Jeremiah 52:1–27

The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted

52^cZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ²And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^daccording to all that Jehoiakim had done. ³For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. ^4eAnd in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. ⁵So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. ⁸But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁹Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. ¹⁰The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at ^fRiblah. ^11gHe put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison ^gtill the day of his death.

The Temple Burned

^12hIn the fifth month, on ⁱthe tenth day of the month—that was ^jthe nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who ^kserved the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ¹³And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. ¹⁴And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and ^lthe deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. ¹⁶But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

¹⁷And the ^mpillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the ⁿbronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ^ocarried all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸And they took away ^pthe pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; ^19qalso the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and ^rthe lampstands and ^sthe dishes for incense ^sand the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. ²⁰As for the two pillars, the one sea, ^tthe twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea,¹ and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. ²¹As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^{2 u}its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. ²²On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was ^vfive cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. ²³There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.

The People Exiled to Babylon

²⁴And the captain of the guard took ^wSeraiah the chief priest, and ^xZephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; ²⁵and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and ^yseven men of the king’s council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. ²⁶And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^zRiblah. ²⁷And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at ^zRiblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.