1
And it was, in the ninth year of◦ his reign, in the tenth month, on◦ the tenth of◦ the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he◦ and all his host, against Jerusalem, and encamped against her; and they built ramps against her all around.
2
And the city came under▫ siege, until the eleventh◦ year of◦ King Zedekiah◦.
3
On◦ the ninth day of◦ the month the famine strengthened in the city, and there was no◦ bread for the people of the land.
4
And the city was broken··open◦ and all the men◦ of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two··walls that were by◦ the garden of the king. And the Chaldeans were against the city all around; and he went by the way of the desert.
5
And the host of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and they overtook him in the desert of Jericho; and all his host was scattered from him.
6
And they caught the king, and brought· him ·up unto▵ the king of Babylon in Riblah, and they spoke with◦ him in judgment.
7
And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah◦ before▫ his eyes, and blinded the eyes of Zedekiah◦, and bound him in bronze fetters, and brought him to Babylon.
8
And in the fifth month, in the seventh of◦ the month—this◦ year was the nineteenth year of◦ King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon—came· Nebuzaradan the major of the guards◦, a servant of the king of Babylon, ·into Jerusalem.
9
And he burnt··up the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the great houses, he burnt··up with fire.
10
And all the host of the Chaldeans that were with the major of the guards◦ tore··down the walls all around Jerusalem.
11
And the remainder of the people who were left in the city, and those who fell, who fell upon the king of Babylon*, and the remainder of the crowd, did Nebuzaradan the major of the guards◦ exile.
12
And the poor of the land the major of the guards◦ left for vinedressers and for farm··workers◦.
13
And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the bronze sea that were in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke up, and carried the bronze of them to▫ Babylon.
14
And the pots and the shovels, and the snippers and the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze, with which they ministered, they took.
15
And the censers and the basins, that were of gold in gold, and that were of silver in silver, the major of the guards◦ took.
16
The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, there was no◦ weight for the bronze of all these vessels.
17
Eighteen cubits was the rise of one pillar, and the capital on it was of bronze; and the rise of the capital was three cubits, and the netting and pomegranates upon the capital all around were all of bronze; and it was like◦ these for the second pillar on the netting.
18
And the major of the guards◦ took Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah◦ the second priest, and the three keepers of the doorway.
19
And from the city he took one chamberlain, whom he◦ appointed over the men◦ of war; and five men◦ from those who saw the face of the king, who were found in the city; and the scribe, a prince of the army, who made· the people of the land ·an··army; and sixty men◦ from the people of the land, that were found in the city.
20
And Nebuzaradan the major of the guards◦ took them, and made them go to the king of Babylon to▫ Riblah.
21
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put· them ·to··death at Riblah, in the land of Ḥamath. And Judah was exiled from his ground.
22
And as to the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, over them he appointed Gedaliah◦, the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan.
23
And all the commanders◦ of the host, they◦ and their men◦, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah◦, and they came to▵ Gedaliah◦ to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareaḥ, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah◦ the son of the Maachathite, they◦ and their men◦.
24
And Gedaliah◦ promised to them and to their men◦, and said to them, Fear not, because of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell* in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be··well for you.
25
And it was, in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed of the kingdom, came, and ten men◦ with◦ him, and smote Gedaliah◦, and he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with◦ him in Mizpah.
26
And all the people, from the small even··to the great, and the commanders◦ of the hosts, arose and came to Egypt, for they feared on··account··of◦ the Chaldeans.
27
And it was, in the thirty and seventh year of◦ the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty and seventh of◦ the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became··king, did lift··up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out··of the house of prison.
28
And he spoke well with◦ him, and put◦ his throne above the throne of the kings that were with◦ him in Babylon.
29
And he changed◦ his prison garments, and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
30
And for his allowance there was a continual allowance given him from the king, the portion of a day in its day, all the days of his life.
