Melaḵim Bĕt (2 Kings) 25
25
1And it came to be in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth new moon, on the tenth of the new moon, that Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar sovereign of Baḇel and all his army came against Yerushalayim and encamped against it, and they built a siege wall against it all around.
2And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of Sovereign Tsiḏqiyahu.
3By the ninth of the new moon the scarcity of food had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
4Then the city wall was breached, and all the men of battle fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the sovereign’s garden, even though the Kasdim were still encamped all around against the city. And the sovereign went by way of the desert plain.
5And the army of the Kasdim pursued the sovereign, and overtook him in the desert plains of Yeriḥo, and all his army was scattered from him.
6And they seized the sovereign and brought him up to the sovereign of Baḇel at Riblah, and they pronounced sentence on him.
7And they slew the sons of Tsiḏqiyahu before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Tsiḏqiyahu, and bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Baḇel.
8And in the fifth new moon, on the seventh of the new moon, which was the nineteenth year of Sovereign Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar sovereign of Baḇel, Neḇuzaraḏan the chief of the guard, a servant of the sovereign of Baḇel, came to Yerushalayim.
9And he burned the House of יהוה and the house of the sovereign, and all the houses of Yerushalayim – even every great house he burned with fire.
10And all the army of the Kasdim who were with the chief of the guard broke down the walls of Yerushalayim all around.
11And Neḇuzaraḏan the chief of the guard took into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who deserted to the sovereign of Baḇel, with the rest of the multitude.
12But the chief of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers.
13And the bronze columns that were in the House of יהוה, and the stands and the bronze Sea that were in the House of יהוה, the Kasdim broke in pieces, and took their bronze away to Baḇel.
14And they took the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the ladles, and all the bronze utensils the priests used in the service.
15And the chief of the guard took the fire holders and the basins which were of solid gold and solid silver.
16The bronze of all these utensils was beyond measure – the two columns, the one Sea, and the stands, which Shelomoh had made for the House of יהוה.
17The height of one column was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. And the height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. And the second column was the same, with a network.
18And the chief of the guard took Serayah the chief priest, and Tsephanyahu the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
19And out of the city he took a certain eunuch who was appointed over the men of battle, and five men of those who saw the sovereign’s face, who were found in the city, and the chief scribe 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.
20And Neḇuzaraḏan, chief of the guard, took them and made them go to the sovereign of Baḇel at Riblah.
21And the sovereign of Baḇel struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Ḥamath. So he exiled Yehuḏah from its own land.
22And he appointed Geḏalyahu son of Aḥiqam, son of Shaphan, over the people who were left in the land of Yehuḏah, whom Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar sovereign of Baḇel had left.
23And all the commanders of the armies, they and their men, heard that the sovereign of Baḇel had appointed Geḏalyahu. And they came to Geḏalyahu at Mitspah, even Yishma‛ĕl son of Nethanyah, and Yoḥanan son of Qarĕaḥ, and Serayah son of Tanḥumeth the Netophathite, and Ya‛azanyahu the son of a Ma‛aḵathite, they and their men.
24And Geḏalyahu swore to them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Kasdim. Dwell in the land and serve the sovereign of Baḇel, and let it be well with you.”
25And in the seventh new moon it came to be that Yishma‛ĕl son of Nethanyah, son of Elishama, of the seed of the reign, came with ten men and struck Geḏalyahu that he died, and the Yehuḏim, and the Kasdim who were with him at Mitspah.
26And all the people rose up, small and great, and the commanders of the armies, and went to Mitsrayim, for they were afraid of the Kasdim.
27And it came to be in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Yehoyaḵin sovereign of Yehuḏah, in the twelfth new moon, on the twenty-seventh of the new moon, that Ewil-Meroḏaḵ sovereign of Baḇel, in the year that he began to reign, released Yehoyaḵin sovereign of Yehuḏah from prison,
28and spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the sovereigns who were with him in Baḇel,
29and changed his prison garments. And he ate bread continually before the sovereign all the days of his life.
30And as his allowance, a continual allowance was given to him from the sovereign, a quota for each day, all the days of his life.
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Melaḵim Bĕt (2 Kings) 25: TS2009
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2 Kings 25
25
Jerusalem Is Captured and Destroyed
(2 Chronicles 36.17-21; Jeremiah 52.3-30)
1 #
Jr 21.1-10; 34.1-5; Ez 24.2. In Zedekiah's ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month,#25.1 tenth month: Tebeth, the tenth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-December to mid-January. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia led his entire army to attack Jerusalem. The troops set up camp outside the city and built ramps up to the city walls.
