2 Kings 25
New American Standard Bible
Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
25 (A)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, (B)Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and (C)built a siege wall all around [a]it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month (D)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 (E)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside (F)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And [b]they went by way of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then (G)they captured the king and (H)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (I)Riblah, and he [c]passed sentence on him. 7 And (J)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then (K)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
Jerusalem Burned and Plundered
8 (L)Now on the seventh day of the (M)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And (N)he burned the house of the Lord, (O)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards (P)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile (Q)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the [d]people. 12 But the captain of the bodyguards left some of (R)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
13 (S)Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and (T)the bronze [e]Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the [f]bronze to Babylon. 14 (U)And they took away the pots, the shovels, the [g]shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils [h]which were used in temple service. 15 The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—[i](V)the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. 17 (W)The height of the one pillar was [j]eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was [k]three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.
18 Then the captain of the bodyguards took (X)Seraiah the chief priest and (Y)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [l]doorkeepers. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (Z)five [m]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [n]scribe of the captain 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. 20 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at (AA)Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (AB)So Judah went into exile from its land.
Gedaliah Made Governor
22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed (AC)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 (AD)When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at (AE)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”
25 (AF)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal [o]family, came [p]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 (AG)Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 (AH)Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of (AI)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, [q](AJ)released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he (AK)spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So [r]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and [s](AL)had his meals in [t]the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30 and as his (AM)allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 25:1 Lit against it
- 2 Kings 25:4 As in some mss and ancient versions; MT he
- 2 Kings 25:6 Lit spoke judgment with him
- 2 Kings 25:11 Lit multitude
- 2 Kings 25:13 I.e., a very large basin
- 2 Kings 25:13 Lit bronze of them
- 2 Kings 25:14 I.e., wick trimmers
- 2 Kings 25:14 Lit with which they served
- 2 Kings 25:16 Lit there was no weight for the bronze of
- 2 Kings 25:17 About 27 ft. or 8 m
- 2 Kings 25:17 About 4.5 ft. or 1.3 m
- 2 Kings 25:18 Lit keepers of the threshold
- 2 Kings 25:19 Lit men of those seeing the king’s face
- 2 Kings 25:19 Or scribe, a captain
- 2 Kings 25:25 Lit seed
- 2 Kings 25:25 Lit and ten men with him
- 2 Kings 25:27 Lit raised the head of
- 2 Kings 25:29 Lit he
- 2 Kings 25:29 Lit ate bread
- 2 Kings 25:29 Lit his presence
2 Kings 25
King James Version
25 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
19 And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
20 And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:
21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
2 Kings 25
Living Bible
25 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon mobilized his entire army and laid siege to Jerusalem, arriving on March 25 of the ninth year of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. 2 The siege continued into the eleventh year of his reign.
3 The last food in the city was eaten on July 24, 4-5 and that night the king and his troops made a hole in the inner wall and fled out toward the Arabah through a gate that lay between the double walls near the king’s garden. The Babylonian troops surrounding the city took out after him and captured him in the plains of Jericho, and all his men scattered. 6 He was taken to Riblah, where he was tried and sentenced before the king of Babylon. 7 He was forced to watch as his sons were killed before his eyes; then his eyes were put out, and he was bound with chains and taken away to Babylon.
8 General Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal bodyguard, arrived at Jerusalem from Babylon on July 22 of the nineteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. 9 He burned down the Temple, the palace, and all the other houses of any worth. 10 He then supervised the Babylonian army in tearing down the walls of Jerusalem. 11 The remainder of the people in the city and the Jewish deserters who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon were all taken as exiles to Babylon. 12 But the poorest of the people were left to farm the land.
13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars of the Temple and the bronze tank and its bases and carried all the bronze to Babylon. 14-15 They also took all the pots, shovels, firepans, snuffers, spoons, and other bronze instruments used for the sacrifices. The gold and silver bowls, with all the rest of the gold and silver, were melted down to bullion. 16 It was impossible to estimate the weight of the two pillars and the great tank and its bases—all made for the Temple by King Solomon—because they were so heavy. 17 Each pillar was 27 feet high, with an intricate bronze network of pomegranates decorating the 4-1/2-foot capitals at the tops of the pillars.
18 The general took Seraiah, the chief priest, his assistant Zephaniah, and the three Temple guards to Babylon as captives. 19 A commander of the army of Judah, the chief recruiting officer, five of the king’s counselors, and sixty farmers, all of whom were discovered hiding in the city, 20 were taken by General Nebuzaradan to the king of Babylon at Riblah, 21 where they were put to the sword and died.
So Judah was exiled from its land.
22 Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah (the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan) as governor over the people left in Judah. 23 When the Israeli guerrilla forces learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, some of these underground leaders and their men joined him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah; Johanan, the son of Kareah; Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite; and Jaazaniah, son of Maachathite, and their men.
24 Gedaliah vowed that if they would give themselves up and submit to the Babylonians, they would be allowed to live in the land and would not be exiled. 25 But seven months later, Ishmael, who was a member of the royal line, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah and his court—both the Jews and the Babylonians.
26 Then all the men of Judah and the guerrilla leaders fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.
27 King Jehoiachin was released from prison on the twenty-seventh day of the last month of the thirty-seventh year of his captivity.
This occurred during the first year of the reign of King Evil-merodach of Babylon. 28 He treated Jehoiachin kindly and gave him preferential treatment over all the other kings who were being held as prisoners in Babylon. 29 Jehoiachin was given civilian clothing to replace his prison garb, and for as long as he lived, he ate regularly at the king’s table. 30 The king also gave him a daily cash allowance for the rest of his life.
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