Jeremiah 39:1-8
Expanded Bible
The Fall of Jerusalem
39 This is how Jerusalem was captured: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and ·surrounded the city to attack it [L besieged it]. This was during the tenth month of the ninth year Zedekiah was king of Judah [C January 588 bc; 52:4]. 2 This lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah’s eleventh year [C July 18, 586 bc]. Then the city wall was ·broken through [breached]. 3 And all these officers of the king of Babylon came [C into Jerusalem] and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer ·of the district of Samgar [or Samgar-nebo]; Nebo-Sarsekim, a chief ·officer [or eunuch]; Nergal-Sharezer, ·an important leader [or the Rabmag]; and all the other important officers.
4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they ·ran away [fled]. They ·left [went out of] Jerusalem at night and went out ·from [L by way of] the king’s garden. They went through the gate that was between the two walls and then headed toward the ·Jordan Valley [L Arabah]. 5 But the ·Babylonian [L Chaldean] army ·chased [pursued] them and ·caught up with [overtook] Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was at the town of Riblah in the land of Hamath [C north of Israel, in Syria]. There Nebuchadnezzar passed ·his sentence [judgment] on Zedekiah. 6 At Riblah the king of Babylon ·killed [slaughtered] Zedekiah’s sons and all the ·important officers [nobles] of Judah ·as Zedekiah watched [L before his eyes]. 7 Then he ·put out [blinded] Zedekiah’s eyes. He put bronze chains on Zedekiah and took him to Babylon.
8 The ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans] ·set fire to [L burned with fire] the ·palace [L house of the king] and to the houses of the people, and they ·broke [tore] down the walls around Jerusalem.
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