Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
(2 Chronicles 36:15–21; Jeremiah 39:1–10)

1And it came to pass 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 army, against Jerusalem and encamped against it. And they built against it a siege wall all around. 2And the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

3And on the ninth day of the fourth month,† the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no bread for the people of the land. 4And the city was breached, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the garden of the king. And the Chaldeans† were against the city all around.

And he went by way of the Arabah.† 5And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6And they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. 7And the sons of Zedekiah they killed before his eyes, and the eyes of Zedekiah he put out, and he bound him with bronze fetters and took him to Babylon.

The Temple Destroyed
(Jeremiah 52:12–23)

8And in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month (it was the ninth year and tenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9And he burned the house of YHWH, and the house of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem—and every great house he burned with the fire. 10And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guards, broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.

11And the rest of the people remaining in the city, and and the fallen ones who had fallen to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guards carry away. 12And the captain of the guards left behind some of the poor of the land to tend the vineyards and to be farmers.

13And the bronze pillars that were in the house of YHWH, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of YHWH, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried their bronze to Babylon. 14And also the pots, and the shovels, and the trimmers, and the dishes, and all the bronze vessels with which they ministered, took they away with them. 15And the firepans, and the sprinkling bowls, the things of pure gold and pure silver, the captain of the guards took away.

16The two pillars, the one Sea, and the carts that Solomon had made for the house of YHWH—there was no weighing of the brass of all these articles. 17Eighteen cubits† was the height of the one pillar. And the capital on it was of bronze, and the height of the capital was three cubits.† And the network and pomegranates on the capital all around—all were of bronze, and like these was the second pillar, with the network.

Captives Carried to Babylon
(Jeremiah 52:24–30)

18And the captain of the guards took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold. 19And out of the city He took one eunuch because he was an inspector over the men of war, and five men seeing the face of the king who were found in the city, and the scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land found in the city.

20And Nebuzaradan captain of the guards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21And the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he removed Judah from its own land.

Gedaliah Governs in Judah
(Jeremiah 40:1–16)

22And for the people who remained in the land of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he made governor over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan.

23And all the captains of the armies heard—they and the men—that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, and they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah† son of the Maacathite—they and their men. 24And Gedaliah and their men took an oath before them, and he said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you⁺.”

The Murder of Gedaliah
(Jeremiah 41:1–10)

25And it came to pass in the seventh month, that came Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, of the seed of the kingdom, and ten men with him, and they struck Gedaliah and he died, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26And all the people arose, from small even to great, and the captains of the armies, and they went to Egypt. For they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison
(Jeremiah 52:31–34)

27And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the removal of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year of his reigning lifted up the head of Jehoiachin† king of Judah out of the house of restraint. 28And He spoke to him kindly and gave to him a seat above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

29And he changed the garments of his restraint, and he ate bread regularly before his face all the days of his life. 30And his allowance—there was a regular allowance given to him by the king, a portion day by day all the days of his life.

Footnotes:

3 Probable reading (see Jeremiah 52:6); MT does not include fourth.
4 That is, the Babylonians; also in verses 5, 6, 10, 13, 24, 25, and 26
4 Or the Jordan Valley
17 18 cubits is approximately 27 feet or 8.2 meters.
17 3 cubits is approximately 4.5 feet or 1.4 meters.
23 Jaazaniah is a variant of Jezaniah; see Jeremiah 40:8.
27 That is released Jehoiachin