Zedekiah in the Bible
Meaning: the Lord is my justice; the justice of the Lord
Exact Match
when Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron, - and said - Thus, saith Yahweh, - With these, shalt thou push down the Syrians, until thou hast consumed them.
Then drew near Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, - and said - Where then passed the Spirit of Yahweh, from me, to speak unto thee?
And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.
For, because the anger of Jehovah was against Jerusalem and against Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign.
And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
the Chaldean army pursued him and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah’s entire army was scattered from him.
So they seized the king (Zedekiah) and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah [on the Orontes River], and sentence was passed on him.
and slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
And, the sons of Josiah, the firstborn, Johanan, the second, Jehoiakim, - the third, Zedekiah, the fourth, Shallum.
And, the sons of Jehoiakim, - Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son.
Then did Zedekiah son of Chenaanah make him horns of iron, - and said - Thus, saith Yahweh, With these, shalt thou push Syria, until they are consumed.
Then drew near Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, - and said, Which then is the way the spirit of Yahweh passed from me, to speak with thee?
Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance in the name of God. Instead, he stiffened his resolve, and hardened his heart, and would not return to the LORD God of Israel.
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.).
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. Zedekiah sent them to Jeremiah to ask,
Jeremiah answered them, "Tell Zedekiah
Then I, the Lord, promise that I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity.'
"I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: 'King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah early in the reign of Josiah's son, King Zedekiah of Judah.
Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send them through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah.
I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, "Submit to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.
The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah in the Lord's temple in the presence of the priests and all the people.
He sent it with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah. King Zedekiah of Judah had sent these men to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter said:
"The Lord God of Israel who rules over all also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. 'I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.
And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they put a curse on anyone. They will say, "May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire!"
In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
For King Zedekiah had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, "Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, 'I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it.
King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face.
Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. I, the Lord, affirm it! Even if you continue to fight against the Babylonians, you cannot win.'"
The Lord God of Israel told Jeremiah to go and give King Zedekiah of Judah a message. He told Jeremiah to tell him, "The Lord says, 'I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will burn it down.
However, listen to what I, the Lord, promise you, King Zedekiah of Judah. I, the Lord, promise that you will not die in battle or be executed.
The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to grant their slaves their freedom.
I will also hand King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials over to their enemies who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the army of the king of Babylon, even though they have temporarily withdrawn from attacking you.
He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king's palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama the royal secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were seated there.
Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim as king. He was elevated to the throne of the land of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah. He told them to say, "Please pray to the Lord our God on our behalf."
Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, "Is there any message from the Lord?" Jeremiah answered, "Yes, there is." Then he announced, "You will be handed over to the king of Babylon."
Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, "What crime have I committed against you, or the officials who serve you, or the people of Judah? What have I done to make you people throw me into prison?
Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread be given to him every day from the baker's street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept in the courtyard of the guardhouse.
King Zedekiah said to them, "Very well, you can do what you want with him. For I cannot do anything to stop you."
Some time later Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah brought to him at the third entrance of the Lord's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, "I would like to ask you a question. Do not hide anything from me when you answer."
Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. If I give you advice, you will not listen to me."
So King Zedekiah made a secret promise to Jeremiah and sealed it with an oath. He promised, "As surely as the Lord lives who has given us life and breath, I promise you this: I will not kill you or hand you over to those men who want to kill you."
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "The Lord, the God who rules over all, the God of Israel, says, 'You must surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon. If you do, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down. Indeed, you and your whole family will be spared.
Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Babylonians. The Babylonians might hand me over to them and they will torture me."
‘Then behold, all the women who are left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon and those women will say [to you, King Zedekiah],
Have prevailed against your better judgment and have overpowered and deceived you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire [of trouble],
They turned back.”
Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about the conversation we have had. If you do, you will die.
Then all the princes (court officials) came to Jeremiah and asked him [just what King Zedekiah had anticipated they would ask], and he reported to them in accordance with all that the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, since the conversation [with the king] had not been overheard.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. The siege began in the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah.
It lasted until the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year. On that day they broke through the city walls.
When King Zedekiah of Judah and all his soldiers saw them, they tried to escape. They departed from the city during the night. They took a path through the king's garden and passed out through the gate between the two walls. Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.
But the Babylonian army chased after them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho and captured him. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon at Riblah in the territory of Hamath and Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him there.
There at Riblah the king of Babylon had Zedekiah's sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon also had all the nobles of Judah put to death.
