The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Jeremiah 52
1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old
when he began to reign. He reigned eleven
years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name
was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of
Libnah.
2 He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s
sight, according to all that Jehoiakim had
done.
3 For through Yahweh’s anger this happened
in Jerusalem and Judah, until he
had cast them out from his presence.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of
Babylon.
4 In the ninth year of his reign, in the
tenth month, in the tenth day ofthe month,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he
and all his army, against Jerusalem, and
encamped against it; and they built forts
against it round about.
5 So the city was besieged to the eleventh
year of King Zedekiah.
6 In the fourth month, in the ninth day
of the month, the famine was severe in
the city, so that there was no bread 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
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
againstthe city all around. The men of war
went toward the Arabah,
8 but the army of the Chaldeans pursued
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 to the king of Babylon to Riblah in
the land of Hamath; and he pronounced
judgment on him.
10 The king of Babylon killed the sons of
Zedekiah before his eyes. He also killed all
the princes of Judah in Riblah.
11 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and
the king of Babylon bound him in fetters,
and carried him to Babylon, and put him
in prison until the day of his death.
12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth
day of the month, which was the nineteenth
year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of
the guard, who stood before the king of
Babylon, came into Jerusalem.
13 He burned Yahweh’s house, and
the king’s house; and all the houses of
Jerusalem, even every great house, he
burned with fire.
14 All the army of the Chaldeans, who
were with the captain of the guard, broke
down all the walls ofJerusalem all around.
15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard carried away captive of the poorest
of the people, and the rest of the people
who were leftin the city, and those who fell
away, who defected to the king of Babylon,
and the rest of the multitude.
16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard left of the poorest of the land to be
vineyard keepers and farmers.
17 The Chaldeans broke the pillars of
bronze that were in Yahweh’s house and
the bases and the bronze sea that were in
Yahweh’s house in pieces, and carried all
of their bronze to Babylon.
18 They also took away the pots, the shovels,
the snuffers, the basins, the spoons,
and all the vessels of bronze with which
they ministered.
19 The captain ofthe guard took away the
cups, the fire pans, the basins, the pots, the
lamp stands, the spoons, and the bowls;
that which was of gold, as gold, and that
which was of silver, as silver.
20 They took the two pillars, the one sea,
and the twelve bronze bulls that were under
the bases, which King Solomon had
made for Yahweh’s house. The bronze of
all these vessels was without weight.
21 As for the pillars, the height of the one
pillar was eighteen cubits;† and a line of
twelve cubits encircled it; and its thickness
was four fingers. It was hollow.
22 A capital of bronze was on it; and
the height of the one capital was five
cubits,‡ with network and pomegranates
on the capital all around, all of bronze.
The second pillar also had the same, with
pomegranates.
23 There were ninety-six pomegranates
on the sides; all the pomegranates were
one hundred on the network all around.
24 The captain of the guard took Seraiah
the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second
priest, and the three keepers of the threshold,
25 and out of the city he took an officer
who was set over the men of war; and
seven men of those who saw the king’s
face, 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, who were
found in the middle of the city.
26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard
took them, and brought them to the king of
Babylon to Riblah.
27 The king of Babylon struck them, and
put them to death at Riblah in the land of
Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of
his land.
28 This is thenumber ofthe people whom
Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive:
in the seventh year, three thousand
twenty-three Jews;
29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,
he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight
hundred thirty-two persons;
30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard carried away captive of the Jews
seven hundred forty-five people.
Allthe people numbered four thousand six
hundred.
31 In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the
twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth day of
the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon,
in the first year of his reign, lifted up the
head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and released him from prison.
32 He spoke kindly to him, and set his
throne above the throne of the kings who
were with him in Babylon,
33 and changed his prison garments. Jehoiachin ate bread before him continually
all the days of his life.
34 For his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him by the king of
Babylon, every day a portion until the day
of his death, all the days of his life.