Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 ^(A)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^(B)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and ^(C)built a siege wall all around ^[a]it. ² So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(D)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ^4 (E)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside ^(F)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^[b]they went by way of the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁶ Then ^(G)they captured the king and ^(H)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(I)Riblah, and he ^[c]passed sentence on him. ⁷ And ^(J)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then ^(K)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

^8 (L)Now on the seventh day of the ^(M)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ And ^(N)he burned the house of the Lord, ^(O)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards ^(P)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile ^(Q)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the ^[d]people. ¹² But the captain of the bodyguards left some of ^(R)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

^13 (S)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and ^(T)the bronze ^[e]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the ^[f]bronze to Babylon. ^14 (U)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the ^[g]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils ^[h]which were used in temple service. ¹⁵ The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. ¹⁶ The two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—^[i](V)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. ^17 (W)The height of the one pillar was ^[j]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was ^[k]three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.

¹⁸ Then the captain of the bodyguards took ^(X)Seraiah the chief priest and ^(Y)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three ^[l]doorkeepers. ¹⁹ And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and ^(Z)five ^[m]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the ^[n]scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^(AA)Riblah. ²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. ^(AB)So Judah went into exile from its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor

²² Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^(AC)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. ^23 (AD)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at ^(AE)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ²⁴ And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

^25 (AF)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[o]family, came ^[p]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. ^26 (AG)Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

^27 (AH)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of ^(AI)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, ^[q](AJ)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; ²⁸ and he ^(AK)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So ^[r]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and ^[s](AL)had his meals in ^[t]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; ³⁰ and as his ^(AM)allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.