Then he had Zedekiah's eyes put out and had him bound in chains to be led off to Babylon.
But in the seventh month Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama who was a member of the royal family and had been one of Zedekiah's chief officers, came with ten of his men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating a meal together with him there at Mizpah,
I, the Lord, promise that I will hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.'"
Early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.
This is the order Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to King Zedekiah of Judah in Babylon during the fourth year of his reign. (Seraiah was a quartermaster.)
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.
Zedekiah had done evil in the LORD's sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.
What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord's anger when he drove them out of his sight. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year that Zedekiah ruled over Judah.
The city remained under siege until Zedekiah's eleventh year.
But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him.
The king of Babylon had Zedekiah's sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah.
He had Zedekiah's eyes put out and had him bound in chains. Then the king of Babylon had him led off to Babylon and he was imprisoned there until the day he died.
He also took some of the seed of the land (
“There was [also] another great
And he took a member of the royal family [the king’s uncle, Zedekiah] and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took the important leaders of the land,
But Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant [with Babylon] and [still] escape?
As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely in the country of the king (Nebuchadnezzar) who made Zedekiah [the vassal] king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in Babylon Zedekiah shall die.
Now Zedekiah dishonored the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’”
Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “As I live, I will bring down on his own head My oath [made on My behalf by Nebuchadnezzar] which Zedekiah dishonored and My covenant which he broke.
‘And the fire [of Zedekiah’s rebellion] has gone out from its branch;
It has consumed the vine’s shoots and fruit,
So that it has in it no [longer a] strong branch
As a scepter to rule.’”
This is a dirge (funeral poem to be sung), and has become a dirge.
And you, O dishonored and wicked one [Zedekiah], the prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of final punishment is here,’
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Ambassadors » Zedekiah » to egypt
Impenitence » Instances of » Zedekiah
Israel » Josiah » Son » Zedekiah
I am going to live in Mizpah and represent you when the Babylonians come to us. Gather grapes, summer fruit, and olive oil, and put them in storage jars. Live in the cities you have taken over. All the Jews who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and in all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few survivors in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to govern them. So all the Jews returned from all the places where they had been scattered. They came to Judah and to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They gathered a large harvest of grapes and summer fruit.
Israel » Josiah » Son » Zedekiah » Made king
This happened in Jerusalem and Judah because of Jehovah's anger. It continued until he had sent them all away from before him. Then Zedekiah took up arms and rebelled against the king of Babylon.
All the officials, the priests, and the people became increasingly unfaithful and followed all the disgusting practices of the nations. Although Jehovah made the Temple in Jerusalem holy, they made the Temple unclean. Jehovah the God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his prophets because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place. They mocked God's messengers. They despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until Jehovah became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them. So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He did not spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him. He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God's temple, the treasures from Jehovah's Temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. He burned down the Temple and the city, with all its palaces and its wealth, and broke down the city wall. The survivors were taken to Babylonia as prisoners. They served as slaves of the king and his sons, until Persia became a powerful nation. This fulfilled the word of Jehovah that was spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete.
Israel » Josiah » Son » Zedekiah » Other circumstances of his reign
There were also male (cult) prostitutes in the temples of idols throughout the land. The people of Judah practiced all the disgusting practices done by the nations that Jehovah forced out of the Israelites' way. King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign. He took the treasures from Jehovah's Temple and the royal palace. He took them all. He took all the gold shields Solomon had made. King Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields and entrusted them to the officers responsible for guarding the palace gates. The guards carried the shields every time the king went to the Temple and then returned them to the guardroom. The rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and everything he did are recorded in the book of the History of the Kings of Judah. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. Rehoboam went to rest with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. And Abijam his son became king in his place.
King » Influenced by popular opinion » Zedekiah
Then all the officials came and questioned me. I told them exactly what the king had told me to say. There was nothing else they could do, because no one had overheard the conversation.
Kings » Who reigned over judah » Zedekiah
All the officials, the priests, and the people became increasingly unfaithful and followed all the disgusting practices of the nations. Although Jehovah made the Temple in Jerusalem holy, they made the Temple unclean. Jehovah the God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his prophets because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place. They mocked God's messengers. They despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until Jehovah became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them. So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He did not spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him. He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God's temple, the treasures from Jehovah's Temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. He burned down the Temple and the city, with all its palaces and its wealth, and broke down the city wall. The survivors were taken to Babylonia as prisoners. They served as slaves of the king and his sons, until Persia became a powerful nation. This fulfilled the word of Jehovah that was spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete.
