The Fall of Jerusalem
(2 Kings 24.18—25.7)1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of the Jeremiah who lived in the city of Libnah. 2 King Zedekiah sinned against the Lord, just as King Jehoiakim had done. 3 The Lord became so angry with the people of Jerusalem and Judah that he banished them from his sight.
Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, 4 and so Nebuchadnezzar came with all his army and attacked Jerusalem on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign. They set up camp outside the city, built siege walls around it, 5 and kept it under siege until Zedekiah's eleventh year. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month of that same year, when the famine was so bad that the people had nothing left to eat, 7 the city walls were broken through. Although the Babylonians were surrounding the city, all the soldiers escaped during the night. They left by way of the royal garden, went through the gateway connecting the two walls, and fled in the direction of the Jordan Valley. 8 But the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah, captured him in the plains near Jericho, and all his soldiers deserted him. 9 Zedekiah was taken to King Nebuchadnezzar, who was in the city of Riblah in the territory of Hamath, and there Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him. 10 At Riblah he put Zedekiah's sons to death while Zedekiah was looking on and he also had the officials of Judah executed. 11 After that, he had Zedekiah's eyes put out and had him placed in chains and taken to Babylon. Zedekiah remained in prison in Babylon until the day he died.
The Destruction of the Temple
(2 Kings 25.8-17)12 On the tenth day of the fifth month of the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, Nebuzaradan, adviser to the king and commander of his army, entered Jerusalem. 13 He burned down the Temple, the palace, and the houses of all the important people in Jerusalem; 14 and his soldiers tore down the city walls. 15 Then Nebuzaradan took away to Babylonia the people who were left in the city, the remaining skilled workers, and those who had deserted to the Babylonians. 16 But he left in Judah some of the poorest people, who owned no property, and he put them to work in the vineyards and fields.
17 The Babylonians broke in pieces the bronze columns and the carts that were in the Temple, together with the large bronze tank, and they took all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the shovels and the ash containers used in cleaning the altar, the tools used in tending the lamps, the bowls used for catching the blood from the sacrifices, the bowls used for burning incense, and all the other bronze articles used in the Temple service. 19 They took away everything that was made of gold or silver: the small bowls, the pans used for carrying live coals, the bowls for holding the blood from the sacrifices, the ash containers, the lampstands, the bowls used for incense, and the bowls used for pouring out wine offerings. 20 The bronze objects that King Solomon had made for the Temple—the two columns, the carts, the large tank, and the twelve bulls that supported it—were too heavy to weigh. 21-22 The two columns were identical: each one was 27 feet high and 18 feet around. They were hollow, and the metal was 3 inches thick. On top of each column was a bronze capital 7½ feet high, and all around it was a grillwork decorated with pomegranates, all of which was also made of bronze. 23 On the grillwork of each column there were a hundred pomegranates in all, and ninety-six of these were visible from the ground.
The People of Judah Are Taken to Babylonia
(2 Kings 25.18-212 27-30)24 In addition, Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, took away as prisoners Seraiah the High Priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three other important Temple officials. 25 From the city he took the officer who had been in command of the troops, seven of the king's personal advisers who were still in the city, the commander's assistant, who was in charge of military records, and sixty other important men. 26 Nebuzaradan took them to the king of Babylonia, who was in the city of Riblah 27 in the territory of Hamath. There the king had them beaten and put to death.
So the people of Judah were carried away from their land into exile. 28 This is the record of the people that Nebuchadnezzar took away as prisoners: in his seventh year as king he carried away 3,023; 29 in his eighteenth year, 832 from Jerusalem; 30 and in his twenty-third year, 745—taken away by Nebuzaradan. In all, 4,600 people were taken away.
31 In the year that Evil-merodach became king of Babylonia, he showed kindness to King Jehoiachin of Judah by releasing him from prison. This happened on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year after Jehoiachin had been taken away as a prisoner. 32 Evil-merodach treated him kindly and gave him a position of greater honor than he gave the other kings who were exiles with him in Babylonia. 33 So Jehoiachin was permitted to change from his prison clothes and to dine at the king's table for the rest of his life. 34 Each day for as long as he lived, he was given a regular allowance for his needs.
Atskats uz Jeruzālemes krišanu
(2Ķēn 24:18–25:262L 36:11–20Jer 39:1–10)1 Cedekija kļuva par ķēniņu divdesmit viena gada vecumā un valdīja Jeruzālemē vienpadsmit gadus. Viņa mātes vārds bija Hamūtala, Jeremijas meita, no Libnas. 2 Viņš darīja to, kas ļauns Kunga acīs, gluži kā bija darījis Jehojākīms. 3a Tā notika ar Jeruzālemi un Jūdu Kunga dusmu dēļ – viņš padzina tos projām no sevis.
3b Bet Cedekija sadumpojās pret Bābeles ķēniņu. 4 Un viņa valdīšanas devītajā gadā, desmitajā mēneša dienā, Bābeles ķēniņš Nebūkadnecars ar visu savu karaspēku nāca pret Jeruzālemi, aplenca to un uzcēla tai visapkārt aplenkuma valni. 5 Pilsēta bija aplenkumā līdz ķēniņa Cedekijas vienpadsmitajam gadam.
