Jeremiah 39
New American Standard Bible
Jerusalem Captured
39 [a]Now when Jerusalem was captured [b](A)in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; 2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was (B)breached. 3 Then all the (C)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the (D)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the [c]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the [d]Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4 And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they (E)fled and left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate (F)between the two walls; and he went out toward the [e]Arabah. 5 But the army of the (G)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the (H)plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at (I)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he [f]passed sentence on him. 6 Then the (J)king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah (K)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the (L)nobles of Judah. 7 He then (M)blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in (N)shackles of bronze to bring him to (O)Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans also (P)burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they (Q)tore down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the (R)deserters who had deserted to him and (S)the rest of the people who remained, (T)Nebuzaradan the (U)captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon. 10 But some of the (V)poorest people, who had nothing, (W)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields [g]at that time.
Jeremiah Spared
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding (X)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, 12 “Take him and [h]look after him, and (Y)do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the [i]Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the [j]Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; 14 they even sent word and (Z)took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to (AA)Gedaliah, the son of (AB)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.
15 Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was (AC)confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying, 16 “Go and speak to (AD)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city (AE)for disaster and not for [k]prosperity; and they will (AF)take place before you on that day. 17 But I will (AG)save you on that day,” declares the Lord, “and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own (AH)life as plunder, because you have (AI)trusted in Me,” declares the Lord.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 39:1 Ch 38:28b in Heb
- Jeremiah 39:1 Ch 39:1 in Heb
- Jeremiah 39:3 I.e., chief official
- Jeremiah 39:3 I.e., title of a high official
- Jeremiah 39:4 I.e., Jordan valley
- Jeremiah 39:5 Lit spoke judgments with
- Jeremiah 39:10 Lit on that day
- Jeremiah 39:12 Lit set your eyes on
- Jeremiah 39:13 I.e., chief official
- Jeremiah 39:13 I.e., title of a high official
- Jeremiah 39:16 Lit good
Jeremiah 39
Common English Bible
Fall of Jerusalem
39 In the ninth year and the tenth month of Judah’s King Zedekiah, Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and his entire army came against Jerusalem and surrounded it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the fourth month, they broke through the city walls. 3 Then all the commanding officers of the king of Babylon—Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo,[a] Sarsechim the chief officer, Nergal-sharezer the field commander—entered it and took their places at the middle gate with the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.
4 When Judah’s King Zedekiah and his troops saw them, they tried to escape at night through the royal gardens and the gate between the two walls, toward the desert plain. 5 But the Babylonian[b] army chased them down and caught Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They arrested him and brought him before Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king put him on trial. 6 The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s children at Riblah before his very own eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the officials of Judah. 7 Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in chains, and dragged him off to Babylon.
8 The Babylonians burned down the royal palace and the houses of the people, and they destroyed the Jerusalem walls. 9 Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard rounded up the rest of the people who were left in the city, including those who had defected to the Babylonians, and deported them to Babylon. 10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard left some of the poorest people in the land of Judah. He gave them vineyards and fields at that time.
11 Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar gave orders concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard: 12 “Find Jeremiah and look after him; don’t harm him but do whatever he asks from you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard, Nebushazban the chief officer, Nergal-sharezer the field commander, and all the commanders of the king of Babylon 14 sent orders[c] to release Jeremiah from the prison quarters. They entrusted him to Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son and Shaphan’s grandson, so that Jeremiah could move about freely[d] among the people.
15 The Lord’s word came to Jeremiah when he was still confined to the prison quarters: 16 Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite that the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I’m about to fulfill my words concerning this city, for harm and not for good. You will witness it for yourself on that day. 17 But on that day, declares the Lord:
I will rescue you;
you won’t be handed over to those you dread.
18 I will defend you;
you won’t die in battle.
You will escape with your life,
because you have trusted in me,
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 39:3 Or Nergal-sharezer the Simmagir
- Jeremiah 39:5 Heb Chaldean and hereafter through Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 39:14 Heb lacks orders.
- Jeremiah 39:14 Heb uncertain
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