The Fall and Exile of Judah^(A)

25 In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and set up camp near it. They built siege mounds against it all around. ² The city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was severe in the city, and there was no food for the people of the land. ⁴ The city was breached, and all the fighting men fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which is by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They went along the way of the Arabah. ⁵ Then the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army deserted him. ⁶ So they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence upon him. ⁷ They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah. They bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

⁸ In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ All the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard tore down the walls of Jerusalem all around. ¹¹ The rest of the people who remained in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the crowd Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard took into exile. ¹² But the captain of the bodyguard left some of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

¹³ The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, the stands, and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ The pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the incense bowls, and all the bronze implements which were used in service they took away. ¹⁵ The fire pans and sprinkling basins that were fine gold and fine silver the captain of the bodyguard took.

¹⁶ The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these implements was beyond weight. ¹⁷ The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^[a] and a bronze capital was on it. The height of the capital was three cubits.^[b] Latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were on the capital all around. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.

¹⁸ The captain of the bodyguard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold. ¹⁹ From the city he took a eunuch who was an officer over the fighting men, five men of the king’s council who were found in the city, the chief scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land who were found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and killed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath.

Thus he exiled Judah from their land.

⁴ In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; they built a siege wall all around it. ⁵ So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶ In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no bread for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city was breached, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city by night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city, and they went by way of the Arabah. ⁸ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.

⁹ Then they took the king and carried him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath where he passed sentence on him. ¹⁰ The king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also slew all the officials of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and the king of Babylon bound him in chains and carried him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

The Temple Burned

¹² Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon came into Jerusalem, ¹³ and burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem. Even all the large houses, he burned with fire. ¹⁴ And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. ¹⁵ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people, and the rest of the people who remained in the city, and those who fell away, who fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.

¹⁷ Also the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands, and the bronze sea that was in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke and carried all their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ The cauldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze with which they ministered, they took away. ¹⁹ The captain of the guard also took away the basins, and the fire pans, and the bowls, and the cauldrons, and the lampstands, and the spoons, and the cups, what was of fine gold, and what was of fine silver.

²⁰ The two pillars, one sea, and twelve bronze bulls that were under the bases, which King Solomon had made in the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ²¹ Concerning the pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and in thickness it was four fingers,^[a] and hollow. ²² A capital of bronze was upon it, and the height of one capital was five cubits,^[b] with network and pomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like these. ²³ There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.

The Babylonian Exile

²⁴ The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three officers of the temple. ²⁵ He also took out of the city one official who had charge of the men of war, and seven men of the advisers of the king who were found in the city, and the scribe 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. ²⁶ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. ²⁷ The king of Babylon struck them and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath.

Thus Judah was carried away captive out of its own land.

The Proclamation of Cyrus^(A)

1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he issued a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

² “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

“The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem.