Jeremiah 52:1–11

The Fall of Jerusalem

52:1–3pp—2Ki 24:18–20; 2Ch 36:11–16
52:4–16pp—Jer 39:1–10
52:4–21pp—2Ki 25:1–21; 2Ch 36:17–20

52 Zedekiahd 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.e 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakimf had done. 3 It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah,g and in the end he thrust them from his presence.h

Now Zedekiah rebelledi against the king of Babylon.

4 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenthj day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalemk with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege worksl all around it.m 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.n 7 Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.o They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babyloniansa were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,b 8 but the Babylonianc 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.p

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblahq in the land of Hamath,r where he pronounced sentence on him. 10 There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sonss 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.t