12 (A)Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the (B)nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, (C)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who [a]was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 And he (D)burned the house of the Lord, the (E)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 (F)tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard (G)took into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the (H)deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But (I)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

17 Now the bronze (J)pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the (K)stands and the bronze [b](L)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 (M)pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the [c]pans, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took the (N)bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the [d]pans, and the drink offering bowls, whatever was fine gold, and whatever was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one [e]sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under [f]the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was (O)beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the (P)height of each pillar was [g]eighteen cubits, and [h]it was twelve cubits in (Q)circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Also, a (R)capital of bronze was on top of it; and the height of each capital was [i]five cubits, with latticework and (S)pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six [j]exposed pomegranates; all (T)the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the latticework all around.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 52:12 Lit stood before the king
  2. Jeremiah 52:17 I.e., large basin
  3. Jeremiah 52:18 Or spoons for incense
  4. Jeremiah 52:19 Or spoons for incense
  5. Jeremiah 52:20 As in LXX and Syriac; MT omits the sea; i.e., large basin
  6. Jeremiah 52:20 As in LXX and Syriac; MT omits the sea; i.e., large basin
  7. Jeremiah 52:21 About 27 ft. high and 18 ft. in circumference or 8 m and 5.4 m
  8. Jeremiah 52:21 Lit a thread of 12 cubits would encircle it
  9. Jeremiah 52:22 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
  10. Jeremiah 52:23 Lit windward

12 On the tenth day of the fifth(A) month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan(B) commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He set fire(C) to the temple(D) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses(E) of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 14 The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down all the walls(F) around Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile(G) some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen[a] and those who had deserted(H) to the king of Babylon. 16 But Nebuzaradan left behind(I) the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

17 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars,(J) the movable stands(K) and the bronze Sea(L) that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.(M) 18 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,(N) dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.(O) 19 The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers,(P) sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands,(Q) dishes(R) and bowls used for drink offerings(S)—all that were made of pure gold or silver.(T)

20 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls(U) under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed.(V) 21 Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference[b]; each was four fingers thick, and hollow.(W) 22 The bronze capital(X) on top of one pillar was five cubits[c] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates(Y) of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates(Z) above the surrounding network was a hundred.(AA)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 52:15 Or the populace
  2. Jeremiah 52:21 That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference or about 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference
  3. Jeremiah 52:22 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters