Yirmeyah 52
Orthodox Jewish Bible
52 Tzidkiyah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven shanah in Yerushalayim. And shem immo was Chamutal bat Yirmeyah of Livnah.
2 And he did that which was rah in the eyes of Hashem, according to all that Y’hoyakim had done.
3 For because of the anger of Hashem it came to pass in Yerushalayim and Yehudah, that he finally cast them out from his presence. Tzidkiyah rebelled against HaMelech Bavel.
4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel came, he and all his army, against Yerushalayim, and encamped against it, and built siege-works against it round about.
5 So HaIr went under siege unto the eleventh year of Melech Tzidkiyah.
6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the ra’av (famine) was severe in the Ir, so that there was no lechem for the Am HaAretz.
7 Then the Ir was broken through, and all the anshei hamilchamah fled, and went forth out of the Ir by lailah by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was near the Gan HaMelech; (now the Kasdim [Chaldeans] were surrounding the Ir); and they fled by the derech HaAravah.
8 But the army of the Kasdim (Chaldeans) pursued after HaMelech, and overtook Tzidkiyah in the plains of Yericho; and all his army was separated from him and scattered.
9 Then they captured HaMelech, and carried him up unto Melech Bavel to Rivlah in Eretz Chamat; where he pronounced mishpatim upon him.
10 And Melech Bavel slaughtered the Bnei Tzidkiyah before his eyes; he slaughtered also all the sarim (princes) of Yehudah in Rivlah.
11 Then he put out the eyes of Tzidkiyah; and Melech Bavel bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in the bais hapekudot (prison house) till the yom moto (day of his death).
12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month
13 And set fire to the Beis Hashem, and the Bais HaMelech (the palace); and all the batim (houses) of Yerushalayim, and all the bais hagadol, he burned with eish:
14 And all the army of the Kasdim (Chaldeans), that were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the chomot (walls) around Yerushalayim.
15 Then Nevuzaradan the captain of the guard sent into the Golus certain of the poor of the people, and the remaining of the people that were left in the Ir, and the defectors to Melech Bavel, and the rest of the multitude.
16 But Nevuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for koremim and for farmers.
17 Also the Ammudei HaNechoshet that were in the Beis Hashem, and the moveable Stands, and the Yam Hanechoshet that was in the Beis Hashem, the Kasdim (Chaldeans) broke, and carried all the bronze of them to Babylon.
18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the pans, and all the klei hanechoshet wherewith they ministered, they took away.
19 And the cups, and the firepans [for incense], and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the menorahs, and the pans, and the bowls; that which were made of zahav, and that which made of kesef, the captain of the guard carried away.
20 The two Ammudim, one Yam, and twelve bronze bulls that were under the bases, which HaMelech Sh’lomo had made in the Beis Hashem: the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
21 And concerning the Ammudim, the height of one ammud was eighteen cubits; and twelve cubits in circumference; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
22 And a capital of nechoshet was upon it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capitals round about, all of nechoshet. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were similar unto these.
23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the surrounding network were a me’ah (hundred).
24 And the captain of the guard took Serayah the Kohen HaRosh, and Tzephanyah the second kohen, and the three keepers of the door:
25 He took also out of the Ir the officer, which had the charge of the anshei hamilchamah; and seven men of them that were royal advisers which were found in the Ir; and the Sofer who was the chief officer in charge of conscripting the Am HaAretz; and threescore men of the Am HaAretz, that were found in the midst of the Ir.
26 So Nevuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to Melech Bavel to Rivlah.
27 And Melech Bavel struck them, and put them to death in Rivlah in Eretz Chamat. Thus Yehudah was carried away captive out of his own land.
28 This is the people whom Nevuchadretzar carried away captive: in the seventh year 3,023 Yehudim:
29 In the eighteenth year of Nevuchadretzar he carried away captive from Yerushalayim 832 nefesh:
30 In the three and twentieth year of Nevuchadretzar Nevuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Yehudim 745 nefesh: the nefesh were 4,600 in all.
31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the Golus of Y’hoyakhin Melech Yehudah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Eveel-Merodach Melech Bavel in the first year of his reign [562 B.C.E.] lifted up the head of Y’hoyakhin Melech Yehudah, and brought him forth out of prison [561 B.C.E.].
32 And spoke kindly unto him, and set his throne above the kisse of the melachim that were with him in Babylon,
33 And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat lechem before him all the days of his life.
34 And for his allowance, there was a regular allowance given him of the Melech Bavel, every day a portion until the yom moto (day of his death) all the days of his life.
Jeremiah 52
Contemporary English Version
Jerusalem Is Captured
(2 Kings 24.18—25.30; 2 Chronicles 36.11-21)
52 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he was appointed king of Judah,[a] and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years.[b] His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from the town of Libnah.[c] 2 Zedekiah disobeyed the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done, 3 and it was Zedekiah who finally rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.[d]
The people of Judah and Jerusalem had made the Lord so angry that he finally turned his back on them. That's why horrible things were happening there.
