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2 Kings 25
New American 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 the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and (C)built a siege wall all around [a]it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month (D)the famine was so severe 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 that were 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 army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then (G)they captured the king and (H)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (I)Riblah, and he [c]passed sentence on him. 7 And (J)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then (K)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

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 bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And (N)he burned the house of the Lord, (O)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards (P)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile (Q)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the [d]people. 12 But the captain of the bodyguards left some of (R)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

13 (S)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and (T)the bronze [e]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the [f]bronze to Babylon. 14 (U)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the [g]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils [h]which were used in temple service. 15 The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, 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 the Lord—[i](V)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. 17 (W)The height of the one pillar was [j]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was [k]three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.

18 Then the captain of the bodyguards took (X)Seraiah the chief priest and (Y)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [l]doorkeepers. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (Z)five [m]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [n]scribe of the captain 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 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought 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 Made 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)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at (AE)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24 And 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 go well for you.”

25 (AF)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal [o]family, came [p]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, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

27 (AH)Now it came about 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, [q](AJ)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he (AK)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So [r]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and [s](AL)had his meals in [t]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30 and as his (AM)allowance, a regular allowance was given to 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 mss and ancient versions; MT he
  3. 2 Kings 25:6 Lit spoke judgment with him
  4. 2 Kings 25:11 Lit multitude
  5. 2 Kings 25:13 I.e., a very large basin
  6. 2 Kings 25:13 Lit bronze of them
  7. 2 Kings 25:14 I.e., wick trimmers
  8. 2 Kings 25:14 Lit with which they served
  9. 2 Kings 25:16 Lit there was no weight for the bronze of
  10. 2 Kings 25:17 About 27 ft. or 8 m
  11. 2 Kings 25:17 About 4.5 ft. or 1.3 m
  12. 2 Kings 25:18 Lit keepers of the threshold
  13. 2 Kings 25:19 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
  14. 2 Kings 25:19 Or scribe, a captain
  15. 2 Kings 25:25 Lit seed
  16. 2 Kings 25:25 Lit and ten men with him
  17. 2 Kings 25:27 Lit raised the head of
  18. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit he
  19. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit ate bread
  20. 2 Kings 25:29 Lit his presence
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2 Kings 25
International Standard Version

25 1 so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s[a] reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. 2 The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of[b] King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the fourth[c] month, the resulting[d] famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land. 4 The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah, 5 but the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the Jericho plains, where his entire army was scattered. 6 The Chaldeans captured the king and brought him to Riblah, where the king of Babylon determined his sentence. 7 They executed Zedekiah’s sons in his presence, blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and transported him to Babylon.

Jerusalem is Burned and the Temple Demolished

8 On the seventh[e] day of the fifth month, which was during the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king of Babylon, captain of the guard Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem 9 and set fire to the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He even incinerated the lavish[f] homes. 10 The Chaldean army that accompanied the captain of the guard demolished the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried the survivors of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude into exile. 12 However, the captain of the guard left some of the poor people of the land to work as vinedressers and farmers.

13 The Chaldeans also broke into pieces and carried back to Babylon the bronze pillars that stood in the Lord’s Temple, along with the stands and the bronze sea[g] that used to be in the Lord’s Temple. 14 They also confiscated[h] the pots, shovels, snuffers, spoons, and the rest of the bronze vessels that were used in ministry. 15 The captain of the guard also confiscated[i] the fire pans, basins, and whatever had been crafted of pure gold and pure silver. 16 The bronze contained in the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had crafted for the Lord’s Temple could not be inventoried for weight. 17 The height of one of the pillars was eighteen cubits,[j] and the capital on top of it was three cubits[k] high.[l] A latticework carved in the form of pomegranates encircled the capital, crafted completely out of brass. The second pillar was identical to the first.[m]

Judah’s Leaders are Executed

18 The captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, three temple officials,[n] 19 one overseer from the city who supervised the soldiers, five of the king’s advisors who had been discovered in the city, the scribe who served the army captain who mustered the army of the land, and 60 men of the land who were discovered in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 21 where the king of Babylon executed them in the land of Hamath. And so Judah was transported into exile from the land.

Gedaliah is Appointed Governor

22 Now as for the people who remained in the land of Judah whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left behind, he appointed Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, to rule. 23 When all the captains of the armies, along with their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, these men visited Gedaliah at Mizpah: Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, Kareah’s son Johanan, Tanhumeth the Netophathite’s son Seraiah, and Jaazaniah, who was descended from the Maacathites. 24 Gedaliah made this promise to them and to their men: “Don’t be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and things will go well with you.” 25 Nevertheless, seven months later, Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, the grandson of Elishama from the royal family, came with ten men and attacked Gedaliah. As a result, he died along with the Jews and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, including those who were insignificant and those who were important, fled with the captains of the armed forces to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Leaves Prison

27 Later on, after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been in exile for 37 years, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, during the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 28 He spoke kindly to him and elevated his position[o] above the thrones of the kings with him in Babylon. 29 Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes and had regular meals in the king’s presence every day for the rest of his life, 30 and a regular stipend was provided to him by the king in accordance with his needs for as long as he lived.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 25:1 Lit. his; but cf. 25:3, which suggests it refers to Zedekiah
  2. 2 Kings 25:2 The Heb. lacks the reign of
  3. 2 Kings 25:3 The Heb. lacks fourth; but cf. Jer. 52:6
  4. 2 Kings 25:3 The Heb. lacks resulting
  5. 2 Kings 25:8 Cf. Jer 52:12, which reads tenth
  6. 2 Kings 25:9 Lit. great
  7. 2 Kings 25:13 Cf. 1King 7:23-26; 2Chr 4:2-4
  8. 2 Kings 25:14 Or took away
  9. 2 Kings 25:15 Or took away
  10. 2 Kings 25:17 I.e. about 24 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches long
  11. 2 Kings 25:17 I.e. about 4 and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches long
  12. 2 Kings 25:17 The Heb. lacks high
  13. 2 Kings 25:17 Lit. to these with latticework
  14. 2 Kings 25:18 Lit. three threshold keepers
  15. 2 Kings 25:28 Lit. throne
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2 Kings 24
1 Chronicles 1
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