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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

  1. 2 Kings 25:1 Lit against it
  2. 2 Kings 25:4 As in some ancient mss and versions; M.T. he
  3. 2 Kings 25:13 Lit bronze of them
  4. 2 Kings 25:17 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
  5. 2 Kings 25:17 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
  6. 2 Kings 25:18 Lit keepers of the door
  7. 2 Kings 25:19 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
  8. 2 Kings 25:19 Or scribe, a captain
  9. 2 Kings 25:25 Lit and ten men with him
  10. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit he
  11. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit ate bread
  12. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit his presence
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2 Kings 25
Common English Bible

25 1 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. He camped beside the city and built a siege wall all around it. 2 The city was under attack until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. 3 On the ninth day of the month, the famine in the city got so bad that no food remained for the common people. 4 Then the enemy broke into the city. All the soldiers fled[a] by night using the gate between the two walls near the King’s Garden. The Chaldeans were surrounding the city, so the soldiers ran toward the desert plain. 5 But the Chaldean army chased King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the Jericho plains. His entire army deserted him. 6 So the Chaldeans captured the king and brought him back to the Babylonian king, who was at Riblah. There his punishment was determined. 7 Zedekiah’s sons were slaughtered right before his eyes. Then he was blinded, put in bronze chains, and taken off to Babylon.

8 On the seventh day of the fifth month in the nineteenth year of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan arrived at Jerusalem. He was the commander of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king. 9 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all of Jerusalem’s houses. He burned down every important building. 10 The whole Chaldean army under the commander of the guard tore down the walls surrounding Jerusalem. 11 Then Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard exiled the people who were left in the city, those who had already surrendered to Babylon’s king, and the rest of the population. 12 The commander of the guard left some of the land’s poor people behind to work the vineyards and be farmers. 13 The Chaldeans shattered the bronze columns, the stands, and the bronze Sea that were in the Lord’s temple. They carried the bronze off to Babylon. 14 They also took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the dishes, and all the bronze items that had been used in the temple. 15 The commander of the guard took the fire pans and the sprinkling bowls, which were made of pure gold and pure silver. 16 The bronze in all these objects—the two pillars, the Sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple—was too heavy to weigh. 17 Each pillar was twenty-seven feet high. The bronze capital on top of the first pillar was four and a half feet high. Decorative lattices and pomegranates, all made from bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar was decorated with lattices just like the first.

18 The commander of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three doorkeepers. 19 Of those still left in the city, Nebuzaradan took away an officer who was in charge of the army and five royal advisors who were discovered in the city. He also took away the secretary of the officer responsible for drafting the land’s people to fight, as well as sixty people who were discovered in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard took all of these people and brought them to the Babylonian king at Riblah. 21 The king of Babylon struck them down, killing them in Riblah in the land of Hamath.

So Judah was exiled from its land.

Gedaliah governs Judah

22 Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar put Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son and Shaphan’s grandson, in charge of the people he had left behind in the land of Judah. 23 All the army officers and their soldiers heard that the Babylonian king had appointed Gedaliah as governor, so they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers were Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son; Johanan, Kareah’s son; Seraiah, Tanhumeth’s son who was a Netophathite; and Jaazaniah, Maacathite’s son. 24 Gedaliah made a solemn pledge to them and their soldiers, telling them, “Don’t be afraid of the Chaldean officials. Stay in the land and serve the Babylonian king, and things will go well for you.”

25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son and Elishama’s grandson, who was from the royal family, came with ten soldiers, and they struck Gedaliah, and he died. They also killed the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, young and old, along with the army officers, departed for Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin in Babylon

27 In the year that Awil-merodach[b] became king of Babylon, he released Judah’s King Jehoiachin from prison. This happened in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. 28 Awil-merodach spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and seated him above the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin took off his prisoner clothes and ate regularly in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 30 At the king’s command, a regular food allowance was given to him every day for the rest of his life.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 25:4 LXX, cf Jer 52:7; MT lacks fled.
  2. 2 Kings 25:27 Awil-merodach means Man of Marduk in Akkadian.
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