Jeremiah 39:1-14 - The Fall Of Jerusalem

¹ Now when Jerusalem was captured in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; ² in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was breached. ³ Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴ When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.

⁶ Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slew all the nobles of Judah. ⁷ He then blinded Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in fetters of bronze to bring him to Babylon. ⁸ The Chaldeans also burned with fire the king’s palace and the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ As for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had gone over to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard carried them into exile in Babylon. ¹⁰ But some of the poorest people who had nothing, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

¹¹ Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, ¹² “Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.” ¹³ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the Rab-saris, and Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; ¹⁴ they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord like all that Jehoiakim had done. ³ For through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

⁴ Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. ⁵ So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶ On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled and went forth from the city at 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 the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁹ Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.

¹⁰ The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

¹² Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. ¹⁴ So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

¹⁷ Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the stands and the bronze sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. ¹⁹ The captain of the guard also took away the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver.

²⁰ The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ²¹ As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. ²² Now a capital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. ²³ There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around.

²⁴ Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple. ²⁵ He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven of the king’s advisers 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 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led away into exile from its land.

²⁸ These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews; ²⁹ in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.