Jeremiah 52
52
Jerusalem Is Captured
(2 Kings 24.18—25.30; 2 Chronicles 36.11-21)
1Zedekiah was 21 years old when he was appointed king of Judah,#52.1 appointed king of Judah: By Nebuchadnezzar (see 37.1). and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years.#52.1 he ruled … years: Ruled 598–586 b.c. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from the town of Libnah.#52.1 Jeremiah from the town of Libnah: Not the same Jeremiah as the author of this book (see 1.1). 2Zedekiah disobeyed the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done, 3and it was Zedekiah who finally rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.#52.3 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
The people of Judah and Jerusalem had made the Lord so angry that he finally turned his back on them. That's why horrible things were happening there.
4 #
Ez 24.2. In Zedekiah's ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month,#52.4 tenth month: See the note at 39.1-3. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia led his entire army to attack Jerusalem. The troops set up camp outside the city and built ramps up to the city walls.
5-6After a year and a half,#52.5,6 After a year and a half: Jerusalem was captured in 586 b.c. all the food in Jerusalem was gone. Then on the ninth day of the fourth month,#52.5,6 fourth month: See the note at 39.1-3. 7#Ez 33.21. the Babylonian troops broke through the city wall. That same night, Zedekiah and his soldiers tried to escape through the gate near the royal garden, even though they knew the enemy had the city surrounded. They headed toward the Jordan River valley, 8but the Babylonian troops caught up with them near Jericho. The Babylonians arrested Zedekiah, but his soldiers scattered in every direction. 9Zedekiah was taken to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar put him on trial and found him guilty. 10Zedekiah's sons and the officials of Judah were killed while he watched, 11#Ez 12.13. then his eyes were poked out. He was put in chains, then dragged off to Babylon and kept in prison until he died.
12Jerusalem was captured during Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king of Babylonia.
About a month later,#52.12 About a month later: Hebrew “On the seventh day of the fifth month.” Nebuchadnezzar's officer in charge of the guards arrived in Jerusalem. His name was Nebuzaradan, 13#1 K 9.8. and he burned down the Lord's temple, the king's palace, and every important building in the city, as well as all the houses. 14Then he ordered the Babylonian soldiers to break down the walls around Jerusalem. 15He led away the people left in the city, including everyone who had become loyal to Nebuchadnezzar, the rest of the skilled workers,#52.15 the rest of the skilled workers: Nebuchadnezzar had taken away some of the skilled workers eleven years before (see 2 Kings 24.14-16). and even some of the poor people of Judah. 16Only the very poorest were left behind to work the vineyards and the fields.
17-20 #
1 K 7.15-47. Nebuzaradan ordered his soldiers to go to the temple and take everything made of gold or silver, including bowls, fire pans, sprinkling bowls, pans, lampstands, dishes for incense, and the cups for wine offerings. The Babylonian soldiers took all the bronze things used for worship at the temple, including the pans for hot ashes, and the shovels, lamp snuffers, sprinkling bowls, and dishes for incense. The soldiers also took everything else made of bronze, including the two columns that stood in front of the temple, the large bowl called the Sea, the twelve bulls that held it up, and the movable stands.#52.17-20 the large bowl called the Sea, the twelve bulls that held it up, and the movable stands: One ancient translation; Hebrew “the large bowl called the Sea, and the twelve bulls under the movable stands.” The soldiers broke these things into pieces so they could take them to Babylonia. There was so much bronze that it could not be weighed. 21For example, the columns were about 8 meters high and 5.5 meters around. They were hollow, but the bronze was about 75 millimeters thick. 22Each column had a bronze cap over 2 meters high that was decorated with bronze designs. Some of these designs were like chains and others were like pomegranates.#52.22 pomegranates: A small red fruit that looks like an apple. 23There were 96 pomegranates evenly spaced#52.23 evenly spaced: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. around each column, and a total of 100 pomegranates were located above the chains.
24Next, Nebuzaradan arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah his assistant, and three temple officials. 25Then he arrested one of the army commanders, seven of King Zedekiah's personal advisors, and the officer in charge of gathering the troops for battle. He also found 60 more soldiers who were still in Jerusalem. 26-27Nebuzaradan led them to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar had them killed.
The people of Judah no longer lived in their own country.
People of Judah Taken Prisoner
28-30Here is a list of the number of the people of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar#52.28-30 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. took to Babylonia as prisoners:
In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 people.
In his eighteenth year as king, he took 832 from Jerusalem.
In his twenty-third year as king, his officer Nebuzaradan took 745 people.
So, Nebuchadnezzar took a total of 4,600 people from Judah to Babylonia.
Jehoiachin Is Set Free
(2 Kings 25.27-30)
31Jehoiachin was a prisoner in Babylon for 37 years. Then Evil Merodach#52.31 Evil Merodach: The son of Nebuchadnezzar who ruled Babylonia from 562–560 b.c. became king of Babylonia, and in the first year of his rule, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month,#52.31 twelfth month: Adar, the twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-February to mid-March. he let Jehoiachin out of prison. 32Evil Merodach was kind to Jehoiachin and honored him more than any of the other kings held prisoner there. 33Jehoiachin was allowed to wear regular clothes instead of a prison uniform, and he even ate at the king's table every day. 34As long as Jehoiachin lived, he was paid a daily allowance to buy whatever he needed.
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Jeremiah 52
52
The Fall of Jerusalem
(2 Kings 24:18–25:26; 2 Chronicles 36:11–12; Jeremiah 39:1–10)
1Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 2Zedekiah did what the Lord considered evil, as Jehoiakim had done. 3The Lord became angry with Jerusalem and Judah and threw the people out of his sight.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. They set up camp and built dirt ramps around the city walls. 5The blockade of the city lasted until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. 6On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city became so severe that the common people had no food.
7The enemy broke through the city walls, and all Judah’s soldiers fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden. While the Babylonians were attacking the city from all sides, they took the road to the plain ⌞of Jericho⌟. 8The Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plain of Jericho. His entire army had deserted him. 9The Babylonians captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in Hamath, where the king of Babylon passed sentence on him. 10The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons as Zedekiah watched. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze shackles. The king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in a prison, where he stayed until he died.
12On the tenth day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. Every important building was burned down. 14The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem.
15Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. 16But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and on the farms.
17The Babylonians broke apart the bronze pillars of the Lord’s temple, the stands, and the bronze pool in the Lord’s temple. They shipped all the bronze to Babylon. 18They took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, dishes, and all the bronze utensils used in the temple service. 19The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver. 20The bronze from the 2 pillars, the pool, and the 12 bronze bulls under the stands that King Solomon had made for the Lord’s temple couldn’t be weighed. 21One pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. It was three inches thick and hollow. 22The capital that was on it was 7½ feet high with a filigree and pomegranates around it. They were all made of bronze. The second pillar was the same. It also had pomegranates. 23There were 96 pomegranates on the sides. The total number of pomegranates on the surrounding filigree was 100.
24The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the 3 doorkeepers. 25From the city he also took an army commander, 7 men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and 60 common people whom he found in the city. 26Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives as they left their land.
28These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took captive: In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 Jews. 29In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took 832 people from Jerusalem. 30In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year as king, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took away 745 Jews. In all, 4,600 people were taken away.
King Jehoiakin Released from Prison
(2 Kings 25:27–30)
31On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the imprisonment of King Jehoiakin of Judah, King Evil Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, freed King Jehoiakin of Judah and released him from prison. 32He treated him well and gave him a special position higher than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33Jehoiakin no longer wore prison clothes, and he ate his meals in the king’s presence as long as he lived. 34The king of Babylon gave him a daily food allowance as long as he lived.
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