'Captivity' in the Bible

“Woe (judgment is coming) to you, Moab!You are destroyed, O people of [the god] Chemosh!Moab has given his sons as fugitives [that is, survivors of battle],And his daughters into captivityTo Sihon king of the Amorites.

You will have sons and daughters, but they will not be yours [for long], because they will go into captivity.

The [tribe of] the sons of Dan set up the image [of silver-plated wood] for themselves; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity and exile from the land.

Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison;

For a great number fell mortally wounded, because the battle was of God. And these Israelites settled in their territory until the exile [by Assyria more than five centuries later].

and Jehozadak went into captivity when the Lord sent [the people of] Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, and pray facing their land which You have given to their fathers and toward the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your Name;

For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity because of this.

In any place where a survivor (Jewish exile) may live, let the men (Gentiles) of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

All the articles of gold and of silver totaled 5,400. All these Sheshbazzar [the governor] brought up with the exiles who went from Babylon up to Jerusalem.

Now these are the people of the province [of Judah] who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city.

In the second year of their coming to God’s house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began [the work], with the rest of their brothers—the priests and Levites and all who came to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.

Now when [the Samaritans] the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles from the captivity were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel,

Also the [former] exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been exceedingly guilty; and on account of our wrongdoings we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to complete shame, as it is today.

[And Nehemiah prayed] Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their taunts on their own heads. Give them up as prey in a land of captivity.

These are the sons (descendants, people) of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported [to Babylon]; they returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his city,

The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

And gave up His strength and power (the ark of the covenant) into captivity,And His glory into the hand of the enemy (the Philistines).

Restore our captivity, O Lord,As the stream-beds in the South (the Negev) [are restored by torrents of rain].

Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge [of God];And their honorable men are famished,And their common people are parched with thirst.

So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, ‘Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?’”

There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine;All jubilation is darkened,The joy of the earth is banished.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together;They could not rescue the burden [of their own idols],But have themselves gone into captivity.

But Zion (Jerusalem in captivity) said, “The Lord has abandoned me,And my Lord has forgotten me.”

“The children of your bereavement [those born in captivity] will yet say in your ears,‘The place is too cramped for me’;Make room for me that I may live here.

Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea,The waters of the great deep,Who made the depths of the sea a pathwayFor the redeemed to cross over?

The Lord has bared His holy arm (His infinite power)Before the eyes of all the nations [revealing Himself as the One by Whom Israel is redeemed from captivity],That all the ends of the earth may seeThe salvation of our God.

It came [to Jeremiah] also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, [continuing] until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, [and continuing] until the exile of [the people of] Jerusalem in the fifth month (July-August, 586 b.c.).

I looked at the earth [in my vision], and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] formless and void;And to the heavens, and they had no light.

And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:“Those [destined] for death, to death;Those for the sword, to the sword;Those for famine, to famine;Those for captivity, to captivity.”’

And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; you will go to Babylon, and there you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have falsely prophesied.’”

Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him;But weep bitterly for the one who goes away [into exile],For he will never returnAnd see his native country [again].

“The wind [of adversity] will carry away all your shepherds (rulers, statesmen),And your lovers (allies) will go into exile.Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated and disgracedBecause of all your wickedness.

I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers (fellow people of Judah) who did not go with you into captivity—

Because of them, this curse shall be taken up and used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,

For he has sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity [of yours] will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’”’”

“Send [this message] to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,”

For behold (hear this), the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will return them to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they will take possession of it.’”

‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ says the Lord,‘Nor be dismayed or downcast, O Israel;For behold, I will save you from a distant land [of exile]And your descendants from the land of their captivity.Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,And no one will make him afraid.

‘Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity.And they who plunder you will become plunder,And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.

“Thus says the Lord,‘Behold (hear this), I will restore the fortunes of the tents of JacobAnd have mercy on his dwelling places;The city will be rebuilt on its [old, mound-like] ruin,And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first.

the [sound of the] voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the [song-filled] voice of those who say,“Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts,For the Lord is good;For His [steadfast] lovingkindness (mercy) endures forever”;and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

then I would [also] reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy on them.’”

He will also come and strike the land of Egypt, giving those who are [destined] for death, to death, and those who are [destined] for captivity, to captivity, and those who are [destined] for the sword, to the sword.

“For because you have trusted in your works [your hand-made idols] and in your treasures [instead of in God],Even you yourself will be captured;And Chemosh [your disgusting god cannot rescue you, but] will go away into exile [along with the fugitives]Together with his priests and his princes.

“Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O Moab!The people of [the pagan god called] Chemosh have perished;For your sons have been taken away captiveAnd your daughters into captivity.

“Yet I will return the captives and restore the fortunes of MoabIn the latter days,” says the Lord.Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

Concerning the sons (descendants) of Ammon.Thus says the Lord:“Does Israel have no sons [to reclaim Gad from the Ammonites]?Has he no heir?Why then has Malcam taken possession of GadAnd [why do] his people live in the cities [of Gad]?

