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Jeremiah 51:54-52:34
New American Standard Bible

54 The (A)sound of an outcry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55 For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon,
And He will make her loud [a]noise vanish from her.
And their (B)waves will roar like many waters;
The clamor of their voices [b]sounds forth.
56 For the (C)destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon,
And her warriors will be captured,
Their (D)bows shattered;
For the Lord is a God of (E)retribution,
He will fully repay.
57 “I will (F)make her leaders and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her officials, and her warriors,
So that they will sleep a (G)perpetual sleep and not wake up,”
(H)Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.

58 This is what the Lord of armies says:

“The broad (I)wall of Babylon will be completely demolished,
And her high (J)gates will be set on fire;
So the peoples will (K)labor for nothing,
And the nations become (L)exhausted only for fire.”

59 The [c]command that Jeremiah the prophet [d]gave Seraiah the son of (M)Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with (N)Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (And Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60 Jeremiah (O)wrote [e]on a single scroll all the disaster which would come against Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, 62 and say, ‘You, Lord, have [f]promised concerning this place to (P)cut it off, so that there will be (Q)nothing living in it, [g]whether man or animal; but it will be a permanent desolation.’ 63 And as soon as you finish reading this [h]scroll, you shall tie a stone to it and (R)throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and (S)not rise again, because of the disaster that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become (T)exhausted.’” (U)To this point are the words of Jeremiah.

The Fall of Jerusalem

52 (V)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was [i](W)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of (X)Libnah. 2 He did (Y)evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that (Z)Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the (AA)anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, until He drove them out from His presence. And Zedekiah (AB)revolted against the king of Babylon. 4 (AC)Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a [j](AD)bulwark all around [k]it. 5 (AE)So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the (AF)fourth month the (AG)famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was (AH)breached, and all the (AI)warriors fled and left the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were [l](AJ)all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and (AK)overtook Zedekiah in the [m]desert plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and (AL)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (AM)Riblah in the land of (AN)Hamath, and he [n]passed sentence on him. 10 And the king of Babylon (AO)slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the commanders of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he (AP)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze shackles and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

12 (AQ)Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the (AR)nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, (AS)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who [o]was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 And he (AT)burned the house of the Lord, the (AU)king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So the entire army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard (AV)tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard (AW)took into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the (AX)deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But (AY)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

17 Now the bronze (AZ)pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the (BA)stands and the bronze [p](BB)sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans smashed to pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took the (BC)pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the [q]pans, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took the (BD)bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the [r]pans, and the drink offering bowls, whatever was fine gold, and whatever was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one [s]sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under [t]the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was (BE)beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the (BF)height of each pillar was [u]eighteen cubits, and [v]it was twelve cubits in (BG)circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Also, a (BH)capital of bronze was on top of it; and the height of each capital was [w]five cubits, with latticework and (BI)pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six [x]exposed pomegranates; all (BJ)the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the latticework all around.

24 Then the captain of the guard took (BK)Seraiah the chief priest and (BL)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [y](BM)officers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the warriors, seven [z]of the (BN)king’s advisers who were found in the city, the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land who were found inside the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and (BO)brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon (BP)struck them and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was (BQ)led into exile from its land.

28 These are the people whom (BR)Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the [aa]seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, (BS)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 people in all.

31 (BT)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that [ab]Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, [ac](BU)showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 (BV)Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So [ad]Jehoiachin (BW)changed his prison clothes, and [ae](BX)had his meals in [af]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 And as his allowance, a (BY)regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day, all the days of his life until the day of his death.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 51:55 Or voice
  2. Jeremiah 51:55 Lit is given
  3. Jeremiah 51:59 Lit word
  4. Jeremiah 51:59 Lit commanded
  5. Jeremiah 51:60 Or in...book
  6. Jeremiah 51:62 Lit spoken
  7. Jeremiah 51:62 Lit from man even to beast
  8. Jeremiah 51:63 Or book
  9. Jeremiah 52:1 Another reading is Hamital
  10. Jeremiah 52:4 I.e., a defensive wall
  11. Jeremiah 52:4 Lit against it
  12. Jeremiah 52:7 Lit against the city on every side
  13. Jeremiah 52:8 Heb Arabah
  14. Jeremiah 52:9 Lit spoke judgments with
  15. Jeremiah 52:12 Lit stood before the king
  16. Jeremiah 52:17 I.e., large basin
  17. Jeremiah 52:18 Or spoons for incense
  18. Jeremiah 52:19 Or spoons for incense
  19. Jeremiah 52:20 As in LXX and Syriac; MT omits the sea; i.e., large basin
  20. Jeremiah 52:20 As in LXX and Syriac; MT omits the sea; i.e., large basin
  21. Jeremiah 52:21 About 27 ft. high and 18 ft. in circumference or 8 m and 5.4 m
  22. Jeremiah 52:21 Lit a thread of 12 cubits would encircle it
  23. Jeremiah 52:22 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
  24. Jeremiah 52:23 Lit windward
  25. Jeremiah 52:24 Lit keepers of the door
  26. Jeremiah 52:25 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
  27. Jeremiah 52:28 Or possibly seventeenth
  28. Jeremiah 52:31 Or Awil-Marduk (“Man of Marduk”)
  29. Jeremiah 52:31 Lit lifted up the head of
  30. Jeremiah 52:33 Lit he
  31. Jeremiah 52:33 Lit ate bread
  32. Jeremiah 52:33 Lit his presence
Close NLT

