2 Kings 25
25
Destruction of Jerusalem
1Now it came to pass in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army advanced against Jerusalem, set up camp by it, and built a siege wall all around it.
2So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
3On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe in the city that there was no bread for the common people.
4Then the city was broken into, and all the warriors fled by night by the way of the gate between the double walls near the king’s garden—though the Chaldeans were all around the city—and they went by the way to the Arabah.
5But the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him.
6So they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and passed sentence on him.
7They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains and took him to Babylon.
8Now on the seventh day of the fifth month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the imperial guard, officer of the Babylonian king, came to Jerusalem.
9He burned down the House of Adonai, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem—every notable building he burned with fire.
10Then the whole Chaldean army that was with the captain of the guard demolished the walls of Jerusalem on every side.
11Then the remnant of the people who were left in the city—the deserters who had defected to the Babylonian king and the rest of the populace—Nebuzaradan captain of the guard exiled them.
12But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and field hands.
13Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars that were in the House of Adonai, the stands and the bronze sea that were in the House of Adonai, and carried their bronze away to Babylon.
14They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the pans and all the bronze vessels that were used in Temple service.
15The captain of the guard took away the fire pans and the basins—whatever was gold or silver.
16The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the House of Adonai—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
17The height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, with a bronze capital on top. The height of the capital was three cubits, with a netting of copper pomegranates encircling the capital. The same was true of the second pillar with its netting.
18Then the captain of the guard took away Seraiah the chief kohen, Zephaniah the deputy kohen, and the three doorkeepers.
19From the city he took an official who had been overseeing the soldiers and five of the royal advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the army captain who mustered the people of the land, and 60 men of the common people that were found in the city.
20Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
21The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was exiled from its land.
22Now as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan.
23Now when all the captains of the troops, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.
24Gedaliah swore to them and to their men and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the Chaldean officials. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”
25But it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of royal descent, came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah, so he died along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
26So all the people, young and old, and the captains of the troops, got up and fled to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, that King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the year he became king, released King Jehoiachin of Judah from Prison.
28He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.
29So he changed his prison garments, and regularly ate bread in the king’s presence all the days of his life.
30As for his allowance, a regular allowance was granted to him by the king, an allotment for each day, all the days of his life.
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2 Kings 25: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
2 Kings 25
25
1So on January 15,#25:1 Hebrew on the tenth day of the tenth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of events in 2 Kings can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. This day was January 15, 588 b.c. during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. 2Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.
3By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign,#25:3 Hebrew By the ninth day of the [fourth] month [in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign] (compare Jer 39:2; 52:6 and the notes there). This day was July 18, 586 b.c.; also see note on 25:1. the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone. 4Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians,#25:4a Or the Chaldeans; also in 25:13, 25, 26. the soldiers waited for nightfall and escaped#25:4b As in Greek version (see also Jer 39:4; 52:7); Hebrew lacks escaped. through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley.#25:4c Hebrew the Arabah.
5But the Babylonian#25:5 Or Chaldean; also in 25:10, 24. troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. 6They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. 7They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
The Temple Destroyed
8On August 14 of that year,#25:8 Hebrew On the seventh day of the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was August 14, 586 b.c.; also see note on 25:1. which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. 9He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings#25:9 Or destroyed the houses of all the important people. in the city. 10Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. 11Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. 12But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.
13The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. 14They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple. 15The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.
16The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the Lord’s Temple in the days of Solomon. 17Each of the pillars was 27 feet#25:17a Hebrew 18 cubits [8.3 meters]. tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7-1/2 feet#25:17b As in parallel texts at 1 Kgs 7:16, 2 Chr 3:15, and Jer 52:22, all of which read 5 cubits [2.3 meters]; Hebrew reads 3 cubits, which is 4.5 feet or 1.4 meters. high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.
18Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers. 19And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens. 20Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.
Gedaliah Governs in Judah
22Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah. 23When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jezaniah#25:23 As in parallel text at Jer 40:8; Hebrew reads Jaazaniah, a variant spelling of Jezaniah. son of the Maacathite, and all their men.
24Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised.
25But in midautumn of that year,#25:25 Hebrew in the seventh month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This month occurred within the months of October and November 586 b.c.; also see note on 25:1. Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.
26Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.
Hope for Israel’s Royal Line
27In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to#25:27a Hebrew He raised the head of. Jehoiachin and released him#25:27b As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions (see also Jer 52:31); Masoretic Text lacks released him. from prison on April 2 of that year.#25:27c Hebrew on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was April 2, 561 b.c.; also see note on 25:1. 28He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon. 29He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 30So the king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived.
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