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.
1 Cedekija bija divdesmit vienu gadu vecs, kad viņš kļuva par ķēniņu, un valdīja vienpadsmit gadus Jeruzālemē. Viņa mātes vārds bija Hamutala, un viņa bija Jeremijas meita no Libnas. 2 Viņš darīja, kas bija ļauns Tā Kunga acīs, tāpat kā Jojakīms. 3 Aiz Tā Kunga dusmām tad notika, ka Tas Kungs atstūma Jeruzālemi un Jūdu no Sava vaiga. Kad Cedekija atkrita no Bābeles ķēniņa - 4 un tas notika viņa valdīšanas devītā gada desmitā mēneša desmitajā dienā, tad Bābeles ķēniņš Nebukadnēcars nāca pats ar visu savu karaspēku pret Jeruzālemi, ielenca pilsētu un uzcēla ap to visapkārt nocietinājumus. 5 Tā pilsēta palika ielenkta līdz Cedekijas valdīšanas vienpadsmitajam gadam. 6 Ceturtā mēneša devītajā dienā, kad stiprs bads plosījās pilsētā un arī zemes iedzīvotājiem nebija vairs maizes, 7 tad ienaidnieks ielauzās pilsētā un visi karavīri bēga un atstāja pilsētu naktī pa vārtiem starp abiem mūriem pie ķēniņa dārza un izgāja klajumā, kamēr kaldeji vēl ielenca visapkārt pilsētu. Izbēgušie pagriezās tad virzienā uz Jordānas līdzenumu. 8 Taču kaldeju karaspēks dzinās ķēniņam pakaļ un panāca Cedekiju Jērikas klajumos, kur viņa karaspēks izklīda un to atstāja. 9 Kaldeji saņēma ķēniņu gūstā un veda to pie Bābeles ķēniņa Riblā, Hamatas novadā, un ķēniņš sprieda tiesu pār viņu. 10 Bābeles ķēniņš lika nogalināt Cedekijas dēlus viņa acu priekšā un visus Jūdas lielkungus Riblā. 11 Cedekijam viņš lika izdurt acis, to saistīt važās un vest uz Bābeli, kur viņš palika cietumā līdz savas nāves dienai. 12 Piektā mēneša desmitajā dienā - tas bija Bābeles ķēniņa Nebukadnēcara deviņpadsmitais valdīšanas gads - Nebusaradans, kas bija Bābeles ķēniņa miesassardzes virspavēlnieks, iegāja Jeruzālemē 13 un nodedzināja Tā Kunga namu un ķēniņa pili, un visus pilsētas namus, it īpaši lielos namus, viņš lika iznīcināt ar uguni. 14 Viss kaldeju karaspēks, kas atradās miesassardzes virspavēlnieka vadībā, nojauca visus mūrus ap Jeruzālemi. 15 Tad Nebusaradans, miesassardzes virspavēlnieks, aizveda gūstā zemas kārtas ļaudis un to tautas daļu, kas vēl bija palikusi pilsētā, un bēgļus, kas bija pārgājuši pie Bābeles ķēniņa, un atlikušos darba ļaudis. 16 Bet no zemās kārtas ļaudīm Nebusaradans, miesassardzes priekšnieks, atstāja vienu daļu kā vīna dārzniekus un zemes kopējus. 17 Bet vara stabus pie Tā Kunga nama, sēdekļus un lielo vara jūru, kas bija Tā Kunga namā, kaldeji nojauca un aizveda visu metālu uz Bābeli. 18 Arī katlus, lāpstas, dakts nažus, karotes, slakāmos kausus un visus metāla rīkus, ko lietoja pie kalpošanas, tie aizveda projām. 19 Miesassardzes priekšnieks paņēma arī visas bļodas, kvēpināmos traukus, slakāmos kausus, podus, lukturus, kausus un kannas, visu, kas bija no tīra zelta un sudraba. 20 Vara no abiem stabiem, no lielās vara jūras un no divpadsmit vēršu tēliem zem tās un no sēdekļiem, ko ķēniņš Salamans bija licis darināt Tā Kunga namam, bija tik daudz, ka tas nebija nosverams. 21 Stabi bija astoņpadsmit olekšu augsti, un divpadsmit olekšu gara aukla aptvēra stabu; stabu sienu biezums bija četri pirksti, stabs bija vidū tukšs. 22 Uz stabiem bija vara uzgaļa rotājums, piecas olektis augsts, un izgreznojumi un granātāboli bija visapkārt ap rotājumu, visi no vara. Tādi bija abi stabi, un arī abiem bija granātāboli. 23 Deviņdesmit seši granātāboli karājās gaisā, bet visu granātābolu vienam pinuma darinājumam visapkārt bija simts. 24 Miesassardzes priekšnieks apcietināja augsto priesteri Seraju, priesteri Cefanju un trīs sliekšņu sargus. 25 No pilsētas viņš apcietināja kādu augstu ķēniņa darbinieku, kas bija bijis karavīru virspavēlnieks, un septiņus vīrus no tiem, kas bija piederējuši pie pašas tuvākās ķēniņa pavadonības un kas bija atrasti pilsētā, arī karavadoņa rakstvedi, kas bija iesaucis lauku ļaudis karadienestā, un sešdesmit vīru no lauku ļaudīm, kas gadījās pilsētā. 26 Šos visus miesassardzes priekšnieks Nebusaradans apcietināja un aizveda pie Bābeles ķēniņa Riblā. 27 Bābeles ķēniņš lika tos Riblā, Hamatas novadā, sodīt ar nāvi. Tā izveda Jūdu no viņa zemes. 28 Šis ir to cilvēku skaits, kurus Nebukadnēcars izveda savas valdīšanas septītajā gadā - trīs tūkstošus divdesmit trīs jūdus; 29 astoņpadsmitajā Nebukadnēcara valdīšanas gadā - astoņi simti trīsdesmit divus no Jeruzālemes; 30 divdesmit trešajā Nebukadnēcara valdīšanas gadā miesassardzes virspavēlnieks Nebusaradans aizveda septiņi simti četrdesmit piecus jūdus; pavisam četri tūkstoši seši simti cilvēku. 31 Bet pēc trīsdesmit septiņiem Jūdas ķēniņa Jojahīma gūstniecības gadiem divpadsmitā mēneša divdesmit piektajā dienā Bābeles ķēniņš Evils-Merodahs savas valdīšanas sākumā apžēloja Jojahīmu un atsvabināja to no cietuma. 32 Viņš runāja ar to draudzīgi un ierādīja viņam krēslu augstāk par to ķēniņu krēsliem, kas bija pie viņa Bābelē. 33 Viņš drīkstēja pārmainīt savas cietumnieka drēbes un ēda pie ķēniņa galda visu laiku, kamēr viņš vēl bija dzīvs. 34 Bābeles ķēniņš deva viņam arī pastāvīgu uzturu, ikdienas devu, dienu no dienas līdz viņa nāvei, kamēr viņš dzīvoja.
