2 Kings 25:8-26

New English Translation

Nebuchadnezzar Destroys Jerusalem

⁸On the seventh^[a] day of the fifth month,^[b] in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard,^[c] who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. ⁹He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house.^[d] ¹⁰The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. ¹¹Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.^[e] ¹²But he^[f] left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards.

¹³The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called “The Sea.”^[g] They took the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴They also took the pots, shovels,^[h] trimming shears,^[i] pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests.^[j] ¹⁵The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers^[k] and basins. ¹⁶The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple—including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,”^[l] and the movable stands—was too heavy to be weighed. ¹⁷Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet^[m] high. The bronze top of one pillar was about 4½ feet^[n] high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate-shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.

¹⁸The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, five^[o] of the king’s advisers^[p] who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens^[q] for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city. ²⁰Nebuzaradan, captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed^[r] at Riblah in the territory^[s] of Hamath. So Judah was deported from its land.

Gedaliah Appointed Governor

²²Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah.^[t] ²³All the officers of the Judahite army^[u] and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite. ²⁴Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety.^[v] He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.” ²⁵But in the seventh month^[w] Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family,^[x] came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah,^[y] as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left for^[z] Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do.

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Footnotes

2 Kings 25:8 tn The parallel account in Jer 52:12 has “tenth.”
2 Kings 25:8 sn The seventh day of the month would have been August 14, 586 b.c. in modern reckoning.
2 Kings 25:8 tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371 s.v. טַבָּח 2, and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
2 Kings 25:9 tn Heb “and every large house he burned down with fire.”
2 Kings 25:11 tc The MT has “the multitude.” But הֶהָמוֹן (hehamon) should probably be emended to הֶאָמוֹן (heʾamon). See Jeremiah 52:15.
2 Kings 25:12 tn Heb “the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and contemporary English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.
2 Kings 25:13 tn Heb “the bronze pillars that were in the Lord’s house and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the Lord’s house the Babylonians broke.”sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
2 Kings 25:14 sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.
2 Kings 25:14 sn These were used to trim the wicks.
2 Kings 25:14 tn Heb “with which they served [or, ‘fulfilled their duty’].”
2 Kings 25:15 sn These held the embers used for the incense offerings.
2 Kings 25:16 tc The MT lacks “the twelve bronze bulls under ‘the Sea,’” but these words have probably been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. The scribe’s eye may have jumped from the וְהָ (v^eha) on וְהַבָּקָר (v^ehabbaqar), “and the bulls,” to the וְהָ on וְהַמְּכֹנוֹת (v^ehamm^ekhonot), “and the movable stands,” causing him to leave out the intervening words. See the parallel passage in Jer 52:20.
2 Kings 25:17 tn Heb “18 cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about 18 inches (45 cm) long.
2 Kings 25:17 tn Heb “3 cubits.” The parallel passage in Jer 52:22 has “five.”
2 Kings 25:19 tn The parallel passage in Jer 52:25 has “seven.”
2 Kings 25:19 tn Heb “five men seeing the king’s face.”
2 Kings 25:19 tn Heb “the people of the land.”
2 Kings 25:21 tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
2 Kings 25:21 tn Heb “land.”
2 Kings 25:22 tn Heb “And the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.”
2 Kings 25:23 tn Heb “of the army.” The word “Judahite” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 25:24 tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 Kings 25:25 sn It is not altogether clear whether this is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (= early July; Jer 39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (= early August; Jer 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jer 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jer 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zech 8:19).
2 Kings 25:25 tn Heb “[was] from the seed of the kingdom.”
2 Kings 25:25 tn Heb “and they struck down Gedaliah and he died.”
2 Kings 25:26 tn Heb “arose and went to.”

2 Kings 25:8-26

Common English Bible

⁸On 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. ⁹He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all of Jerusalem’s houses. He burned down every important building. ¹⁰The whole Chaldean army under the commander of the guard tore down the walls surrounding Jerusalem. ¹¹Then 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. ¹²The commander of the guard left some of the land’s poor people behind to work the vineyards and be farmers. ¹³The 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. ¹⁴They also took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the dishes, and all the bronze items that had been used in the temple. ¹⁵The commander of the guard took the fire pans and the sprinkling bowls, which were made of pure gold and pure silver. ¹⁶The 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. ¹⁷Each 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.

¹⁸The commander of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹Of 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. ²⁰Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard took all of these people and brought them to the Babylonian king at Riblah. ²¹The 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

²²Babylon’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. ²³All 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. ²⁴Gedaliah 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.”

²⁵But 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. ²⁶Then all the people, young and old, along with the army officers, departed for Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

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