Jeremiah 52:12-34

English Standard Version

The Temple Burned

¹²^(A)In the fifth month, on ^(B)the tenth day of the month—that was ^(C)the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who ^(D)served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ¹³And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. ¹⁴And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and ^(E)the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. ¹⁶But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

¹⁷And the ^(F)pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the ^(G)bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ^(H)carried all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸And they took away ^(I)the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; ¹⁹^(J)also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and ^(K)the lampstands and ^(L)the dishes for incense ^(M)and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. ²⁰As for the two pillars, the one sea, ^(N)the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea,^[a] and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. ²¹As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^[b] ^(O)its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. ²²On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was ^(P)five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. ²³There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.

The People Exiled to Babylon

²⁴And the captain of the guard took ^(Q)Seraiah the chief priest, and ^(R)Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; ²⁵and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and ^(S)seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of 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 midst of the city. ²⁶And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^(T)Riblah. ²⁷And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at ^(U)Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

²⁸This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: ^(V)in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; ²⁹^(W)in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons; ³⁰in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

³¹^(X)And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed^[c] ^(Y)Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. ³²And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of ^(Z)the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, ³⁴and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.