2 Kings 25

Judah Falls: Jerusalem Gets Crushed

1 So in Zedekiah’s ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came through with his whole army. They camped out and built a wall of siege all around Jerusalem.

2 The city was locked down and under siege till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

3 By the ninth day of the fourth month, food was all gone. The people inside the city were starving, real bad.

4 That night, the enemy broke through the city wall. Even though the Babylonians had the city surrounded, the whole army of Judah tried to dip out at night through the king’s garden, heading toward the desert.

5 But the Babylonian army chased after King Zedekiah and caught him in the plains of Jericho. His crew had scattered and left him solo.

6 They snatched up Zedekiah and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they put him on trial.

7 They killed Zedekiah’s sons right in front of him. Then they gouged out his eyes and put him in chains, dragging him off to Babylon.

The Temple and Jerusalem Burned Down

8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the top boss of the guards and servant of the king of Babylon, rolled into Jerusalem.

9 He set fire to the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and every big building in the city. Everything got torched.

10 Then the whole Babylonian army, under Nebuzaradan’s orders, tore down every wall around Jerusalem.

People Taken Away, Some Left Behind

11 Nebuzaradan rounded up the folks still in the city, the leftovers and anyone who had already surrendered to the Babylonians, and dragged them to Babylon.

12 But he left some of the poorest people behind to work the fields and tend the vineyards.

Temple Loot Gets Jacked

13 The Babylonians smashed the bronze pillars from the Lord’s temple, along with the water carts and the big bronze basin (a.k.a. “The Sea”). They hauled all that bronze back to Babylon.

14 They took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and everything used in the temple services, bronze gear included.

15 The captain of the guard also grabbed the fire pans and bowls, anything gold or silver got snatched.

16 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and all the stuff Solomon made for the Lord’s temple, it was too much to weigh.

17 Each pillar was about twenty-seven feet tall, with a bronze top that was seven and a half feet high. The tops had fancy grillwork with pomegranates made of bronze. There were two pillars like that.

Leaders Get Executed

18 Nebuzaradan took the high priest Seraiah, the assistant priest Zephaniah, and three of the temple guards.

19 He also grabbed a city official in charge of the troops, five of the king’s advisers, the army commander’s secretary (who handled drafting), and sixty more men found in the city.

20 He brought them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

21 And at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them executed. That is how Judah got taken away into exile, for real.

Gedaliah Gets Put in Charge

22 The king of Babylon put Gedaliah son of Ahikam in charge over the people left behind in Judah.

23 When all the army leaders and their people heard that Gedaliah was the new boss, they rolled up to him at Mizpah. This included Ishmael, Johanan, Seraiah, Jaazaniah, and their squads.

24 Gedaliah swore to them that everything was cool. He told them, “Do not be scared of the Babylonian officials. Stay here, serve the king of Babylon, and it will go smooth for you all.”

Gedaliah Gets Assassinated

25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah (who had royal blood) came through with ten dudes and killed Gedaliah, along with some Jews and Babylonians who were with him.

26 After that, everyone, rich, poor, whoever was left, got shook and ran to Egypt because they were scared of what Babylon might do next.

Jehoiachin Gets Released

27 In the thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachin’s exile, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, showed him mercy. It was the year that king came to power.

28 He brought Jehoiachin out of prison and spoke kindly to him, giving him a better seat than the other kings in Babylon.

29 Jehoiachin ditched his prison clothes and started eating regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life.

30 The king even gave him a steady check, day by day, for the rest of his days.