This happened in Jerusalem and Judah because of Jehovah's anger. It continued until he had sent them all away from before him. Then Zedekiah took up arms and rebelled against the king of Babylon. Now in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with all his army. He took his position and laid siege to it. They built earthworks all round the town. They surrounded the town and laid siege till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the fourth month, the store of food in the town was almost gone. There was no food for the people of the land. An opening was made in the wall of the town. All the men of war went in flight by night through the doorway between the two walls by the king's garden. The Chaldaeans were stationed around the town: and the king went by the way toward the plain of Arabah. But the Chaldaean army went after the king. They overtook him in the lowlands of Jericho. All his army went in flight from him in every direction. They made the king a prisoner and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah to be judged. They put the sons of Zedekiah to death before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, chained him with iron bands and took him to Babylon.
Mocking » Zedekiah » Mocks » Micaiah
Oath » Zedekiah » Violates
Oath » Zedekiah » Swears » Jeremiah
Perjury » Instances of » Zedekiah
Persecution » Spirit of--exemplified » Zedekiah
Rebellion against God » Exemplified » Zedekiah
Self-will » Exemplified » Zedekiah
Self-will and stubbornness » Exemplified » Zedekiah
Swearing falsely » Exemplified » Zedekiah
As I am alive,' says the Lord Jehovah, 'this king will die in Babylon because he broke his oath and the treaty with the one who put him on the throne the king of Babylon. Even the powerful army of the king of Egypt will not be able to help him fight when the Babylonians build earthworks and dig trenches in order to kill many people. He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape.' The Lord Jehovah says: As surely as I am the living God, I will punish him for breaking the treaty that he swore in my name to keep.
Zedekiah » Or mattaniah, king of judah, son of josiah
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » The allegiance denounced » By jeremiah
Even if you would defeat the entire Babylonian army so that they had only a few badly wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn down this city!'
I did not send them, declares Jehovah. They prophesy lies in my name. So I will scatter you, and you and the prophets will die.' I also spoke this message to the priests and all the people. This is what Jehovah said to me: Do not listen to the prophets who tell you that the utensils of Jehovah's Temple will be brought back from Babylon soon. They prophesy lies to you. Do not listen to them. Instead, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be turned into rubble? If they are prophets and Jehovah is speaking to them, they should beg Jehovah of Hosts not to allow the utensils that are left in Jehovah's Temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem to be taken away to Babylon. Jehovah of Host reports concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. Thus says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the House of Jehovah and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day I visit them, declares Jehovah. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'
Then I told Zedekiah that Jehovah, the God of Israel said: If you surrender to the king of Babylon's officers, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned down. Both you and your family will be spared. But if you do not surrender, then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians. They will burn it down, and you will not escape from them. The king answered: I am afraid of our own people who have deserted to the Babylonians. I may be handed over to them and tortured. I said: You will not be handed over to them. I beg you to obey Jehovah's message. Then all will go well with you, and your life will be spared. Jehovah has shown me in a vision what will happen if you refuse to surrender. In it I saw all the women left in Judah's royal palace being led out to the king of Babylonia's officers. Listen to what they were saying as they went. The king's best friends misled him, they overruled him. And now that his feet have sunk in the mud, his friends have left him. Then I added: All your women and children will be taken out to the Babylonians. You will not escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylonia. And this city will be burned to the ground. Zedekiah replied: Do not let anyone know about this conversation, and your life will not be in danger. If the officials hear that I have talked with you, they will come and ask you what we said. They will promise not to put you to death if you tell them everything. Just tell them you were begging me not to send you back to prison to die there. Then all the officials came and questioned me. I told them exactly what the king had told me to say. There was nothing else they could do, because no one had overheard the conversation. I was kept in the palace courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » Nebuchadnezzar destroys the city and temple, takes him captive to babylon, blinds his eyes, kills his sons
An opening was made in the wall of the town. All the men of war went in flight by night through the doorway between the two walls by the king's garden. The Chaldaeans were stationed around the town: and the king went by the way toward the plain of Arabah. But the Chaldaean army went after the king. They overtook him in the lowlands of Jericho. All his army went in flight from him in every direction. They made the king a prisoner and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah to be judged. They put the sons of Zedekiah to death before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, chained him with iron bands and took him to Babylon. It was the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He had the Temple of Jehovah, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned with fire. The army of the Chaldaeans under the command of the captain of the army broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
The survivors were taken to Babylonia as prisoners. They served as slaves of the king and his sons, until Persia became a powerful nation.
