^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^1bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of ^cLibnah. 2 And he did ^awhat was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that ^bJehoiakim had done. 3 For through the ^aanger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah ^brebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 ^aNow it happened in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his military force, against Jerusalem, and they camped against it and built a ^bsiege wall all around ¹it. 5 ^aSo the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the ^afourth month, the ^bfamine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was ^abreached, and all the ^bmen of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were ^1call around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and ^aovertook Zedekiah in the ¹plains of Jericho, and all his military force was scattered from him. 9 Then they seized the king and ^abrought him up to the king of Babylon at ^bRiblah in the land of ^cHamath, and he ¹spoke his judgment on him. 10 Then the king of Babylon ^aslaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the ¹princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he ^ablinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

12 ^aNow on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the ^bnineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ^cNebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who stood before the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 And he ^aburned the house of Yahweh, the ^bking’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So all the military force of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^atore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard ^atook away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the ^1bdefectors who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the artisans. 16 But ^aNebuzaradan the captain of the guard had some of the poorest of the land remain to be vinedressers and ¹plowmen.

17 Now the bronze ^apillars which belonged to the house of Yahweh and the ^bstands and the bronze ^csea, which were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans shattered and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the ^apots, the shovels, the snuffers, the bowls, the ¹pans, and all the bronze vessels which were used to minister. 19 And the captain of the guard also took away the ^acups, the firepans, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the ¹pans, and the offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under ¹the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh—the bronze of all these vessels was ^abeyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the ^aheight of each pillar was ¹eighteen cubits, and ²it was twelve cubits in ^bcircumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Now a ^acapital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and ^bpomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six ¹exposed pomegranates; all ^athe pomegranates numbered one hundred on the network all around.

24 Then the captain of the guard took ^aSeraiah the chief priest and ^bZephaniah the second priest, with the three ^1cdoorkeepers of the temple. 25 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven ¹of the ^aking’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and ^aled them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon ^astruck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah ^bwent into exile from its land.

28 These are the people whom ^aNebuchadnezzar took away into exile: in the ¹seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, ^aNebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.

31 ^aNow it happened in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that ¹Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, ^blifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison; 32 ^aand he spoke to him good words, and he set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So ¹Jehoiachin ^achanged his prison clothes and ^2bhad his meals in ³the king’s presence continually all the days of his life. 34 For his allowance, a ^acontinual allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.

^aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^1bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of ^cLibnah. 2 He did ^aevil in the sight of the LORD like all that ^bJehoiakim had done. 3 For through the ^aanger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah ^brebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 ^aNow it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a ^bsiege wall all around ¹it. 5 ^aSo the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the ^afourth month the ^bfamine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was ^abroken into, and all the ^bmen of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were ^1call around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and ^aovertook Zedekiah in the ¹plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and ^abrought him up to the king of Babylon at ^bRiblah in the land of ^cHamath, and he ¹passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon ^aslaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the ¹princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he ^ablinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

12 ^aNow on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the ^bnineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ^cNebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, ¹who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He ^aburned the house of the LORD, the ^bking’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^abroke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard ^acarried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ^1bdeserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. 16 But ^aNebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and ¹plowmen.

17 Now the bronze ^apillars which belonged to the house of the LORD and the ^bstands and the bronze ^csea, which were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the ^apots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the ¹pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took away the ^abowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the ¹pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under ¹the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD—the bronze of all these vessels was ^abeyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the ^aheight of each pillar was eighteen ¹cubits, and ²it was twelve cubits in ^bcircumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Now a ^acapital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and ^bpomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six ¹exposed pomegranates; all ^athe pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around.

24 Then the captain of the guard took ^aSeraiah the chief priest and ^bZephaniah the second priest, with the three ^1cofficers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven ¹of the ^aking’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and ^abrought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon ^astruck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was ^bled away into exile from its land.

28 These are the people whom ^aNebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the ¹seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, ^aNebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.

31 ^aNow it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that ¹Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, ^2bshowed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 ^aThen he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So ¹Jehoiachin ^achanged his prison clothes, and ^2bhad his meals in ³the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 For his allowance, a ^aregular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.