegranates upon the capital. The other pillar was identical with its network.
18 The captain of the guard took away Seraiah, the chief priest, Zephaniah, the second priest, as well as three of the doormen. 19 He also took the officer who was in charge of the fighting men out of the city as well as five of the king’s advisors who were caught in the city. He took the scribe assigned to the leader of the army, the one who would muster the people of the land. He also took sixty of the people of the land who were found in the city.
20 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon in Riblah. 21 The king of Babylon struck them down and killed them in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus, Judah was carried away from their land into exile.
22 Gedaliah Governs Judah.[b] As for the rest of the people who had remained in the land of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over them.
23 When all of the captains of the army (they and their men) heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah in Mizpah. They were Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, Johanan, the son of Kareah, Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah, the son of the Maachathite, and their men.
24 Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, saying to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and everything will be all right with you.”
25 But during the seventh month, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah. He died along with the Jews and Chaldeans who were with him in Mizpah.
26 All of the people then rose up, the small and the great, and the captains of the army, and they went to Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 Jehoiachin’s Release from Prison.[c] In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, Evil-merodach who had become king that year, released Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, from prison. 28 He spoke kindly to him and he set him upon his throne which was above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 He changed his prison clothes, and he ate his meals with him for the rest of his life. 30 He was given a regular allowance from the king, a portion for each day of the rest of his life.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 25:1 For the third time, the Babylonian army invaded Judah, destroying the temple and taking the people captive. Judah, like Israel, was unfaithful to God, who gave them many opportunities to turn back to him.
- 2 Kings 25:22 These painful incidents are told in detail in Jeremiah (Jer 40–42). Judah is now like “a desert that no one can cross” (Jer 9:12), since Babylonia does not introduce new inhabitants as Assyria had done in the case of Israel. But the wintry silence is preparing for the germination of new seed. This will produce a new people, one that has the law written in its heart and that will come to rebuild these ruins (Jer 31:33).
- 2 Kings 25:27 Evil-merodach succeeds his father, Nebuchadnezzar, in 561 B.C. and being a more humane man, takes pity on Jehoiachin, who has been in prison since 597 B.C. His treatment of the vassal king has been brilliantly confirmed by discoveries in 1940 that mention “Jaukinu, king of the land of Judah” as among those who receive supplies from the king’s treasury.
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