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
International Standard Version
The Fall of Jerusalem and the Capture of Zedekiah
39 This is how Jerusalem was captured:[a] In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of[b] Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of[c] Zedekiah, the wall of[d] the city was breached. 3 All the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, including[e] Nergal-sarri-usur, governor[f] of Sinmagir,[g] Nabu-sarrussu-ukin the high official,[h] Nergal-sarri-user, the chief official,[i] and[j] all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night through the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls. Then he went out on the road toward the Arabah. 5 The Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. When they seized him they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed judgment on him. 6 At Riblah, the king of Babylon executed Zedekiah’s sons right[k] before his eyes. He[l] also executed all the nobles of Judah. 7 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze fetters to take him to Babylon.
8 The Chaldeans burned the palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the Babylonian guard, took into exile in Babylon the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to Nebuchadnezzar, and the rest of the people who remained. 10 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who did not have anything, and he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.
Jeremiah’s Release from Prison
11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard: 12 “Take him, look after him, and don’t do anything to harm him. Rather, do for him whatever he tells you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, Nebushazban, the high official, Nergal-sar-ezer, the chief official, and all the officials of the king of Babylon sent for Jeremiah.[m] 14 They sent for Jeremiah[n] and took[o] him from the courtyard of the guard. They handed him over to Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, to take him home. So he remained among the people.
Ebed-melech Rewarded
15 This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the courtyard of the guard: 16 “Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Look, I’m going to fulfill my promise against this city for disaster rather than for good, and on that day it will happen before your eyes. 17 But I’ll deliver you on that day,” declares the Lord. “You won’t be given into the hands of the men you fear. 18 For I’ll surely deliver you, and you won’t fall by the sword. Your life will be spared[p] because you trusted me,” declares the Lord.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 39:1 a in English is 38:28b in Hebrew
- Jeremiah 39:1 The Heb. lacks of the reign of
- Jeremiah 39:2 The Heb. lacks of the reign of
- Jeremiah 39:2 The Heb. lacks the wall of
- Jeremiah 39:3 The Heb. lacks including
- Jeremiah 39:3 Or high official
- Jeremiah 39:3 I.e. a province of Babylon
- Jeremiah 39:3 Lit. the Rab-sa-resi; a Babylonian title for a royal official
- Jeremiah 39:3 Lit. the Rab-mugi, a Babylonian title for a royal official
- Jeremiah 39:3 Or Gate: Nergal-sarezer, Samgar-nebu, Sarsekim, the high official, Nergal-sarezer, the chief official, and
- Jeremiah 39:6 The Heb. lacks right
- Jeremiah 39:6 Lit. The king of Babylon
- Jeremiah 39:13 The Heb. lacks for Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 39:14 The Heb. lacks for Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 39:14 The Heb. lacks took
- Jeremiah 39:18 Lit. You will have your life as a spoil of war
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
