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Jeremiah 51-52
Contemporary English Version
Jeremiah 51-52
Contemporary English Version
Babylon Will Be Destroyed
51 I, the Lord, am sending
a wind[a] to destroy
the people of Babylonia[b]
and Babylon, its capital.
2 Foreign soldiers will come
from every direction,
and when the disaster is over,
Babylonia will be empty
and worthless.
3 I will tell these soldiers,
“Attack quickly,
before the Babylonians
can string their bows
or put on their armor.[c]
Kill their best soldiers
and destroy their army!”
4 Their troops will fall wounded
in the streets of Babylon.
5 Everyone in Israel and Judah
is guilty.
But I, the Lord All-Powerful,
their holy God,
have not abandoned them.
6 Get out of Babylon!
Run for your lives!
If you stay, you will be killed
when I take revenge on the city
and punish it for its sins.
7 (A) Babylon was my golden cup,
filled with the wine
of my anger.
The nations of the world
got drunk on this wine
and went insane.
8 But suddenly, Babylon will fall
and be destroyed.
I, the Lord, told the foreigners[d]
who lived there,
“Weep for the city!
Get medicine for its wounds;
maybe they will heal.”
9 The foreigners answered,
“We have already tried
to treat Babylon's wounds,
but they would not heal.
Come on, let's all go home
to our own countries.
Nothing is left in Babylonia;
everything is destroyed.”
10 The people of Israel said,
“Tell everyone in Zion!
The Lord has taken revenge
for what Babylon did to us.”
The Lord Wants Babylon Destroyed
11 I, the Lord,
want Babylon destroyed,
because its army
destroyed my temple.
So, you kings of Media,[e]
sharpen your arrows
and pick up your shields.
12 Raise the signal flag
and attack the city walls.
Post more guards.
Have soldiers watch the city
and set up ambushes.
I have made plans
to destroy Babylon,
and nothing will stop me.
13 (B) People of Babylon, you live
along the Euphrates River
and are surrounded by canals.
You are rich,
but now the time has come
for you to die.[f]
14 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
swear by my own life
that enemy soldiers
will fill your streets
like a swarm of locusts.[g]
They will shout
and celebrate their victory.
A Hymn of Praise
(Jeremiah 10.12-16)
15 God used his wisdom and power
to create the earth
and spread out the heavens.
16 The waters in the heavens roar
at his command.
He makes clouds appear;
he sends the wind
from his storehouse
and makes lightning flash
in the rain.
17 People who make idols
are stupid!
They will be disappointed,
because their false gods
cannot breathe.
18 Idols are merely a joke,
and when the time is right,
they will be destroyed.
19 But the Lord, Israel's God,
is all-powerful.
He created everything,
and he chose Israel
to be his very own.
God's Hammer
The Lord said:
20 Babylonia, you were my hammer;
I used you to pound nations
and break kingdoms,
21 to shatter cavalry and chariots,
22 as well as men and women,
young and old,
23 shepherds and their flocks,
farmers and their oxen,
and governors and leaders.
24 But now, my people will watch,
while I repay you
for what you did to Zion.
25 You destroyed the nations
and seem strong as a mountain,
but I am your enemy.
I might even grab you
and roll you off a cliff.
When I am finished,
you'll only be a pile
of scorched bricks.
26 Your stone blocks won't be reused
for cornerstones
or foundations,
and I promise that forever
you will be a desert.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Nations Will Attack Babylon
The Lord said:
27 Signal the nations
to get ready to attack.
Raise a flag and blow a trumpet.
Send for the armies of Ararat,
Minni, and Ashkenaz.[h]
Choose a commander;
let the cavalry attack
like a swarm of locusts.
28 Tell the kings and governors,
the leaders and the people
of the kingdoms of the Medes
to prepare for war!
29 The earth twists and turns
in torment,
because I have decided
to make Babylonia a desert
where no one can live,
and I won't change my mind.
