2 Kings 25

Wycliffe Bible

25 Forsooth it was done in the ninth year of his realm, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came, he, and all his host, into Jerusalem; and they compassed it, and builded strongholds in the compass thereof. (And it was done in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came, he, and all his army, into Jerusalem; and they encompassed, or surrounded, it, and built strongholds all around it.)

² And the city was closed, and compassed, till to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah, (And the city was enclosed, and encompassed, or surrounded, until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.)

³ in the ninth day of the month; and hunger had mastery in the city, and there was not bread to the people of the land. (And on the ninth day of the month, famine had the mastery in the city, and there was no food for the people of the land.)

⁴ And the city was broken (into), and all (the) men warriors fled in the night by the way of the gate, that is betwixt the double wall, toward the garden of the king; soothly the Chaldees besieged the city in compass/about. Therefore Zedekiah fled by the way that leadeth to the field places of the wilderness;

⁵ and the host of Chaldees pursued the king, and took him in the plain of Jericho; and all the warriors, that were with him, were scattered abroad, and left him. (and the Chaldean army pursued the king, and overtook him/and took hold of him on the plains of Jericho; and all the warriors, who were with him, scattered everywhere, and left him all alone.)

⁶ Therefore they led the king taken to the king of Babylon, into Riblah, which spake doom with him, that is, with Zedekiah. (And so they captured the king, and led him to the king of Babylon, at Riblah, who spoke judgement upon him, that is, upon Zedekiah.)

⁷ Soothly he killed the sons of Zedekiah before him, and putted out his eyes, and bound him with chains, and led him into Babylon.

⁸ In the fifth month, in the seventh day of the month, that is the nineteenth year of (Nebuchadnezzar,) the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, prince of the host, [the] servant of the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem; (In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, that is the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the leader of the army/the captain of the guard, the servant of the king of Babylon, came into Jerusalem;)

⁹ and he burnt the house of the Lord, and the house of the king, and the houses of Jerusalem, and he burnt by fire each house thereof; (and he burned down the House of the Lord, and the house of the king, and the houses of Jerusalem, yea, he burned down every house there;)

¹⁰ and all the host of Chaldees, that was with the prince of knights, destroyed the walls of Jerusalem in compass. (and all the army of the Chaldeans, that was with the leader of the horsemen, or of the army, destroyed the walls of Jerusalem all around.)

¹¹ Forsooth Nebuzaradan, prince of the chivalry, translated the tother part of the people, that dwelled in the city, and the fleers, that had fled over to the king of Babylon, and the remnant common people; (And Nebuzaradan, the leader of the cavalry, or of the army/the captain of the guard, carried away the other part of the people, who lived in the city, and the fleers, who had fled over to the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the common people;)

¹² and he left of the poor men of the land vine-tillers, and earth-tillers. (but he left of the poor people of the land the vine-tillers, and the earth-tillers.)

¹³ Soothly Chaldees brake the brazen pillars, that were in the temple, and the foundaments, and the sea of brass, that was in the house of the Lord; and they translated, or bare over, all the metal into Babylon. (And the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars, that were in the Temple, and their bases, and the Sea of bronze, that was in the House of the Lord; and they carried away all the bronze to Babylon.)

¹⁴ And they took the pots of brass, and trowels, and fleshhooks, and cups, and mortars, and all [the] brazen vessels, in which they ministered; (And they took away the bronze pots, and the trowels, and fleshhooks, and cups, and spoons, and all the other bronze vessels, with which they ministered;)

¹⁵ and censers also, and vials. The prince of the chivalry took those things that were of gold, and those that were of silver, (and also the censers, and basins. The leader of the cavalry, or of the army/The captain of the guard took away those things that were made out of gold, and made out of silver,)

¹⁶ that is, two pillars, one sea, and the foundaments, or bases, which king Solomon had made to the temple of the Lord (that is, the two pillars, the one Sea, and the foundations, or the bases, which King Solomon had made for the Temple of the Lord); and there was no certain weight of [the] metal of all the vessels.

¹⁷ One pillar had eighteen cubits of height, and a brazen pommel upon it of the height of three cubits, and a work like a net, and pomegranates upon the pommel of the pillar, all things of brass; and the second pillar had like adorning. (One pillar was eighteen cubits in height, and had a bronze capital upon it the height of three cubits, and a network, and pomegranates upon the capital of the pillar, all things made out of bronze; and the second pillar had like adorning.)

