Jeremiah 52:12-23

Expanded Bible

¹² Nebuzaradan, commander of the king’s special guards and servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem on the tenth day of the fifth month. This was in Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon [^CAugust 17, 586 bc]. ¹³ Nebuzaradan set fire to the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord, the ·palace [^Lhouse of the king], and all the houses of Jerusalem; every ·important building [^Lgreat/big house] was burned. ¹⁴ The whole ·Babylonian [^LChaldean] army, led by the commander of the king’s special guards, ·broke down [demolished] all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Nebuzaradan, the commander of the king’s special guards, took captive some of the poorest people, those who ·were left [remained] in Jerusalem, those who had ·surrendered [deserted; defected] to the king of Babylon, and the ·skilled craftsmen [artisans] who were left in Jerusalem. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan left behind some of the poorest people of the land to take care of the vineyards and fields.

¹⁷ The ·Babylonians [^LChaldeans] broke into pieces the bronze pillars [1 Kin. 7:15–22], the bronze stands [1 Kin. 7:27], and the large bronze ·bowl [basin], called the Sea [1 Kin. 7:23–26], which were in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. Then they carried all the bronze pieces to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took the pots, shovels, ·wick trimmers [snuffers], bowls, dishes, and all the bronze objects used to serve in the Temple. ¹⁹ The commander of the king’s special guards took away bowls, ·pans for carrying hot coals [firepans], large bowls, pots, lampstands, pans, and bowls used for drink offerings. He took everything that was made of pure gold or silver.

²⁰ There was so much bronze that it could not be weighed: two pillars, the large bronze bowl called the Sea with the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the Temple of the Lord.

²¹ Each of the pillars was about ·twenty-seven feet [^Leighteen cubits] high, eighteen feet [^Ltwelve cubits] around, and hollow inside. The wall of each pillar was ·three inches [^Lfour fingers] thick. ²² The bronze capital on top of the one pillar was about ·seven and one-half feet [^Lfive cubits] high. It was decorated with ·a net design [network; latticework] and bronze pomegranates all around it. The other pillar also had pomegranates and was like the first pillar. ²³ There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides of the pillars. There was a total of a hundred pomegranates above the ·net design [network; latticework].