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2 Kings 25:8-26
New Living Translation

The Temple Destroyed

8 On August 14 of that year,[a] which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. 9 He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings[b] in the city. 10 Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. 11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. 12 But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.

13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. 14 They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. 15 The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.

16 The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the Lord’s Temple in the days of Solomon. 17 Each of the pillars was 27 feet[c] tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1⁄2 feet[d] high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.

18 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers. 19 And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens. 20 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.

Gedaliah Governs in Judah

22 Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah. 23 When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jezaniah[e] son of the Maacathite, and all their men.

24 Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised.

25 But in midautumn of that year,[f] Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.

26 Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.

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Footnotes

  1. 25:8 Hebrew On the seventh day of the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was August 14, 586 B.c.; also see note on 25:1.
  2. 25:9 Or destroyed the houses of all the important people.
  3. 25:17a Hebrew 18 cubits [8.3 meters].
  4. 25:17b As in parallel texts at 1 Kgs 7:16, 2 Chr 3:15, and Jer 52:22, all of which read 5 cubits [2.3 meters]; Hebrew reads 3 cubits, which is 4.5 feet or 1.4 meters.
  5. 25:23 As in parallel text at Jer 40:8; Hebrew reads Jaazaniah, a variant spelling of Jezaniah.
  6. 25:25 Hebrew in the seventh month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This month occurred within the months of October and November 586 B.c.; also see note on 25:1.
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2 Kings 25:8-26
New American Standard Bible

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

8 (A)Now on the seventh day of the (B)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 (C)he burned the house of the Lord, (D)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 (E)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile (F)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 [a]people. 12 But the captain of the bodyguards left some of (G)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

13 (H)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and (I)the bronze [b]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the [c]bronze to Babylon. 14 (J)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the [d]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils [e]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—[f](K)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. 17 (L)The height of the one pillar was [g]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was [h]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 (M)Seraiah the chief priest and (N)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [i]doorkeepers. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (O)five [j]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [k]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 (P)Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (Q)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 (R)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 (S)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 (T)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 (U)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal [l]family, came [m]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 (V)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.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 25:11 Lit multitude
  2. 2 Kings 25:13 I.e., a very large basin
  3. 2 Kings 25:13 Lit bronze of them
  4. 2 Kings 25:14 I.e., wick trimmers
  5. 2 Kings 25:14 Lit with which they served
  6. 2 Kings 25:16 Lit there was no weight for the bronze of
  7. 2 Kings 25:17 About 27 ft. or 8 m
  8. 2 Kings 25:17 About 4.5 ft. or 1.3 m
  9. 2 Kings 25:18 Lit keepers of the threshold
  10. 2 Kings 25:19 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
  11. 2 Kings 25:19 Or scribe, a captain
  12. 2 Kings 25:25 Lit seed
  13. 2 Kings 25:25 Lit and ten men with him
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