Jeremiah 52
Christian Standard Bible
The Fall of Jerusalem
52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 2 Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.(A) 3 Because of the Lord’s anger, it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he finally banished them from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.(B)
4 In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army. They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around. 5 The city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.
6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the common people had no food. 7 Then the city was broken into, and all the warriors fled. They left the city at night by way of the city gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans surrounded the city. They made their way along the route to the Arabah.(C) 8 The Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army left him and scattered. 9 The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.
10 At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered the Judean commanders. 11 Then he blinded Zedekiah and bound him with bronze chains. The king of Babylon brought Zedekiah to Babylon, where he kept him in custody[a] until his dying day.(D)
12 On the tenth day of the fifth month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, entered Jerusalem as the representative of[b] the king of Babylon. 13 He burned the Lord’s temple, the king’s palace, all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned down all the great houses. 14 The whole Chaldean army with the captain of the guards tore down all the walls surrounding Jerusalem.(E) 15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported some of the poorest of the people, as well as the rest of the people who remained in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.(F)
17 Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the Lord’s temple and the water carts and the bronze basin[c] that were in the Lord’s temple,(G) and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, dishes, and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 19 The captain of the guards took away the bowls, firepans, sprinkling basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and drink offering bowls(H)—whatever was gold or silver.
20 As for the two pillars, the one basin, with the twelve bronze oxen under it, and the water carts[d] that King Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 21 One pillar was 27 feet[e] tall, had a circumference of 18 feet,[f] was hollow—four fingers thick— 22 and had a bronze capital on top of it.(I) One capital, encircled by bronze grating and pomegranates, stood 7½ feet[g] high. The second pillar was the same, with pomegranates. 23 Each capital had ninety-six pomegranates all around it. All the pomegranates around the grating numbered one hundred.
24 The captain of the guards also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers. 25 From the city he took a court official[h] who had been appointed over the warriors; seven trusted royal aides[i] found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and sixty men from the common people[j] who were found within the city. 26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.(J)
28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar deported:(K) in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews; 29 in his eighteenth year,[k] 832 people from Jerusalem; 30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported 745 Jews. Altogether, 4,600 people were deported.
Jehoiachin Pardoned
31 On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. 32 He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life. 34 As for his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, for the rest of his life.(L)
Footnotes
- 52:11 Lit in a house of guards
- 52:12 Lit Jerusalem; he stood before
- 52:17 Lit sea
- 52:20 LXX, Syr; MT reads oxen under the water carts
- 52:21 Lit 18 cubits
- 52:21 Lit 12 cubits
- 52:22 Lit five cubits
- 52:25 Or a eunuch
- 52:25 Lit seven men who look on the king’s face
- 52:25 Lit the people of the land
- 52:29 Some Hb mss, Syr add he deported
Jeremiah 52
International Standard Version
The Fall of Jerusalem
52 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 Zedekiah[a] had done evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3 Because Jerusalem and Judah had angered the Lord, he cast them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, 4 and in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with all his army. He encamped near it and set up siege works all around it. 5 The city was under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of[b] King Zedekiah. 6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 The wall of[c] the city was broken through, and all the soldiers fled, leaving the city at night through the gate between the two walls next to the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went in the direction of the Arabah.[d]
8 The Chaldean army went after the king, overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his troops were scattered from him. 9 They captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where the king of Babylon[e] passed judgment on him. 10 The king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, and he also killed all the Judean officials[f] at Riblah. 11 He blinded Zedekiah and bound him in bronze shackles. Then the king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in prison until he died.
The Destruction of the Temple
12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—it was the nineteenth year of the reign of[g] King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served[h] the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 He burned the Lord’s Temple, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building[i] with fire. 14 All the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.[j]
17 The Chaldeans broke in pieces the bronze pillars that were in the Lord’s Temple and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the Lord’s Temple, and they carried all the[k] bronze to Babylon. 18 They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze utensils that were used in the temple service. 19 The captain of the guard took away the bowls, the fire pans, the basins, the pots, the lamp stands, the pans, and the bowls for libations, both those made of gold and those made of silver. 20 There was too much bronze to weigh in the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze oxen that were under the sea,[l] and the stands which King Solomon had made for the Lord’s Temple. 21 Each of the pillars was twelve cubits[m] high and its circumference twelve cubits.[n] It was hollow and about a handbreadth[o] thick. 22 On each pillar[p] was a capital of bronze, and the height of each capital was five cubits.[q] Latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar was like this, including the pomegranates. 23 There were 96 pomegranates open to view.[r] In all, there were 100 pomegranates all around the latticework.
Executions and Deportations to Babylon
24 The captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the next ranking priest,[s] and the three guards of the gate.[t] 25 From the city he arrested one of the officers who had been in charge of the troops, seven men from the king’s personal advisors who were found in the city, the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the people of the land who were found inside the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard arrested them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from the land.
28 These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; 29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; 30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took 745 people from Judah into exile. All the people taken into exile[u] numbered 4,600.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison
31 In the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, showed favor to King Jehoiachin of Judah by releasing him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah. 32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the other[v] kings who were in Babylon with him. 33 Jehoiachin[w] changed his prison clothes and regularly dined with the king[x] as long as he lived. 34 As for his living expenses, a regular allowance was given him daily by the king of Babylon as long as he lived,[y] until the day of his death.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 52:2 Lit. He
- Jeremiah 52:5 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- Jeremiah 52:7 The Heb. lacks The wall of
- Jeremiah 52:7 I.e. the Jordan Valley
- Jeremiah 52:9 Lit. he
- Jeremiah 52:10 Or princes
- Jeremiah 52:12 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- Jeremiah 52:12 Lit. who stood before
- Jeremiah 52:13 Or He burned every large house
- Jeremiah 52:16 Lit. tillers
- Jeremiah 52:17 Lit. their bronze
- Jeremiah 52:20 The Heb. lacks the sea
- Jeremiah 52:21 I.e. about eighteen feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- Jeremiah 52:21 Lit. a line of twelve cubits would surround it;i.e. about eighteen feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- Jeremiah 52:21 Lit. four fingers
- Jeremiah 52:22 Lit. on it
- Jeremiah 52:22 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- Jeremiah 52:23 Or evenly spread
- Jeremiah 52:24 Lit. the number two priest
- Jeremiah 52:24 Lit. of the threshold; i.e. high Temple officials
- Jeremiah 52:30 The Heb. lacks taken into exile
- Jeremiah 52:32 The Heb. lacks other
- Jeremiah 52:33 Lit. He
- Jeremiah 52:33 Lit. ate food before him
- Jeremiah 52:34 Lit. all the days of his life
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