Jeremiah 51:54-52:34
New Living Translation

Babylon’s Complete Destruction

54 “Listen! Hear the cry of Babylon,
    the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.
55 For the Lord is destroying Babylon.
    He will silence her loud voice.
Waves of enemies pound against her;
    the noise of battle rings through the city.
56 Destroying armies come against Babylon.
    Her mighty men are captured,
    and their weapons break in their hands.
For the Lord is a God who gives just punishment;
    he always repays in full.
57 I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
    along with her captains, officers, and warriors.
They will fall asleep
    and never wake up again!”
says the King, whose name is
    the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

58 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground,
    and her massive gates will be burned.
The builders from many lands have worked in vain,
    for their work will be destroyed by fire!”

Jeremiah’s Message Sent to Babylon

59 The prophet Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, a staff officer, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah. This was during the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.[a] 60 Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon—all the words written here. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’ 63 When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River. 64 Then say, ‘In this same way Babylon and her people will sink, never again to rise, because of the disasters I will bring upon her.’”

This is the end of Jeremiah’s messages.

The Fall of Jerusalem

52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 2 But Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3 These things happened because of the Lord’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile.

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 So on January 15,[b] during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar[c] of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. 5 Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.

6 By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign,[d] the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone. 7 Then a section of the city wall was broken down, and all the soldiers fled. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians,[e] they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.[f]

8 But the Babylonian troops chased King Zedekiah and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. 9 They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. 10 The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains, and the king of Babylon led him away to Babylon. Zedekiah remained there in prison until the day of his death.

The Temple Destroyed

12 On August 17 of that year,[g] 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. 13 He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings[h] in the city. 14 Then he supervised the entire Babylonian[i] army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. 15 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles some of the poorest of the people, 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 craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.

17 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. 18 They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. 19 The captain of the guard also took the small bowls, incense burners, basins, pots, lampstands, ladles, bowls used for liquid offerings, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.

20 The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea with the twelve bronze oxen beneath it, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the Lord’s Temple in the days of King Solomon. 21 Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.[j] They were hollow, with walls 3 inches thick.[k] 22 The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1⁄2 feet[l] high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around. 23 There were 96 pomegranates on the sides, and a total of 100 pomegranates on the network around the top.

24 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. 25 And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; seven of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens. 26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 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.

28 The number of captives taken to Babylon in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign[m] was 3,023. 29 Then in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year[n] he took 832 more. 30 In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year[o] he sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who took 745 more—a total of 4,600 captives in all.

Hope for Israel’s Royal Line

31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to[p] Jehoiachin and released him from prison on March 31 of that year.[q] 32 He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon. 33 He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 34 So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. This continued until the day of his death.

Footnotes

  1. 51:59 The fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign was 593 B.c.
  2. 52:4a Hebrew on the tenth day of the tenth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of events in Jeremiah can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. This day was January 15, 588 B.c.
  3. 52:4b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 52:12, 28, 29, 30.
  4. 52:6 Hebrew By the ninth day of the fourth month [in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign]. This day was July 18, 586 B.c.; also see note on 52:4a.
  5. 52:7a Or the Chaldeans; similarly in 52:8, 17.
  6. 52:7b Hebrew the Arabah.
  7. 52:12 Hebrew On the tenth day of the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was August 17, 586 B.c.; also see note on 52:4a.
  8. 52:13 Or destroyed the houses of all the important people.
  9. 52:14 Or Chaldean.
  10. 52:21a Hebrew 18 cubits [8.3 meters] tall and 12 cubits [5.5 meters] in circumference.
  11. 52:21b Hebrew 4 fingers thick [8 centimeters].
  12. 52:22 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters].
  13. 52:28 This exile in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign occurred in 597 B.c.
  14. 52:29 This exile in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign occurred in 586 B.c.
  15. 52:30 This exile in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign occurred in 581 B.c.
  16. 52:31a Hebrew He raised the head of.
  17. 52:31b Hebrew on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was March 31, 561 B.c.; also see note on 52:4a.
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