| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it. | 1So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign. |
| 2And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year. | 2The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah's eleventh year. |
| 3By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food. | 3By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food. |
| 4Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They headed toward the Arabah, | 4The enemy broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king's garden. (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley. |
| 5but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was separated from him. | 5But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him. |
| 6The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment on him. | 6They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where he passed sentence on him. |
| 7And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. | 7Zedekiah's sons were executed while Zedekiah was forced to watch. The king of Babylon then had Zedekiah's eyes put out, bound him in bronze chains, and carried him off to Babylon. |
| 8On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. | 8On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem. |
| 9He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building. | 9He burned down the LORD's temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. |
| 10And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. | 10The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. |
| 11Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population. | 11Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. |
| 12But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields. | 12But he left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards. |
| 13Moreover, the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and stands and the bronze Sea in the house of the LORD, and they carried the bronze to Babylon. | 13The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the LORD's temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the "The Sea." They took the bronze to Babylon. |
| 14They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service. | 14They also took the pots, shovels, trimming shears, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. |
| 15The captain of the guard also took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—anything made of pure gold or fine silver. | 15The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers and basins. |
| 16As for the two pillars, the Sea, and the movable stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the weight of the bronze from all these articles was beyond measure. | 16The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the LORD's temple--including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called "The Sea," the twelve bronze bulls under "The Sea," and the movable stands--was too heavy to be weighed. |
| 17Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar. | 17Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feet high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it. |
| 18The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers. | 18The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. |
| 19Of those still in the city, he took a court official who had been appointed over the men of war, as well as five royal advisors. He also took the scribe of the captain of the army, who had enlisted the people of the land, and sixty men who were found in the city. | 19From the city he took a eunuch who was in charge of the soldiers, five of the king's advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens for military service, and sixty citizens from the people of the land who were discovered in the city. |
| 20Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. | 20Nebuzaradan, captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. |
| 21There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death. So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land. | 21The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So Judah was deported from its land. |
| 22Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over the people he had left behind in the land of Judah. | 22Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah. |
| 23When all the commanders of the armies and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, as well as their men. | 23All of the officers of the Judahite army and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to govern. So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite. |
| 24And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, assuring them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.” | 24Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. He said, "You don't need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you." |
| 25In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. | 25But in the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten of his men and murdered Gedaliah, as well as the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. |
| 26Then all the people small and great, together with the commanders of the army, arose and fled to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans. | 26Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as the army officers, left for Egypt, because they were afraid of what the Babylonians might do. |
| 27On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. | 27In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, King Evil-Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. |
| 28And he spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and set his throne above the thrones of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. | 28He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. |
| 29So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life. | 29Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king's presence for the rest of his life. |
| 30And the king provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life. | 30He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died. |
|
