| Chapter
52 |
| 1 |
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of
Jeremiah of Libnah. |
| 2 | And
he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that
Jehoiakim had done. |
| 3 | For
through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he
had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of
Babylon. |
| 4 | And it came to
pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of
the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army,
against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round
about. |
| 5 | So the city was
besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. |
|
6 | And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the
month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the
people of the land. |
| 7 |
Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of
the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by
the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they
went by the way of the plain. |
| 8
| But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook
Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. |
| 9 | Then they took the king,
and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath;
where he gave judgment upon him. |
|
10 | And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his
eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. |
| 11 | Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah;
and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and
put him in prison till the day of his death. |
| 12 | Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month,
which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into
Jerusalem, |
| 13 | And burned
the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem,
and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire: |
| 14 | And all the army of the Chaldeans,
that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem
round about. |
| 15 | Then
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor
of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and
those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the
multitude. |
| 16 | But
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for
vinedressers and for husbandmen. |
|
17 | Also 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, the
Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. |
| 18 | The caldrons also, and the shovels,
and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass
wherewith they ministered, took they away. |
| 19 | And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and
the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which
was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain
of the guard away. |
| 20 |
The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases,
which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these
vessels was without weight. |
| 21
| And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen
cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof
was four fingers: it was hollow. |
|
22 | And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one
chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters
round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were
like unto these. |
| 23 | And
there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon
the network were an hundred round about. |
| 24 | And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief
priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: |
| 25 | He took also out of the
city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them
that were near the king's person, which were found in the city; and the
principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and
threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the
city. |
| 26 | So Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to
Riblah. |
| 27 | And the king
of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath.
Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. |
| 28 | This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar
carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and
twenty: |
| 29 | In the
eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight
hundred thirty and two persons: |
|
30 | In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty
and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred. |
| 31 | And it came to pass in the
seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the
twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach
king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin
king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison. |
|
32 | And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne
above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, |
| 33 | And changed his prison garments: and
he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. |
| 34 | And for his diet, there was a
continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the
day of his death, all the days of his life. |