30 The Babylonian soldiers
have lost their strength
and courage.[i]
They stay in their fortresses,
unable to fight,
while the enemy breaks through
the city gates,
then sets their homes on fire.
31 One messenger after another
announces to the king,
“Babylon has been captured!
32 The enemy now controls
the river crossings!
The marshes[j] are on fire!
Your army has panicked!”
33 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel,
and I make this promise—
“Soon Babylon will be leveled
and packed down
like a threshing place
at harvest time.”[k]
Babylonia Will Pay!
34 The people of Jerusalem say,
“King Nebuchadnezzar[l]
made us panic.
That monster stuffed himself
with us and our treasures,
leaving us empty—
he gobbled up
what he wanted
and spit out the rest.
35 The people of Babylonia
harmed some of us[m]
and killed others.
Now, Lord, make them pay!”
The Lord Will Take Revenge on Babylon
36 My people, I am on your side,
and I will take revenge
on Babylon.
I will cut off its water supply,
and its stream[n] will dry up.
37 Babylon will be a pile of rubble
where only jackals[o] live,
and everyone will be afraid
to walk among the ruins.
38 The Babylonians roar and growl
like young lions.
39 And since they are hungry,
I will give them a banquet.
They will celebrate, get drunk,
then fall asleep,
never to wake up!
40 I will lead them away to die,
like sheep, lambs, and goats
being led to the butcher.
41 All nations now praise Babylon,[p]
but when it is captured,
those same nations
will be horrified.
42 Babylon's enemies will rise
like ocean waves
and flood the city.
43 Horrible destruction will strike
the nearby towns.
The land will become
a barren desert,
where no one can live
or even travel.
44 I will punish Marduk,[q]
the god of Babylon,
and make him vomit out
everything he gobbled up.
Then nations will no longer
bring him gifts,
and Babylon's walls will crumble.
The Lord Offers Hope to His People
45 Get out of Babylon, my people,
and run for your lives,
before I strike the city
in my anger!
46 Don't be afraid or lose hope,
though year after year
there are rumors
of leaders fighting for control
in the city of Babylon.
47 The time will come
when I will punish
Babylon's false gods.
Everyone there will die,
and the whole nation
will be disgraced,
48 (C) when an army attacks
from the north
and brings destruction.
Then the earth and the heavens
and everything in them
will celebrate.
49 (D) Babylon must be overthrown,
because it slaughtered
the people of Israel
and of many other nations.
50 My people, you escaped death
when Jerusalem fell.
Now you live far from home,
but you should trust me
and think about Jerusalem.
Leave Babylon! Don't stay!
51 You feel ashamed and disgraced,
because foreigners have entered
my sacred temple.
52 Soon I will send a war
to punish Babylon's idols
and leave its wounded people
moaning everywhere.
53 Although Babylon's walls
reach to the sky,
the army I send
will destroy that city.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Babylon Will Be Destroyed
The Lord said:
54 Listen to the cries for help
coming from Babylon.
Everywhere in the country
the sounds of destruction
can be heard.
55 The shouts of the enemy,
like crashing ocean waves,
will drown out Babylon's cries
as I level the city.
56 An enemy will attack
and destroy Babylon.
Its soldiers will be captured
and their weapons broken,
because I am a God
who takes revenge against nations
for what they do.
57 I, the Lord All-Powerful,
the true King, promise
that the officials and advisors,
the governors and leaders,
and the soldiers of Babylon
will get drunk, fall asleep,
and never wake up.
58 The thick walls of that city
will be torn down,
and its huge gates burned.
Everything that nation
worked so hard to gain
will go up in smoke.
Jeremiah Gives Seraiah a Scroll
59 During Zedekiah's[r] fourth year as king of Judah, he went to Babylon. And Baruch's brother Seraiah[s] went along as the officer in charge of arranging for places to stay overnight.[t]
60 Before they left, I wrote on a scroll[u] all the terrible things that would happen to Babylon. 61 I gave the scroll to Seraiah and said:
When you get to Babylon, read this scroll aloud, 62 then pray, “Our Lord, you promised to destroy this place and make it into a desert where no people or animals will ever live.”