“But afterward I will reverseThe captivity of the children of Ammon and restore their fortunes,”Says the Lord.

‘But it will be in the last days (the end of days)That I will reverse the captivity and restore the fortunes of Elam,’”Says the Lord.

Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin [also called Coniah and Jeconiah] king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.

Her adversaries have become her masters,Her enemies prosper;For the Lord has caused her griefBecause of the multitude of her transgressions;Her young children have goneInto captivity before the enemy.

“The Lord is righteous and just;For I have rebelled against His commandment (His word).Hear now, all you peoples,And look at my pain;My virgins and my young menHave gone into captivity.

Your prophets have seen (imagined) for youFalse and foolish visions;And they have not exposed your wickednessTo restore you from captivity [by teaching you to repent],But they have seen (imagined) and declared to you false and misleading oracles.

Now it came about [when I was] in my thirtieth year [of life], on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles beside the River Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

(On the fifth of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,

Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the River Chebar at Tel Abib. I sat there for seven days [in the place] where they were living, overwhelmed with astonishment [by my vision and the work before me].

Say, ‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile, into captivity.’

“Nevertheless, I will restore them [again] from their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters (outlying cities), the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them [I will restore you from] your own captivity [in the day of the Lord God],

In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month [after the beginning of the exile in Babylon], certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord and sat down before me.

Again in the ninth year [of King Jehoiachin’s captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the tenth [day] of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

And say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God, for thus says the Lord God, “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate and against the house of Judah when they went into exile,

In the tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

I will reverse the fortunes of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom.

“The young men of On (Aven) and of Pi-besethWill fall by the sword,And the women [and children] will go into captivity.

“In Tehaphnehes the day will be darkWhen I break the yoke bars and dominion of Egypt there.Then the pride of her power will come to an end;A cloud [of disasters] will cover her,And her daughters will go into captivity.

In the twelfth year of our exile [in Babylon], on the fifth of the tenth month, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city has been captured.”

And the nations will know [without any doubt] that the house of Israel went into exile for their great sin, because they acted treacherously against Me; and I hid My face (favor, blessing) from them. So I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell [into captivity or were killed] by [the power of] the sword.

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob (Israel) and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine].

Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them to their own land. I will leave none of them there [among the nations] any longer.

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile [in Babylon], in the beginning of the year, on the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city [of Jerusalem] was taken, on that [very] same day the hand of the Lord was upon me and He brought me there.

Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the sons of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

They who are wise and have spiritual insight among the people will instruct many and help them understand; yet for many days some [of them and their followers] will fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder.

The wind [of God’s relentless wrath] has wrapped up Israel in its wings,And [in captivity] they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices [to calves, to sun, to moon, to stars, and to pagan gods].

Also, O Judah, there is a harvest [of divine judgment] appointed for you,When I restore the fortunes of My people [who have been slaves to the misery of sin].

“For behold, in those [climactic] days and at that time,When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

“But do not resort to Bethel [to worship the golden calf]Nor enter [idolatrous] Gilgal,Nor cross over to Beersheba [and its idols];For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile,And Bethel will come to nothing.

“And though they go into captivity before their enemies,From there I shall command the sword to kill them,And I will set My eyes against them for evil (judgment, punishment) and not for good [that is, not for correction leading to restoration].”

Yet she became an exile;She went into captivity.Her young children were dashed to piecesAt the head of every street;They cast lots for her honorable men,And all her great men were bound with chains.

The seacoast will belongTo the remnant of the house of Judah;They will pasture [their flocks] on it.In the [deserted] houses of Ashkelon [in Philistia] they [of Judah] will lie down and rest in the evening,For the Lord their God will care for them;And restore their fortune [permitting them to occupy the land].

“I will gather those [Israelites in captivity] who grieve about the appointed feasts—They came from you, [O Zion];On whom the reproach [of exile] is a burden.

“At that time I will bring you in,Yes, at the time I gather you together;For I will make you a name and a praiseAmong all the peoples of the earthWhen I restore your fortunes [and freedom] before your eyes,”Says the Lord.

In the second year of Darius the king [of Persia], on the first day of the sixth month (Aug 29, 520 b.c.), the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people [who had returned from exile], listened carefully and obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, since the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [reverently] feared the Lord.

Then the Angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You withhold mercy and compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which You have had indignation and anger these seventy years [of the Babylonian captivity]?”

Therefore it says,“When He ascended on high,He led captivity captive,And He bestowed gifts on men.”

If anyone is destined for captivity, he will go into captivity; if anyone kills with a sword, he must be killed with a sword. Here is [the call for] the patient endurance and the faithfulness of the saints [which is seen in the response of God’s people to difficult times].