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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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

25 1 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around.(A) 2 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine became so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.(B) 4 Then a breach was made in the city wall;[a] the king with all the soldiers fled[b] by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the King’s Garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah.(C) 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; all his army was scattered, deserting him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on him.(D) 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah; they bound him in fetters and took him to Babylon.(E)

8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.(F) 9 He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.(G) 10 All the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.(H) 11 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon—all the rest of the multitude.(I) 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and tillers of the soil.(J)

13 The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, as well as the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.(K) 14 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the dishes for incense, and all the bronze vessels used in the temple service,(L) 15 as well as the firepans and the basins. What was made of gold the captain of the guard took away for the gold and what was made of silver for the silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weighing.(M) 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a bronze capital; the height of the capital was three cubits; latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were on the capital all around. The second pillar had the same, with the latticework.(N)

18 The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three guardians of the threshold;(O) 19 from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the soldiers and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; the secretary who was 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 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out of its land.(P)

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

22 He appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan as governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left.(Q) 23 Now when all the captains of the forces and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite.(R) 24 Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials; live in the land, serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men; they struck down Gedaliah so that he died, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.(S) 26 Then all the people, high and low,[c] and the captains of the forces set out and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.(T)

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison;(U) 28 he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the other seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes. Every day of his life he dined regularly in the king’s presence.(V) 30 For his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion every day, as long as he lived.

Footnotes

  1. 25.4 Heb lacks wall
  2. 25.4 Lucianic: Heb lacks the king and fled
  3. 25.26 Or young and old
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

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