63 (E) When you finish praying, tie the scroll to a rock and throw it in the Euphrates River. Then say, 64 “This is how Babylon will sink when the Lord destroys it. Everyone in the city will die, and it won't have the strength to rise again.”
The End of Jeremiah's Writing
Jeremiah's writing ends here.
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,[v] and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years.[w] His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from the town of Libnah.[x] 2 Zedekiah disobeyed the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done, 3 and it was Zedekiah who finally rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.[y]
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 (F) In Zedekiah's ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month,[z] 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,[aa] all the food in Jerusalem was gone. Then on the ninth day of the fourth month,[ab] 7 (G) 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 (H) 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,[ac] Nebuchadnezzar's officer in charge of the guards arrived in Jerusalem. His name was Nebuzaradan, 13 (I) 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,[ad] 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 (J) 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.[ae] 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.[af] 23 There were 96 pomegranates evenly spaced[ag] 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[ah] 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[ai] became king of Babylonia, and in the first year of his rule, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month,[aj] 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
- 51.1 wind: Or “spirit.”
- 51.1 Babylonia: The Hebrew text has “Leb-Qamai,” a secret way of writing “Babylonia.”
- 51.3 I will tell … armor: Or “Attack quickly! String your bows and put on your armor.”
- 51.8 the foreigners: Or “my people.”
- 51.11 kings of Media: Probably kings of smaller kingdoms that were part of the Median Empire (see also verse 27 and the note there).
- 51.13 for you to die: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 51.14 locusts: See the note at 46.22.
- 51.27 Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: Kingdoms to the north of Babylonia that were part of the Median Empire (see also verse 28).
- 51.30 have lost their strength and courage: Hebrew “have lost their strength and have become like women.”
- 51.32 marshes: The tall grass in the marshes could have provided hiding places for people trying to escape from Babylon.
- 51.33 leveled … harvest time: A threshing place with a dirt surface had to be leveled and packed down before it could be used.
- 51.34 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 51.35 harmed some of us: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 51.36 stream: Probably the Euphrates River.
- 51.37 jackals: See the note at 9.11.
- 51.41 Babylon: The Hebrew text has “Sheshach,” a secret way of writing the name “Babylon.”
- 51.44 Marduk: Hebrew “Bel” (see the note at 50.2).
- 51.59 Zedekiah's: See the note at 1.3.
- 51.59 Baruch's brother Seraiah: Hebrew “Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah”; Baruch helped Jeremiah write down his messages (see 32.12; 36.4-10).
- 51.59 arranging for places to stay overnight: Hebrew and one ancient translation; two ancient translations, “the tax money.”
- 51.60 scroll: See the note at 30.1,2.
- 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.
Jeremiah 51-52
New International Version
Jeremiah 51-52
New International Version
51 This is what the Lord says:
“See, I will stir(A) up the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon(B) and the people of Leb Kamai.[a]
2 I will send foreigners(C) to Babylon
to winnow(D) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
in the day(E) of her disaster.
3 Let not the archer string his bow,(F)
nor let him put on his armor.(G)
Do not spare her young men;
completely destroy[b] her army.
4 They will fall(H) down slain in Babylon,[c]
fatally wounded in her streets.(I)
5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken(J)
by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land[d] is full of guilt(K)
before the Holy One of Israel.
6 “Flee(L) from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.(M)
It is time(N) for the Lord’s vengeance;(O)
he will repay(P) her what she deserves.
7 Babylon was a gold cup(Q) in the Lord’s hand;
she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore they have now gone mad.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall(R) and be broken.
Wail over her!
Get balm(S) for her pain;
perhaps she can be healed.
9 “‘We would have healed Babylon,
but she cannot be healed;
let us leave(T) her and each go to our own land,
for her judgment(U) reaches to the skies,
it rises as high as the heavens.’