When King Zedekiah and all his soldiers saw what was happening, they tried to escape from the city during the night. They left by way of the royal garden, went through the gateway connecting the two walls, and escaped in the direction of the Jordan Valley. But the Babylonian army pursued them and captured Zedekiah in the plains near Jericho. Then they took him to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in the city of Riblah in the territory of Hamath, and there Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him. At Riblah he put Zedekiah's sons to death while Zedekiah was looking on, and he also had the officials of Judah executed. After that, he had Zedekiah's eyes put out and had him placed in chains to be taken to Babylon. The Babylonians burned down the royal palace and the houses of the people and tore down the walls of Jerusalem. Finally Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, took away as prisoners to Babylon the people who were left in the city, together with those who had deserted to him. He left in the land of Judah some of the poorest people, who owned no property, and he gave them vineyards and fields.
The enemy broke through the city walls, and all Judah's soldiers fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls beside the king's garden. While the Babylonians were attacking the city from all sides, they took the road to the plain of Jericho. The Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plain of Jericho. His entire army had deserted him. The Babylonians captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in Hamath. The king of Babylon passed sentence on him there. The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's sons as Zedekiah watched. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze shackles. The king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in a prison, where he stayed until he died. On the tenth day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned down Jehovah's Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. Every important building was burned down. The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and on the farms. The Babylonians broke apart the copper pillars of Jehovah's Temple, the stands, and the copper pool in Jehovah's Temple. They shipped all the copper to Babylon. they took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, dishes, and all the copper utensils used in the Temple service. The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver. The copper from the two pillars, the pool, and the twelve copper bulls under the stands that King Solomon had made for Jehovah's Temple could not be weighed. One pillar was twenty-seven feet high and eighteen feet in circumference. It was three inches thick and hollow. The crown that was on it was seven and one half feet high with filigree and pomegranates around it. They were all made of copper. The second pillar was the same. It also had pomegranates. There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides. The total number of pomegranates on the surrounding filigree was one hundred. The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three doorkeepers. From the city he also took an army commander, seven men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and sixty common people whom he found in the city. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives as they left their land. These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar took captive: In his seventh year as king, he took three thousand and twenty-three Jews. In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took eight hundred and thirty-two people from Jerusalem. In Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year as king, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took away seven hundred and forty-five Jews. In all, four thousand six hundred people were taken away.
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » The evil reign of
Zedekiah » A false prophet
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » Throws off his allegiance to nebuchadnezzar
But he rebelled against him! He sent his envoys to Egypt that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape?' As I am alive,' says the Lord Jehovah, 'this king will die in Babylon because he broke his oath and the treaty with the one who put him on the throne the king of Babylon. Even the powerful army of the king of Egypt will not be able to help him fight when the Babylonians build earthworks and dig trenches in order to kill many people. He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape.' The Lord Jehovah says: As surely as I am the living God, I will punish him for breaking the treaty that he swore in my name to keep. I will spread out a hunter's net and catch him in it. I will take him to Babylon and punish him there, because he was unfaithful to me. His best troops will be killed in battle, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. I Jehovah have spoken.'
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » Imprisons jeremiah on account of his denunciations
Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah: What crime have I committed against you, your administrators, or these people? Why have you put me in prison? Where are the prophets who told you that the king of Babylon would not attack you and this land? Your Majesty, please listen, and accept my plea for mercy. Do not return me to the scribe Jonathan's house, or I will die there. King Zedekiah gave the command to have Jeremiah put in the courtyard of the prison. He gave him a loaf of bread every day from the bakers' street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah stayed in the courtyard of the prison.
