Jeremiah 39
Lexham English Bible
The Fall of Jerusalem
39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was taken by assault. 3 And all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the chief officer, Nergal-sharezer the high official, with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4 And then[a] when[b] Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the soldiers[c] with him, they fled and went out at night from the city by the way of the garden of the king through the gate between the walls. And they went out toward the Jordan Valley. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he pronounced sentence[d] on him. 6 And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7 Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and tied him up with bronze fetters to bring him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the palace[e] of the king and the houses[f] of the people with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
9 Then the rest of the people who were left in the city, and those deserting who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[g] deported to Babylon. 10 And some of the poor people, who had nothing,[h] Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[i] left in the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon commanded concerning Jeremiah through[j] Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[k] saying,[l] 12 “Take him and set your eyes on him. And you must not do something bad to him, but only[m] that which he speaks to you, so do with him.” 13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[n] sent word, along with[o] Nebushazban the chief officer, and Nergal-sharezer the high official, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon. 14 And they sent and took Jeremiah from the courtyard of the guard and gave him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him to the house, so he stayed in the midst of the people.
Ebed-melech is Rewarded for His Faith
15 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah at his confinement in the courtyard of the guard, saying,[p] 16 “Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying,[q] ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to bring my words to pass against this city for evil and not for good. And they will be before you[r] on that day. 17 But I will rescue you on that day,” declares[s] Yahweh, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are frightened.[t] 18 For surely I will save you, and you will not fall by the sword. But your life will be for you as booty because you have trusted in me,” declares[u] Yahweh.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 39:4 Literally “And it was”
- Jeremiah 39:4 Literally “as that”
- Jeremiah 39:4 Literally “the men of the war”
- Jeremiah 39:5 Literally “judgments”
- Jeremiah 39:8 Or “house”
- Jeremiah 39:8 Hebrew “house”
- Jeremiah 39:9 Hebrew “guards”
- Jeremiah 39:10 Literally “who there was not for them something”
- Jeremiah 39:10 Hebrew “guards”
- Jeremiah 39:11 Literally “in the hand of”
- Jeremiah 39:11 Hebrew “guards”
- Jeremiah 39:11 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 39:12 Literally “but if”
- Jeremiah 39:13 Hebrew “guards”
- Jeremiah 39:13 Literally “and”
- Jeremiah 39:15 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 39:16 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 39:16 Literally “to the face of you”
- Jeremiah 39:17 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 39:17 Literally “who you are frightened from the face of them”
- Jeremiah 39:18 Literally “a declaration of”
Jeremiah 39
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon
39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it. 2 In the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into. 3 All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim[a] the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon’s king.
4 When he saw them, Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls. They left along the route to the Arabah.(A) 5 However, the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains[b] of Jericho, arrested him, and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, at Riblah in the land of Hamath. The king passed sentence on him there.
6 At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all Judah’s nobles. 7 Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze chains to take him to Babylon.(B) 8 The Chaldeans next burned down the king’s palace and the people’s houses and tore down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards,(C) deported the rest of the people to Babylon—those who had remained in the city and those deserters who had defected to him along with the rest of the people who had remained. 10 However, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and he gave them vineyards and fields at that time.(D)
Jeremiah Freed by Nebuchadnezzar
11 Speaking through Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah, saying: 12 “Take him, look after him, and don’t let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.” 13 Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon 14 had Jeremiah brought from the guard’s courtyard(E) and turned him over to Gedaliah(F) son of Ahikam,(G) son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.
15 Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard’s courtyard:(H) 16 “Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite:(I) This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill My words for harm and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day. 17 But I will rescue you on that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and you will not be handed over to the men you fear. 18 Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will keep your life like the spoils of war.”(J) This is the Lord’s declaration.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 39:3 LXX; MT reads Samgar-nebu, Sarsechim
- Jeremiah 39:5 Lit Arabah
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