11 “Sharpen the arrows,(X)
take up the shields!(Y)
The Lord has stirred up the kings(Z) of the Medes,(AA)
because his purpose(AB) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,(AC)
vengeance for his temple.(AD)
12 Lift up a banner(AE) against the walls of Babylon!
Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,(AF)
prepare an ambush!(AG)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,(AH)
his decree against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters(AI)
and are rich in treasures,(AJ)
your end has come,
the time for you to be destroyed.(AK)
14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:(AL)
I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,(AM)
and they will shout(AN) in triumph over you.
15 “He made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom(AO)
and stretched(AP) out the heavens by his understanding.(AQ)
16 When he thunders,(AR) the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain(AS)
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(AT)
17 “Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;(AU)
they have no breath in them.
18 They are worthless,(AV) the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19 He who is the Portion(AW) of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance(AX)—
the Lord Almighty is his name.
20 “You are my war club,(AY)
my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(AZ) nations,(BA)
with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(BB)
with you I shatter chariot(BC) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
with you I shatter old man and youth,
with you I shatter young man and young woman,(BD)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
with you I shatter governors and officials.(BE)
24 “Before your eyes I will repay(BF) Babylon(BG) and all who live in Babylonia[e] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.
25 “I am against(BH) you, you destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,”(BI)
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand(BJ) against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain.(BK)
26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
nor any stone for a foundation,
for you will be desolate(BL) forever,”
declares the Lord.
27 “Lift up a banner(BM) in the land!
Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
summon against her these kingdoms:(BN)
Ararat,(BO) Minni and Ashkenaz.(BP)
Appoint a commander against her;
send up horses like a swarm of locusts.(BQ)
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—
the kings of the Medes,(BR)
their governors and all their officials,
and all the countries they rule.(BS)
29 The land trembles(BT) and writhes,
for the Lord’s purposes(BU) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste(BV) the land of Babylon
so that no one will live there.(BW)
30 Babylon’s warriors(BX) have stopped fighting;
they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
they have become weaklings.(BY)
Her dwellings are set on fire;(BZ)
the bars(CA) of her gates are broken.
31 One courier(CB) follows another
and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his entire city is captured,(CC)
32 the river crossings seized,
the marshes set on fire,(CD)
and the soldiers terrified.(CE)”
33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Daughter Babylon(CF) is like a threshing floor(CG)
at the time it is trampled;
the time to harvest(CH) her will soon come.(CI)”
34 “Nebuchadnezzar(CJ) king of Babylon has devoured(CK) us,(CL)
he has thrown us into confusion,
he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then has spewed(CM) us out.
35 May the violence(CN) done to our flesh[f] be on Babylon,”
say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
says Jerusalem.(CO)
36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“See, I will defend your cause(CP)
and avenge(CQ) you;
I will dry up(CR) her sea
and make her springs dry.
37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
a haunt(CS) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,(CT)
a place where no one lives.(CU)
38 Her people all roar like young lions,(CV)
they growl like lion cubs.
39 But while they are aroused,
I will set out a feast for them
and make them drunk,(CW)
so that they shout with laughter—
then sleep forever(CX) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.(CY)
40 “I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.(CZ)
41 “How Sheshak[g](DA) will be captured,(DB)
the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate(DC) Babylon will be
among the nations!
42 The sea will rise over Babylon;
its roaring waves(DD) will cover her.
43 Her towns will be desolate,
a dry and desert(DE) land,
a land where no one lives,
through which no one travels.(DF)
44 I will punish Bel(DG) in Babylon
and make him spew out(DH) what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
And the wall(DI) of Babylon will fall.
45 “Come out(DJ) of her, my people!
Run(DK) for your lives!
Run from the fierce anger(DL) of the Lord.
46 Do not lose heart(DM) or be afraid(DN)
when rumors(DO) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
rumors of violence in the land
and of ruler against ruler.
47 For the time will surely come
when I will punish the idols(DP) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced(DQ)
and her slain will all lie fallen within her.(DR)
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will shout(DS) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north(DT)
destroyers(DU) will attack her,”
declares the Lord.
