Jeremiah 52:1–27

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

52Zedekiah^d 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 Jehoiakim^f had done. ³It 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.

⁴So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth^j day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem^k with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works^l all around it.^{m 5}The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶By 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 Babylonians^a were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^{b 8}but the Babylonian^c army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, ⁹and he was captured.^p

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah^q in the land of Hamath,^r where he pronounced sentence on him. ¹⁰There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons^s of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹Then 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

¹²On the tenth day of the fifth^u month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan^v commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³He set fire^w to the temple^x of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses^y of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. ¹⁴The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down all the walls^z around Jerusalem. ¹⁵Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile^a some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen^d and those who had deserted^b to the king of Babylon. ¹⁶But Nebuzaradan left behind^c the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

¹⁷The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars,^d the movable stands^e and the bronze Sea^f that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.^{g 18}They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,^h dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.^{i 19}The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers,^j sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands,^k dishes^l and bowls used for drink offerings^m—all that were made of pure gold or silver.ⁿ

²⁰The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls^o under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed.^{p 21}Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference^e; each was four fingers thick, and hollow.^{q 22}The bronze capital^r on top of one pillar was five cubits^f high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates^s of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. ²³There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates^t above the surrounding network was a hundred.^u

²⁴The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah^v the chief priest, Zephaniah^w the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.^{x 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^y who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land, sixty of whom were found in the city. ²⁶Nebuzaradan^z the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷There at Riblah,^a in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.

So Judah went into captivity, away^b from her land.