The Fall of Jerusalem^(A)

25 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army during Zedekiah’s ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month [^CJanuary 15, 588 bc]. He made a camp around the city and ·piled dirt against the city walls to attack it [built siege walls all around it]. ² The city was under ·attack [siege] until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. ³ By ·the ninth day of the fourth month [^CJuly 18, 586 bc], the ·hunger [famine] was ·terrible [severe] in the city. There was no food for the people to eat. ⁴ Then the wall of the city was breached, and the whole army ran away at night through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden. ·While [Though] the Babylonians were still surrounding the city, Zedekiah and his men ran away toward the ·Jordan Valley [^LArabah; ^Ca plain near Jericho, east of Jerusalem]. ⁵ But the Babylonian army chased King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plains of Jericho. All of his army ·was scattered from [deserted] him, ⁶ so they captured Zedekiah and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah. There he passed sentence on Zedekiah. ⁷ They ·killed [slaughtered] Zedekiah’s sons as he watched. Then they ·put [gouged] out his eyes and put bronze ·chains [shackles] on him and took him to Babylon.

⁸ Nebuzaradan was the commander of the king’s special guards. This officer of the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem on ·the seventh day of the fifth month [^CAugust 14, 586 bc], in Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon. ⁹ Nebuzaradan ·set fire to [burned down] the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord and the ·palace [^Lking’s house] and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building was burned.

¹⁰ The whole Babylonian army, led by the commander of the king’s special guards, ·broke down [demolished] the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, ·captured [carried into exile] the people left in Jerusalem, those who had ·surrendered [deserted] to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the people. ¹² But the commander of the guard left behind some of the poorest people of the land to ·take care of [work] the vineyards and fields.

¹³ The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze stands, and the large bronze ·bowl [basin] called the Sea [1 Kin. 7:23–45] in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. Then they carried the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ They also took the pots, shovels, ·wick trimmers [snuffers], dishes, and all the bronze objects used to serve in the ·Temple [^Lhouse]. ¹⁵ The commander of the king’s special guards took away the ·pans for carrying hot coals [censers], the ·bowls [basins], and everything made of ·pure [fine] gold or silver. ¹⁶ There were two pillars and the large bronze Sea and the ·movable stands [water carts] which Solomon had made for the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. There was so much bronze that it could not be weighed. ¹⁷ Each pillar was ·about twenty-seven feet [^Leighteen cubits; 1 Kin. 7:15–20] high. The bronze capital on top of the pillar was ·about four and one-half feet [^Lthree cubits] high. It was decorated with a ·net design and [latticework/network of] bronze pomegranates all around it. The other pillar also had a ·net design [latticework; network] and was like the first pillar.

The Fall of Jerusalem

39 This is how Jerusalem was captured: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and ·surrounded the city to attack it [^Lbesieged it]. This was during the tenth month of the ninth year Zedekiah was king of Judah [^CJanuary 588 bc; 52:4]. ² This lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month in Zedekiah’s eleventh year [^CJuly 18, 586 bc]. Then the city wall was ·broken through [breached]. ³ And all these officers of the king of Babylon came [^Cinto Jerusalem] and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer ·of the district of Samgar [or Samgar-nebo]; Nebo-Sarsekim, a chief ·officer [or eunuch]; Nergal-Sharezer, ·an important leader [or the Rabmag]; and all the other important officers.

⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they ·ran away [fled]. They ·left [went out of] Jerusalem at night and went out ·from [^Lby way of] the king’s garden. They went through the gate that was between the two walls and then headed toward the ·Jordan Valley [^LArabah]. ⁵ But the ·Babylonian [^LChaldean] army ·chased [pursued] them and ·caught up with [overtook] Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was at the town of Riblah in the land of Hamath [^Cnorth of Israel, in Syria]. There Nebuchadnezzar passed ·his sentence [judgment] on Zedekiah. ⁶ At Riblah the king of Babylon ·killed [slaughtered] Zedekiah’s sons and all the ·important officers [nobles] of Judah ·as Zedekiah watched [^Lbefore his eyes]. ⁷ Then he ·put out [blinded] Zedekiah’s eyes. He put bronze chains on Zedekiah and took him to Babylon.

