Nebuchadnezzar Destroys Jerusalem

52 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother’s name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah. She was from Libnah. ² Zedekiah did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did just as Jehoiakim had done. ³ The enemies of Jerusalem and Judah attacked them because the Lord was angry. In the end he threw them out of his land.

Zedekiah refused to obey the king of Babylon.

⁴ Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He marched out against Jerusalem. All his armies went with him. It was in the ninth year of the rule of Zedekiah. It was on the tenth day of the tenth month. The armies set up camp outside the city. They set up ladders and built ramps and towers all around it. ⁵ It was surrounded until the 11th year of King Zedekiah’s rule.

⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month, there wasn’t any food left in the city. So the people didn’t have anything to eat. ⁷ Then the Babylonians broke through the city wall. Judah’s whole army ran away. They left the city at night. They went out through the gate between the two walls that were near the king’s garden. They escaped even though the Babylonians surrounded the city. Judah’s army ran toward the Arabah Valley. ⁸ But the armies of Babylon chased King Zedekiah. They caught up with him in the plains near Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him. They had scattered in every direction. ⁹ The king was captured.

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah. Riblah was in the land of Hamath. That’s where Nebuchadnezzar decided how Zedekiah would be punished. ¹⁰ At Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah. He forced him to watch it with his own eyes. Nebuchadnezzar also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹ Then he poked out Zedekiah’s eyes. He put him in bronze chains. And he took him to Babylon. There he put Zedekiah in prison until the day he died.

¹² Nebuzaradan served the king of Babylon. In fact, he was commander of the royal guard. He came to Jerusalem. It was in the 19th year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. It was on the tenth day of the fifth month. ¹³ Nebuzaradan set the Lord’s temple on fire. He also set fire to the royal palace and all the houses in Jerusalem. He burned down every important building. ¹⁴ The armies of Babylon broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. That’s what the commander told them to do. ¹⁵ Some of the poorest people still remained in the city along with the others. But the commander Nebuzaradan took them away as prisoners. He also took the rest of the skilled workers. That included the people who had joined the king of Babylon. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan left the rest of the poorest people of the land behind. He told them to work in the vineyards and fields.

¹⁷ The armies of Babylon destroyed the Lord’s temple. They broke the bronze pillars into pieces. They broke up the bronze stands that could be moved around. And they broke up the huge bronze bowl. Then they carried away all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took away the pots, shovels, wick cutters, sprinkling bowls and dishes. They took away all the bronze objects that were used for any purpose in the temple. ¹⁹ The commander of the royal guard took away the bowls and the shallow cups for burning incense. He took away the sprinkling bowls, the pots, the lampstands and the dishes. He took away the bowls used for drink offerings. So he took away everything made out of pure gold or silver.

²⁰ The bronze was more than anyone could weigh. It included the bronze from the two pillars. It included the bronze from the huge bowl and the 12 bronze bulls under it. It also included the stands. King Solomon had made all those things for the Lord’s temple. ²¹ Each pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet around. The pillars were hollow. The metal in each of them was three inches thick. ²² The bronze top of one pillar was seven and a half feet high. It was decorated with a set of bronze chains and pomegranates all around it. The other pillar was just like it. It also had pomegranates. ²³ There were 96 pomegranates on the sides of each of the two tops. The total number of pomegranates above the bronze chains around each top was 100.

²⁴ The commander of the guard took many prisoners. They included Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the priest who reported to him. They also included the three men who guarded the temple doors. ²⁵ Some people were still left in the city. The commander took as a prisoner the officer in charge of the fighting men. He took the seven men who gave advice to the king. He also took the secretary who was the chief officer in charge of getting the people of the land to serve in the army. There were 60 people of the land still in the city. ²⁶ The commander Nebuzaradan took all of them away. He brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ There the king had them put to death. Riblah was in the land of Hamath.

So the people of Judah were taken as prisoners. They were taken far away from their own land.

²⁸ Here is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon as prisoners.

The total number of people taken to Babylon was 4,600.

Jehoiachin Is Set Free

³¹ Awel-Marduk set Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, free from prison. It was in the 37th year after Jehoiachin had been taken away to Babylon. It was also the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon. It was on the 25th day of the 12th month. ³² Awel-Marduk spoke kindly to Jehoiachin. He gave him a place of honor. Other kings were with Jehoiachin in Babylon. But his place was more important than theirs. ³³ So Jehoiachin put away his prison clothes. For the rest of Jehoiachin’s life the king of Babylon provided what he needed. ³⁴ The king did that for Jehoiachin day by day as long as he lived. He did it until the day Jehoiachin died.