The Fall of Jerusalem^(A)

39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. ² In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city wall was broken up. ³ All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsekim the Rabsaris^[a] Nergal-Sharezer the Rabmag,^[b] and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. ⁴ When Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them and all the men of war, then they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out the way of the Arabah.

⁵ But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he passed sentence on him. ⁶ Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes. Moreover, the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. ⁷ He also put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with chains to carry him to Babylon.

⁸ The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city, and those who fell away, who fell to him, with the rest of the people who remained. ¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left behind in the land of Judah the poor people who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

Gedaliah Is Assassinated^(A)

⁷ Now all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed men to him, and women, and children, and some of the poorest of the land who were not carried away captive to Babylon. ⁸ Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maakathite, they and their men. ⁹ Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.

41 In the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama of the royal seed, and the officials of the king, even ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah. While they were eating bread together in Mizpah, ² Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men that were with him arose and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan with the sword and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. ³ Ishmael also slew all the Jews who were with him, even with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, and the men of war.

⁴ On the day after he had slain Gedaliah, when no one knew it, ⁵ eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, having their beards shaven, and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, with offerings and incense in their hands to bring them to the house of the Lord. ⁶ Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went. As he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” ⁷ Yet it was so when they came into the midst of the city that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, he and the men who were with him, slew them and cast them into the midst of the cistern. ⁸ But ten men were found among those who said to Ishmael, “Do not slay us, for we have stores in the field, of wheat and barley, and of oil and honey.” So he refrained and did not slay them among their brothers. ⁹ Now the cistern in which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was what Asa the king had made because of Baasha the king of Israel. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with those who were slain.

¹⁰ Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people who remained in Mizpah whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, ¹² then they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon. ¹³ And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him, they were glad. ¹⁴ So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and returned, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. ¹⁵ But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.

¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. ¹⁷ And they departed and lived in the habitation of Geruth Kimham, which is by Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt, ¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the 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.

¹⁷ So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans from Babylon, who killed their young men with the sword at the house of their sanctuary. He did not spare a young man or virgin, old or aged. God gave all of them into his hand. ¹⁸ Even all the vessels of the house of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, the king, and his officials, all of this was taken to Babylon. ¹⁹ So they burned down the house of God, tore down the wall of Jerusalem, burned down all the palaces with fire, and destroyed all the precious items.

²⁰ Then he carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who survived the sword, and they were slaves to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia ruled,