So Ebedmelech went there and said to the king: Your Majesty, what these men have done is wrong. They have put Jeremiah in the well, where he is sure to die of starvation, since there is no more food in the city. Then the king ordered Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, Take with you three men and to pull him out of the well before he dies. So Ebedmelech went with the men to the palace storeroom and got some worn-out clothing which he let down to me by ropes. He told me to put the rags under my arms, so that the ropes would not hurt me. I did this. So they pulled me up out of the well. After that I was kept in the courtyard. On another occasion King Zedekiah had me brought to him at the third entrance to the temple. He said: I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the whole truth. I answered: If I tell you the truth, you will put me to death, and if I give you advice, you will not pay any attention. So King Zedekiah promised me in secret: I swear by the living God, the God who gave us life, that I will not put you to death or hand you over to the men who want to kill you. Then I told Zedekiah that Jehovah, the God of Israel said: If you surrender to the king of Babylon's officers, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned down. Both you and your family will be spared. But if you do not surrender, then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians. They will burn it down, and you will not escape from them. The king answered: I am afraid of our own people who have deserted to the Babylonians. I may be handed over to them and tortured. I said: You will not be handed over to them. I beg you to obey Jehovah's message. Then all will go well with you, and your life will be spared. Jehovah has shown me in a vision what will happen if you refuse to surrender. In it I saw all the women left in Judah's royal palace being led out to the king of Babylonia's officers. Listen to what they were saying as they went. The king's best friends misled him, they overruled him. And now that his feet have sunk in the mud, his friends have left him. Then I added: All your women and children will be taken out to the Babylonians. You will not escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylonia. And this city will be burned to the ground. Zedekiah replied: Do not let anyone know about this conversation, and your life will not be in danger. If the officials hear that I have talked with you, they will come and ask you what we said. They will promise not to put you to death if you tell them everything. Just tell them you were begging me not to send you back to prison to die there. Then all the officials came and questioned me. I told them exactly what the king had told me to say. There was nothing else they could do, because no one had overheard the conversation. I was kept in the palace courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » Seeks the intercession of jeremiah with God on his behalf
Then I told Zedekiah that Jehovah, the God of Israel said: If you surrender to the king of Babylon's officers, your life will be spared, and this city will not be burned down. Both you and your family will be spared. But if you do not surrender, then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians. They will burn it down, and you will not escape from them. The king answered: I am afraid of our own people who have deserted to the Babylonians. I may be handed over to them and tortured. I said: You will not be handed over to them. I beg you to obey Jehovah's message. Then all will go well with you, and your life will be spared. Jehovah has shown me in a vision what will happen if you refuse to surrender. In it I saw all the women left in Judah's royal palace being led out to the king of Babylonia's officers. Listen to what they were saying as they went. The king's best friends misled him, they overruled him. And now that his feet have sunk in the mud, his friends have left him. Then I added: All your women and children will be taken out to the Babylonians. You will not escape from them. You will be taken prisoner by the king of Babylonia. And this city will be burned to the ground. Zedekiah replied: Do not let anyone know about this conversation, and your life will not be in danger. If the officials hear that I have talked with you, they will come and ask you what we said. They will promise not to put you to death if you tell them everything. Just tell them you were begging me not to send you back to prison to die there. Then all the officials came and questioned me. I told them exactly what the king had told me to say. There was nothing else they could do, because no one had overheard the conversation.
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » The allegiance denounced » By ezekiel
But he rebelled against him! He sent his envoys to Egypt that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape?' As I am alive,' says the Lord Jehovah, 'this king will die in Babylon because he broke his oath and the treaty with the one who put him on the throne the king of Babylon. Even the powerful army of the king of Egypt will not be able to help him fight when the Babylonians build earthworks and dig trenches in order to kill many people. He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape.' The Lord Jehovah says: As surely as I am the living God, I will punish him for breaking the treaty that he swore in my name to keep. I will spread out a hunter's net and catch him in it. I will take him to Babylon and punish him there, because he was unfaithful to me. His best troops will be killed in battle, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. I Jehovah have spoken.'
I will also spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans. Yet he will not see it, though he will die there. I will scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops. I will draw out a sword after them. So they will know that I am Jehovah when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries. I will spare a few of them from the sword, the famine and the pestilence that they may tell all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am Jehovah.
Zedekiah » False prophet » Prophesies to ahab that he will be victorious over the syrians, instead of being defeated
Zedekiah » False prophet » Strikes micaiah, the true prophet
Zedekiah » Made king of judah by nebuchadnezzar » Forms an alliance with the king of egypt
that the kingdom might be in subjection, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant that it might continue. But he rebelled against him! He sent his envoys to Egypt that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape?' As I am alive,' says the Lord Jehovah, 'this king will die in Babylon because he broke his oath and the treaty with the one who put him on the throne the king of Babylon. Even the powerful army of the king of Egypt will not be able to help him fight when the Babylonians build earthworks and dig trenches in order to kill many people. He broke his oath and the treaty he had made. He did all these things, and now he will not escape.'