49 “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
just as the slain in all the earth
have fallen because of Babylon.(DV)
50 You who have escaped the sword,
leave(DW) and do not linger!
Remember(DX) the Lord in a distant land,(DY)
and call to mind Jerusalem.”
51 “We are disgraced,(DZ)
for we have been insulted
and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the Lord’s house.”(EA)
52 “But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will punish her idols,(EB)
and throughout her land
the wounded will groan.(EC)
53 Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens(ED)
and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
I will send destroyers(EE) against her,”
declares the Lord.
54 “The sound of a cry(EF) comes from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction(EG)
from the land of the Babylonians.[h]
55 The Lord will destroy Babylon;
he will silence(EH) her noisy din.
Waves(EI) of enemies will rage like great waters;
the roar of their voices will resound.
56 A destroyer(EJ) will come against Babylon;
her warriors will be captured,
and their bows will be broken.(EK)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
he will repay(EL) in full.
57 I will make her officials(EM) and wise(EN) men drunk,(EO)
her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep(EP) forever and not awake,”
declares the King,(EQ) whose name is the Lord Almighty.
58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Babylon’s thick wall(ER) will be leveled
and her high gates(ES) set on fire;
the peoples(ET) exhaust(EU) themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”(EV)
59 This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,(EW) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah(EX) king of Judah in the fourth(EY) year of his reign. 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll(EZ) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate(FA) forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.(FB) 64 Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more(FC) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people(FD) will fall.’”(FE)
The words of Jeremiah end(FF) here.
The Fall of Jerusalem(FG)(FH)(FI)
52 Zedekiah(FJ) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.(FK) 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim(FL) had done. 3 It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah,(FM) and in the end he thrust them from his presence.(FN)
Now Zedekiah rebelled(FO) against the king of Babylon.
4 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth(FP) day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem(FQ) with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works(FR) all around it.(FS) 5 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.(FT) 7 Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.(FU) They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians[i] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,[j] 8 but the Babylonian[k] army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 9 and he was captured.(FV)
He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah(FW) in the land of Hamath,(FX) where he pronounced sentence on him. 10 There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons(FY) of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. 11 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.(FZ)
12 On the tenth day of the fifth(GA) month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan(GB) commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He set fire(GC) to the temple(GD) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses(GE) 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(GF) around Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile(GG) some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen[l] and those who had deserted(GH) to the king of Babylon. 16 But Nebuzaradan left behind(GI) the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.
17 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars,(GJ) the movable stands(GK) and the bronze Sea(GL) that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.(GM) 18 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,(GN) dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.(GO) 19 The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers,(GP) sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands,(GQ) dishes(GR) and bowls used for drink offerings(GS)—all that were made of pure gold or silver.(GT)
20 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls(GU) under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed.(GV) 21 Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference[m]; each was four fingers thick, and hollow.(GW) 22 The bronze capital(GX) on top of one pillar was five cubits[n] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates(GY) 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(GZ) above the surrounding network was a hundred.(HA)
24 The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah(HB) the chief priest, Zephaniah(HC) the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.(HD) 25 Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary(HE) who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land, sixty of whom were found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan(HF) the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 There at Riblah,(HG) in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.
So Judah went into captivity, away(HH) from her land. 28 This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:(HI)
in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;
29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year,
832 people from Jerusalem;
30 in his twenty-third year,
745 Jews taken into exile(HJ) by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard.
There were 4,600 people in all.(HK)
Jehoiachin Released(HL)
31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin(HM) king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison. 32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.(HN) 34 Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance(HO) as long as he lived, till the day of his death.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
- Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
- Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
- Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
- Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
- Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
- Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 52:7 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 17
- Jeremiah 52:7 Or the Jordan Valley
- Jeremiah 52:8 Or Chaldean; also in verse 14
- Jeremiah 52:15 Or the populace
- 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
- Jeremiah 52:22 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
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