6 Un ceturtajā mēnesī, mēneša devītajā dienā, pilsētā pieņēmās spēkā bads un vienkāršajiem ļaudīm vairs nebija maizes. 7 Tad kaldieši ielauzās pilsētā, un visi karavīri bēga un naktī pameta pilsētu pa ķēniņa dārza ceļu caur vārtiem starp abiem mūriem un devās projām pa klajumu ceļu. 8 Un kaldiešu karaspēks dzinās pakaļ ķēniņam un panāca Cedekiju Jērikas klajumos, bet viss viņa karaspēks aizklīda projām. 9 Un tie saņēma ķēniņu ciet un aizveda pie Bābeles ķēniņa uz Riblu, Hamātas zemē, un viņš teica tam spriedumu. 10 Un Bābeles ķēniņš nokāva Cedekijas dēlus viņa acu priekšā, un Riblā nokāva arī visus Jūdas augstmaņus. 11 Viņš laupīja Cedekijam acugaismu un sasēja viņu dzelzs važās, un Bābeles ķēniņš aizveda viņu uz Bābeli un ielika viņu soda namā līdz viņa nāves dienai.
12 Un piektajā mēnesī, mēneša desmitajā dienā – tas bija Bābeles ķēniņa Nebūkadnecara deviņpadsmitais valdīšanas gads – nāca sardzes vadonis Nebūzaradāns, kas bija Bābeles ķēniņa dienestā Jeruzālemē. 13 Viņš nodedzināja Kunga namu, ķēniņa namu un visus Jeruzālemes namus, visus lielos namus viņš ar uguni nodedzināja! 14 Kaldiešu karaspēks, kas bija pakļauts sardzes vadonim, noplēsa visus Jeruzālemes mūrus – visapkārt! 15 Un sardzes vadonis Nebūzaradāns aizveda trimdā gan nabagos ļaudis, gan atlikušo tautu, kas pilsētā bija palikusi, gan atkritējus, kas bija pārgājuši Bābeles ķēniņa pusē, gan atlikušos amatniekus. 16 Dažus no nabagu ļaudīm sardzes vadonis Nebūzaradāns atstāja par vīna dārzniekiem un arājiem. 17 Vara stabus, kas bija Kunga namā, pamatnes un vara jūru, kas bija Kunga namā, kaldieši sadauzīja un varu aiznesa uz Bābeli. 18 Viņi paņēma katlus, liekšķeres, dzirkles, laistāmos traukus, kausus un visus vara rīkus, ko lietoja namā. 19 Sardzes vadonis paņēma bļodas, ogļu pannas, laistāmos traukus, katlus, gaismekļus, kausus un upurtraukus – tie bija no zelta zeltā un no sudraba sudrabā! 20 Divi stabi, viena jūra, divpadsmit vērši, kas bija zem pamatnēm, kurus Kunga namam bija darinājis ķēniņš Sālamans, – ne nosvērt visas šīs lietas, cik daudz tur bija vara! 21 Stabi – astoņpadsmit elkoņu augsts bija ik stabs! Aukla – divpadsmit elkoņu garumā vijās tiem apkārt! Katrs stabs četru pirkstu biezumā, vidū tukšs. 22 Uz katra stāvēja vara kapitelis – katrs kapitelis piecu elkoņu augstumā! Tīkls un granātāboli bija visapkārt kapitelim – viss no vara! Viens stabs bija kā otrs un granātāboli tāpat! 23 Visā platumā bija deviņdesmit seši granātāboli, pa visu tīklu bija simts granātābolu!
24 Sardzes vadonis paņēma virspriesteri Serāju un otro priesteri Cefanju, un trīs durvju sargus, 25 un no pilsētas viņš paņēma einuhu, kas bija karavīru uzraugs, un septiņus vīrus no ķēniņa galma, kurus atrada pilsētā, un karaspēka pavēlnieka rakstvedi, kurš bija musinājis nabagos ļaudis, un sešdesmit vīrus no nabagu ļaudīm, kuri atradās pilsētā. 26 Sardzes vadonis Nebūzaradāns ņēma viņus un aizveda uz Bābeli, uz Riblu. 27 Un Bābeles ķēniņš tos nonāvēja Riblā, Hamātas zemē. Aizveda trimdā Jūdu no savas zemes!
28 Šie ir ļaudis, kurus savas valdīšanas septītajā gadā aizveda trimdā Nebūkadnecars – trīs tūkstoši divdesmit trīs jūdi. 29 Nebūkadnecara astoņpadsmitajā gadā no Jeruzālemes aizveda astoņi simti trīsdesmit divus. 30 Nebūkadnecara divdesmit trešajā gadā sardzes vadonis Nebūzaradāns aizveda trimdā jūdus – septiņi simti četrdesmit piecus. Kopā – četri tūkstoši seši simti.
Jehojāhīns tiek apžēlots
(2Ķēn 25:27–30)31 Trīsdesmit septītajā Jūdas ķēniņa Jehojāhīna trimdas gadā, divpadsmitajā mēnesī, mēneša divdesmit piektajā dienā, Bābelē par ķēniņu kļuva Evīl-Mrodahs, un viņš apžēloja Jūdas ķēniņu Jehojāhīnu un izlaida viņu no cietuma. 32 Viņš runāja uz viņu labu un lika viņa troni augstāk par visu to ķēniņu troņiem, kuri bija kopā ar viņu Bābelē. 33 Un viņš novilka cietuma drānas un ēda maizi viņa priekšā ilgi – visas sava mūža dienas. 34 Bābeles ķēniņš viņam deva uzturu, mūža uzturu, kā bija teicis – ik dienu līdz pat viņa nāvei, visas viņa mūža dienas!
