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)

⁴ And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and they laid siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around.^{(A) 5} So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶ 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) 7} Then a breach was made in the city wall,^[a] and all the soldiers fled and went out from the city 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) 8} But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered, deserting him.^{(D) 9} Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.^{(E) 10} The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the officers of Judah at Riblah.^{(F) 11} He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in fetters, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.^(G)

Death in Captivity Predicted for Zedekiah

34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth and all the peoples under his dominion were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities:^{(A) 2} Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to King Zedekiah of Judah and say to him: Thus says the Lord: I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.^{(B) 3} And you yourself shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and handed over to him; you shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face, and you shall go to Babylon. ⁴ Yet hear the word of the Lord, O King Zedekiah of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: You shall not die by the sword; ⁵ you shall die in peace. And as spices were burned^[a] for your ancestors, the earlier kings who preceded you, so they shall burn spices^[b] for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have spoken the word, says the Lord.^(C)

⁶ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem,

⁴³ Indeed, the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side.^{(A) 44} They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”^[a](B)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 ^[a]King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages that live throughout the earth: May you have abundant prosperity!^{(A) 2} The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to recount.^(B)

^4 [b]I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living at ease in my home and prospering in my palace.^{(D) 5} I saw a dream that frightened me; my fantasies in bed and the visions of my head terrified me.^{(E) 6} So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, in order that they might tell me the interpretation of the dream.^{(F) 7} Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not tell me its interpretation.^{(G) 8} At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god and who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods^[c]—and I told him the dream:^{(H) 9} “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods^[d] and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Hear^[e] the dream that I saw, and tell me its interpretation.^(I)

¹³ “I continued looking, in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and there was a holy watcher coming down from heaven.^{(L) 14} He cried aloud and said:

¹⁸ “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to tell me the interpretation. You are able, however, for you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods.”^[g](P)

⁷ For thus says the Lord God: I will bring against Tyre from the north King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, together with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great and powerful army.^(A)

The Boiling Pot

24 In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:^{(A) 2} Mortal, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.^{(B) 3} And utter an allegory to the rebellious house and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord God:

⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God:

¹⁴ I the Lord have spoken; the time is coming; I will act. I will not refrain; I will not spare; I will not relent. According to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord God.^(H)

²² Into his right hand comes the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to call out for slaughter, for raising the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build siege towers. ²³ But to them it will seem like a false divination; they have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, bringing about their capture.^(A)

²⁴ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have brought your guilt to remembrance, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.^[a]

The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

4 “And you, O mortal, take a brick and set it before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem,^{(A) 2} and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a ramp against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around.^{(B) 3} Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.^(C)

⁴ “Then lie on your left side and place the guilt of the house of Israel upon it; you shall bear their guilt for the number of the days that you lie there.^{(D) 5} For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their guilt, and so you shall bear the guilt of the house of Israel.^{(E) 6} When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the guilt of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for each year. ⁷ You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and with your arm bared you shall prophesy against it.^{(F) 8} See, I am putting cords on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.^(G)