2-3After a year and a half, all the food in Jerusalem was gone. Then on the ninth day of the fourth#25.2,3 fourth: This word is not in the Hebrew text here, but see the parallel in Jeremiah 52.5,6. month, 4#Ez 33.21. the Babylonian troops broke through the city wall.#25.4 wall: Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 b.c. That same night, Zedekiah and his soldiers tried to escape through the gate near the royal garden, even though they knew the enemy had the city surrounded. They headed toward the desert, 5but the Babylonian troops caught up with them near Jericho. They arrested Zedekiah, but his soldiers scattered in every direction.
6Zedekiah was taken to Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar put him on trial and found him guilty. 7#Ez 12.13. Zedekiah's sons were killed right in front of him. His eyes were then poked out, and he was put in chains and dragged off to Babylon.
8About a month later,#25.8 About a month later: Hebrew “On the seventh day of the fifth month.” in Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king, Nebuzaradan, who was his official in charge of the guards, arrived in Jerusalem. 9#1 K 9.8. Nebuzaradan burned down the Lord's temple, the king's palace, and every important building in the city, as well as all the houses. 10Then he ordered the Babylonian soldiers to break down the walls around Jerusalem. 11He led away as prisoners the people left in the city, including those who had become loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. 12Only some of the poorest people were left behind to work the vineyards and the fields.
13 #
1 K 7.15-26; 2 Ch 3.15-17;
1 K 7.23-26; 2 Ch 4.2-5. The Babylonian soldiers took the two bronze columns that stood in front of the temple, the ten movable bronze stands, and the large bronze bowl called the Sea. They broke them into pieces so they could take the bronze to Babylonia. 14#1 K 7.45; 2 Ch 4.16. They carried off the bronze things used for worship at the temple, including the pans for hot ashes, and the shovels, snuffers, and also the dishes for incense, 15as well as the fire pans and the sprinkling bowls. Nebuzaradan ordered his soldiers to take everything made of gold or silver.
16The pile of bronze from the columns, the stands, and the large bowl that Solomon had made for the temple was too large to be weighed. 17Each column had been eight meters tall with a bronze cap over one meter high. These caps were decorated with bronze designs—some of them like chains and others like pomegranates.#25.17 pomegranates: A bright red fruit that looks like an apple.
18Next, Nebuzaradan arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah his assistant, and three temple officials. 19Then he arrested one of the army commanders, the king's five personal advisors, and the officer in charge of gathering the troops for battle. He also found 60 more soldiers who were still in Jerusalem. 20Nebuzaradan led them all to Riblah 21near Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar had them killed.
Most of the people of Judah had been carried away as captives from their own country.
Gedaliah Is Made Ruler of the People Left in Judah
(Jeremiah 40.7-9; 41.1-3)
22 #
Jr 40.7-9. King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam#25.22 Ahikam: Hebrew “Ahikam son of Shaphan.” to rule the few people still living in Judah. 23When the army officers and troops heard that Gedaliah was their ruler, the officers met with him at Mizpah. These men were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth from Netophah, and Jaazaniah from Maacah.
24Gedaliah said to them, “Everything will be fine, I promise. We don't need to be afraid of the Babylonian rulers, if we live here peacefully and do what Nebuchadnezzar says.”
25 #
Jr 41.1. Ishmael#25.25 Ishmael: Hebrew “Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama.” was from the royal family. And about two months after Gedaliah began his rule,#25.25 about two months … his rule: Hebrew “in the seventh month.” Ishmael and ten other men went to Mizpah. They killed Gedaliah and his officials, including those from Judah and those from Babylonia. 26#Jr 43.5-7. After that, the army officers and all the people in Mizpah, whether important or not, were afraid of what the Babylonians might do. So they left Judah and went to Egypt.
Jehoiachin Is Set Free
(Jeremiah 52.31-34)
27Jehoiachin was a prisoner in Babylon for 37 years. Then Evil-Merodach became king of Babylonia,#25.27 Evil-Merodach … Babylonia: The son of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled Babylonia from 562 to 560 b.c. and in the first year of his rule, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month,#25.27 twelfth month: Adar, the twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-February to mid-March. he let Jehoiachin out of prison. 28Evil-Merodach was kind to Jehoiachin and honored him more than any of the other kings held prisoner there. 29Jehoiachin was even allowed to wear regular clothes, and he ate at the king's table every day. 30As long as Jehoiachin lived, he was paid a daily allowance to buy whatever he needed.
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