⁸ The ·Babylonians [^LChaldeans] ·set fire to [^Lburned with fire] the ·palace [^Lhouse of the king] and to the houses of the people, and they ·broke [tore] down the walls around Jerusalem. ⁹ Nebuzaradan, commander of the king’s special guards, took the people left in Jerusalem, those captives who had ·surrendered [deserted; defected; ^Lfell] to him earlier, and the rest of the people of Jerusalem, and he ·took them all away [exiled them all] to Babylon. ¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, left some of the poorest people of Judah behind. They owned nothing, but that day he gave them vineyards and fields.

⁴ Then Jeremiah the prophet answered, “I ·understand what you want me to do [^Lhear]. I will pray to the Lord your God ·as you have asked [^Laccording to your works]. I will tell you ·everything he says [all his answers] and not ·hide [^Lkeep back] anything from you.”

⁵ Then the people said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and ·loyal [faithful] witness against us if we don’t do everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. ⁶ ·It does not matter if we like the message or not [^LWhether good or bad…]. We will ·obey [listen to] the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you. We will ·obey [listen to] what he says so good things will happen to us.”

⁷ Ten days later the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. ⁸ Then Jeremiah called for Johanan son of Kareah, the army officers with him, and all the other people, from the least important to the greatest. ⁹ Jeremiah said to them, “You sent me to ·ask the Lord for what you wanted [^Lmake your supplications/fall before him]. This is what the God of Israel says: ¹⁰ ‘If you will stay in this land [^CJudah], I will build you up and not tear you down. I will plant you and not ·pull [tear] you up [1:10], because I am ·sad [sorry] about the ·disaster [evil; trouble] I ·brought on [^Ldid to] you. ¹¹ Now you fear the king of Babylon, but don’t be afraid of him. Don’t be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘because I am with you. I will save you and ·rescue [protect] you from his ·power [^Lhand]. ¹² I will be ·kind [compassionate; merciful] to you, and he will also treat you with ·mercy [kindness; compassion] and ·let you stay [restore you] in your land.’

¹³ “But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land [^CJudah],’ you will ·disobey [not listen to the voice of] the Lord your God. ¹⁴ Or you might say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt. There we will not see war, or hear the trumpets of ·war [battle], or ·be hungry [famine].’ ¹⁵ If you say that, listen to the message of the Lord, ·you who are left alive from [remnant of] Judah. This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], the God of Israel, says: ‘If you ·make up your mind [are determined] to go and live in Egypt, these things will happen: ¹⁶ ·You are afraid of war, but it will find you [^LThe sword you fear will overtake you there,] in the land of Egypt. And ·you are worried about hunger, but it will follow you into [^Lthe famine you dread will cling after you there in] Egypt, and you will die there. ¹⁷ Everyone who ·goes to live in [^Lsets their face to go to] Egypt will die ·in war [^Lby sword] or from ·hunger [famine] or ·terrible disease [plague; pestilence]. ·No one who goes to Egypt will live; no one will escape [^LThere will be no remnant or survivor from] the ·terrible things [harm; ^Levil] I will bring to them.’

¹⁸ “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; ^Tof hosts], the God of Israel, says: ‘I ·showed [poured out] my anger against the people of Jerusalem. In the same way I will ·show [pour out] my anger against you when you go to Egypt. Other nations will speak evil of you. People will be ·shocked [horrified] by what will happen to you. You will become a curse word, and people will ·insult [ridicule] you. And you will never see this place [^CJudah] again.’

¹⁹ “·You who are left alive in [Remnant of] Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Don’t go to Egypt.’ Be sure you ·understand [know] this; I warn you today ²⁰ that you ·are making a mistake that will cause your deaths [made a fatal mistake; ^Lhave erred with your life]. You sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us everything the Lord our God says, and we will do it.’ ²¹ So today I have ·told [proclaimed to] you, but you have not ·obeyed [listened to the voice of] the Lord your God in all that he sent me to tell you. ²² So now be sure you ·understand [know] this: You want to go to live in Egypt, but you will die there by ·war [^Lsword], ·hunger [famine], or ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence].”