¹⁸ Also the prince of the chivalry took Seraiah, the first priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and [the] three porters, (And the leader of the cavalry, or of the army/the captain of the guard took Seraiah, the first priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three guards,)

¹⁹ and an honest (and chaste) servant of the city, that was sovereign over [the] men warriors, and five men of them that stood before the king, which he found in the city; and he took (the) Sopher, (that is,) the prince of the host, that proved [the] young knights, either (the) men able to battle, of the people of the land, and six(ty) men of the commons, that were found in the city; (and a eunuch of the city, who was the ruler over the warriors, and five men of those who stood before the king, whom he found in the city; and he took the Sopher, that is, the leader in the army, who proved the young soldiers to be able for battle, of the people of the land, and sixty common men, who were also found in the city;)

²⁰ (all of) which Nebuzaradan, prince of the chivalry, took, and led to the king of Babylon, into Riblah. (all of whom Nebuzaradan, the leader of the cavalry, or of the army/the captain of the guard, took hold of, and led captive to the king of Babylon, in Riblah.)

²¹ And the king of Babylon smote them, and killed them in Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and Judah was translated from his land. (And the king of Babylon struck them down, and killed them in Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and so the people of Judah were taken away from their land.)

²² Soothly Nebuchadnezzar made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, sovereign to the people, that was left in the land of Judah; which people Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had left in Judah. (And Nebuchadnezzar made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to be the ruler of the people, who were left in the land of Judah; which people Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had left there in Judah.)

²³ And when all the dukes of knights had heard these things, they, and all the men that were with them, that is, that the king of Babylon had ordained Gedaliah to be their sovereign in Judah, they came to Gedaliah, in Mizpah, (that is,) Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, son of Careah, and Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth of Netophah, and Jaazaniah, son of (a) Maachathite, they, and the fellows of them. (And when all the leaders of the horsemen, they and all the men who were with them, had heard these things, that is, that the king of Babylon had ordained Gedaliah to be their ruler in Judah, they came to Gedaliah in Mizpah; that is, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, the son of Careah, and Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth of Netophah, and Jaazaniah, the son of a Maachathite, they, and all their fellows came.)

²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them, and to the fellows of them, and said, Do not ye dread to serve the Chaldees; dwell ye in the land, and serve ye the king of Babylon, and it shall be well to you. (And Gedaliah swore to them, and to their fellows, and said, Do not ye fear to serve the Chaldeans; live ye in the land, and serve ye the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.)

²⁵ Forsooth it was done in the seventh month, that is, since Gedaliah was made sovereign, (that) Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the king’s seed, came, and ten men with him, and they smote Gedaliah, which died; but also they smited [the] Jews and [the] Chaldees, that were with him in Mizpah. (And it was done in the seventh month, that is, since Gedaliah was made the ruler, that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the king’s descendants, came, and ten men with him, and they struck down Gedaliah, and he died; and they also struck down the Jews and the Chaldeans, who were with him in Mizpah.)

²⁶ And all the people rose, from the little unto the great, and the princes of knights, and they came, or fled, into Egypt, and dreaded the Chaldees. (And all the people, from the little unto the great, and the leaders of the horsemen, rose up, and they fled to Egypt, for they feared the Chaldeans.)

²⁷ Therefore it was done in the seven and thirtieth year of the transmigration, either passing over, of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the seven and twentieth day of the month, Evilmerodach, king of Babylon, in the year in which he began to reign, raised [up] the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison, (And so it was done in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evilmerodach, the king of Babylon, in the year in which he began to reign, raised up the head of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, and released him from prison,)

²⁸ and spake to him benignly; and he set the throne of Jehoiachin above the throne of (the) kings, that were with him in Babylon. (and spoke kindly to him; and he put Jehoiachin’s seat above the seats of the other kings, who were with him for meals in Babylon.)

²⁹ And Evilmerodach changed the clothes of Jehoiachin that he had (worn) in prison; and he ate bread ever[more] in the sight of Evilmerodach, in all the days of his life.

³⁰ Also Evilmerodach ordained sustenance for Jehoiachin without ceasing; which sustenance also was given of the king to him by all days, in all the days of his life. (And Evilmerodach ordered a regular allowance for Jehoiachin; yea, each day this allowance was given to him by the king, for all the remaining days of his life.)