[1] Zedeki'ah was twenty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamu'tal the daughter of
Jeremiah of Libnah. [2] And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD,
according to all that Jehoi'akim had done. [3] Surely because of the anger
of the LORD things came to such a pass in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast
them out from his presence. And Zedeki'ah rebelled against the king of
Babylon. [4] And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the
tenth day of the month, Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon came with all his
army against Jerusalem, and they laid siege to it and built siegeworks
against it round about. [5] So the city was besieged till the eleventh year
of King Zedeki'ah. [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 a breach was made in the city; and all the men of war fled and
went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls,
by the king's garden, while the Chalde'ans were round about the city. And
they went in the direction of the Arabah. [8] But the army of the
Chalde'ans pursued the king, and overtook Zedeki'ah 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 upon him. [10] The king of Babylon slew
the sons of Zedeki'ah before his eyes, and also slew all the princes of
Judah at Riblah. [11] He put out the eyes of Zedeki'ah, and bound him in
fetters, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison
till the day of his death. [12] In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the
month--which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadrez'zar, king of
Babylon--Nebu'zarad'an the captain of the bodyguard who served the king of
Babylon, entered Jerusalem. [13] And he burned the house of the LORD, and
the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he
burned down. [14] And all the army of the Chalde'ans, who were with the
captain of the guard, broke down all the walls round about Jerusalem. [15]
And Nebu'zarad'an the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the
poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city
and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with
the rest of the artisans. [16] But Nebu'zarad'an the captain of the guard
left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. [17]
And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the
stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the
Chalde'ans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. [18] And
they took away the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins,
and the dishes for incense, and all the vessels of bronze used in the
temple service; [19] also the small bowls, and the firepans, and the
basins, and the pots, and the lampstands, and the dishes for incense, and
the bowls for libation. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away
as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. [20] As for the two pillars,
the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under the sea, and the
stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the
bronze of all these things was beyond weight. [21] As for the pillars, the
height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference was twelve
cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. [22] Upon it
was a capital of bronze; the height of the one capital was five cubits; a
network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were upon the capital round about.
And the second pillar had the like, with pomegranates. [23] There were
ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred
upon the network round about. [24] And the captain of the guard took
Serai'ah the chief priest, and Zephani'ah the second priest, and the three
keepers of the threshold; [25] and from the city he took an officer who had
been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king's council, who
were found in the city; and the secretary 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] And Nebu'zarad'an the captain
of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
[27] And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in
the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried captive out of its land. [28] This
is the number of the people whom Nebuchadrez'zar carried away captive: in
the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews; [29] in the
eighteenth year of Nebuchadrez'zar he carried away captive from Jerusalem
eight hundred and thirty-two persons; [30] in the twenty-third year of
Nebuchadrez'zar, Nebu'zarad'an the captain of the guard carried away
captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons; all the persons
were four thousand and six hundred. [31] And in the thirty-seventh year of
the captivity of Jehoi'achin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the
twenty-fifth day of the month, E'vil-mer'odach king of Babylon, in the year
that he became king, lifted up the head of Jehoi'achin king of Judah and
brought him out of prison; [32] and he spoke kindly to him, and gave him a
seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. [33] So
Jehoi'achin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined
regularly at the king's table;