4 (A) In Zedekiah's ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month,[e] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia led his entire army to attack Jerusalem. The troops set up camp outside the city and built ramps up to the city walls.
5-6 After a year and a half,[f] all the food in Jerusalem was gone. Then on the ninth day of the fourth month,[g] 7 (B) the Babylonian troops broke through the city wall. That same night, Zedekiah and his soldiers tried to escape through the gate near the royal garden, even though they knew the enemy had the city surrounded. They headed toward the Jordan River valley, 8 but the Babylonian troops caught up with them near Jericho. The Babylonians arrested Zedekiah, but his soldiers scattered in every direction. 9 Zedekiah was taken to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar put him on trial and found him guilty. 10 Zedekiah's sons and the officials of Judah were killed while he watched, 11 (C) then his eyes were poked out. He was put in chains, then dragged off to Babylon and kept in prison until he died.
12 Jerusalem was captured during Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king of Babylonia.
About a month later,[h] Nebuchadnezzar's officer in charge of the guards arrived in Jerusalem. His name was Nebuzaradan, 13 (D) and he burned down the Lord's temple, the king's palace, and every important building in the city, as well as all the houses. 14 Then he ordered the Babylonian soldiers to break down the walls around Jerusalem. 15 He led away the people left in the city, including everyone who had become loyal to Nebuchadnezzar, the rest of the skilled workers,[i] and even some of the poor people of Judah. 16 Only the very poorest were left behind to work the vineyards and the fields.
17-20 (E) Nebuzaradan ordered his soldiers to go to the temple and take everything made of gold or silver, including bowls, fire pans, sprinkling bowls, pans, lampstands, dishes for incense, and the cups for wine offerings. The Babylonian soldiers took all the bronze things used for worship at the temple, including the pans for hot ashes, and the shovels, lamp snuffers, sprinkling bowls, and dishes for incense. The soldiers also took everything else made of bronze, including the two columns that stood in front of the temple, the large bowl called the Sea, the twelve bulls that held it up, and the movable stands.[j] The soldiers broke these things into pieces so they could take them to Babylonia. There was so much bronze that it could not be weighed. 21 For example, the columns were about 8 meters high and 5.5 meters around. They were hollow, but the bronze was about 75 millimeters thick. 22 Each column had a bronze cap over 2 meters high that was decorated with bronze designs. Some of these designs were like chains and others were like pomegranates.[k] 23 There were 96 pomegranates evenly spaced[l] around each column, and a total of 100 pomegranates were located above the chains.
24 Next, Nebuzaradan arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah his assistant, and three temple officials. 25 Then he arrested one of the army commanders, seven of King Zedekiah's personal advisors, and the officer in charge of gathering the troops for battle. He also found 60 more soldiers who were still in Jerusalem. 26-27 Nebuzaradan led them to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar had them killed.
The people of Judah no longer lived in their own country.
People of Judah Taken Prisoner
28-30 Here is a list of the number of the people of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar[m] took to Babylonia as prisoners:
In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 people.
In his eighteenth year as king, he took 832 from Jerusalem.
In his twenty-third year as king, his officer Nebuzaradan took 745 people.
So, Nebuchadnezzar took a total of 4,600 people from Judah to Babylonia.
Jehoiachin Is Set Free
(2 Kings 25.27-30)
31 Jehoiachin was a prisoner in Babylon for 37 years. Then Evil Merodach[n] became king of Babylonia, and in the first year of his rule, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month,[o] he let Jehoiachin out of prison. 32 Evil Merodach was kind to Jehoiachin and honored him more than any of the other kings held prisoner there. 33 Jehoiachin was allowed to wear regular clothes instead of a prison uniform, and he even ate at the king's table every day. 34 As long as Jehoiachin lived, he was paid a daily allowance to buy whatever he needed.
Footnotes
- 52.1 appointed king of Judah: By Nebuchadnezzar (see 37.1).
- 52.1 he ruled … years: Ruled 598–586 b.c.
- 52.1 Jeremiah from the town of Libnah: Not the same Jeremiah as the author of this book (see 1.1).
- 52.3 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 52.4 tenth month: See the note at 39.1-3.
- 52.5,6 After a year and a half: Jerusalem was captured in 586 b.c.
- 52.5,6 fourth month: See the note at 39.1-3.
- 52.12 About a month later: Hebrew “On the seventh day of the fifth month.”
- 52.15 the rest of the skilled workers: Nebuchadnezzar had taken away some of the skilled workers eleven years before (see 2 Kings 24.14-16).
- 52.17-20 the large bowl called the Sea, the twelve bulls that held it up, and the movable stands: One ancient translation; Hebrew “the large bowl called the Sea, and the twelve bulls under the movable stands.”
- 52.22 pomegranates: A small red fruit that looks like an apple.
- 52.23 evenly spaced: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 52.28-30 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 52.31 Evil Merodach: The son of Nebuchadnezzar who ruled Babylonia from 562–560 b.c.
- 52.31 twelfth month: Adar, the twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-February to mid-March.
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