1 Zedequias tinha vinte e um anos de idade quando se tornou rei de Judá; e reinou onze anos em Jerusalém. A sua mãe se chamava Hamutal, filha de outro Jeremias, que vivia na cidade de Libna. 2 O rei Zedequias pecou contra Deus, o Senhor, fazendo o que era errado, como o rei Jeoaquim também havia feito. 3 O Senhor ficou muito irado com o povo de Judá e de Jerusalém e por isso fez com que fossem levados como prisioneiros.

Zedequias se revoltou contra o rei da Babilônia. 4 No ano nono do reinado de Zedequias em Judá, no dia dez do décimo mês, o rei Nabucodonosor, da Babilônia, veio com todo o seu exército e atacou Jerusalém. Eles acamparam fora da cidade e construíram torres em volta para cercá-la. 5 A cidade ficou cercada até o ano onze do reinado de Zedequias. 6 No dia nove do quarto mês daquele mesmo ano, a fome apertou na cidade; o povo não tinha nada para comer. 7 Quando os babilônios abriram brechas nas muralhas, todos os soldados judeus tentaram fugir durante a noite, embora a cidade estivesse cercada. Foram pelo caminho do jardim real, atravessaram o portão que liga as duas muralhas e fugiram na direção do vale do Jordão. 8 Mas o exército dos babilônios perseguiu o rei Zedequias e o prendeu na planície de Jericó. E todos os seus soldados o abandonaram. 9 Zedequias foi levado como prisioneiro ao rei Nabucodonosor, que estava na cidade de Ribla, na região de Hamate. Ali Nabucodonosor o condenou. 10 Em Ribla, o rei da Babilônia mandou matar os filhos de Zedequias na presença do pai. Também mandou matar as autoridades de Judá. 11 Depois, mandou furar os olhos de Zedequias e o prendeu com correntes de bronze a fim de levá-lo para a Babilônia. E Zedequias ficou na prisão em Babilônia até o dia da sua morte.

12 No ano décimo nono do reinado de Nabucodonosor, da Babilônia, no dia dez do quinto mês, Nebuzaradã, conselheiro do rei e comandante-geral do seu exército, entrou em Jerusalém. 13 Ele incendiou o Templo, o palácio do rei e as casas de todas as pessoas importantes de Jerusalém. 14 Os seus soldados derrubaram as muralhas da cidade. 15 E Nebuzaradã levou como prisioneiros para a Babilônia os que haviam sido deixados na cidade, os que haviam fugido para o lado dele e o resto dos operários especializados. 16 Mas deixou em Judá algumas das pessoas mais pobres e as pôs para trabalhar nas plantações de uvas e nos campos.

17 Os babilônios quebraram as colunas de bronze e as carretas que estavam ao lado do Templo e também o grande tanque de bronze. Então levaram todo o bronze para a Babilônia. 18 Levaram as pás e as vasilhas usadas para carregar as cinzas do altar e as tesouras de cortar pavios de lamparinas. Levaram as tigelas onde era recolhido o sangue dos sacrifícios, as vasilhas de queimar incenso e todos os objetos de bronze usados no culto. 19 Levaram todas as peças feitas de ouro ou de prata: as vasilhas pequenas, os pratos de carregar brasas, as tigelas em que era recolhido o sangue dos sacrifícios, as vasilhas para cinza, os candeeiros, as vasilhas de incenso e os vasos usados nas ofertas de bebidas. 20 Não foi possível calcular o peso dos objetos de bronze que o rei Salomão havia feito para o Templo, isto é, as duas colunas, as carretas, o grande tanque e os doze bois que o sustentavam. 21,22 As duas colunas eram iguais: cada uma tinha oito metros de altura por cinco metros e trinta e cinco centímetros de circunferência. Eram ocas, e a grossura do metal era de dez centímetros. No alto de cada coluna havia um remate de bronze, que media dois metros e vinte de altura. Em toda a volta do remate havia um enfeite rendilhado e com romãs. Tudo isso também era de bronze. 23 No enfeite rendilhado de cada coluna havia cem romãs, sendo que noventa e seis delas podiam ser vistas do chão.

24 Nebuzaradã, o comandante-geral, também levou como prisioneiros Seraías, o Grande Sacerdote, e Sofonias, o segundo sacerdote, e os três outros oficiais de importância no Templo. 25 Da cidade, ele levou o oficial que tinha sido o comandante das tropas, sete conselheiros do rei que ainda estavam lá, o oficial encarregado de alistar homens para o exército e mais sessenta homens importantes. 26 Nebuzaradã os levou ao rei da Babilônia, que estava na cidade de Ribla, 27 na terra de Hamate. Ali o rei mandou surrá-los e depois matá-los.

Assim o povo de Judá foi levado como prisioneiro para fora da sua terra. 28 Este é o número de prisioneiros que Nabucodonosor levou: no sétimo ano do seu reinado, levou três mil e vinte e três; 29 no décimo oitavo ano, oitocentos e trinta e dois, de Jerusalém. 30 No vigésimo terceiro ano, Nebuzaradã levou setecentos e quarenta e cinco. Ao todo, foram levadas quatro mil e seiscentas pessoas.

31 No ano em que se tornou rei da Babilônia, Evil-Merodaque foi bondoso com o rei Joaquim, de Judá, e o libertou da prisão. Isto aconteceu trinta e sete anos, onze meses e vinte e cinco dias depois que Joaquim havia sido levado como prisioneiro. 32 Evil-Merodaque tratou Joaquim com bondade e lhe deu uma posição mais alta do que a dos outros reis que eram prisioneiros com ele em Babilônia. 33 Assim deixaram que Joaquim tirasse as suas roupas de prisioneiro, e vestisse as suas próprias roupas, e comesse junto com o rei pelo resto da sua vida. 34 E todos os dias, enquanto viveu, recebeu do rei uma pensão para o seu sustento.

1 Twenty-one years old, was Zedekiah when he began to reign, and eleven years, reigned he, in Jerusalem,and, his mothers name, was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

2 And he did that which was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh,according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

3 For it was, because the anger of Yahweh, had come against Jerusalem and Judah until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his force, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it,and he built against it a siege-wall round about.

5 And the city came into the siege,until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

6 In the fourth month on the ninth of the month, when the famine had become severe in the city,and there had come to be no bread for the people of the land,

7 then was the city broken up, and all the men of war, beginning to flee went forth out of the city by night, by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the garden of the king the Chaldeans being near the city round about,and they went the way towards the Waste Plain.

8 And the force of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and overtook Zedekiah, in the Waste Plains of Jericho,and, all his force, was scattered from him.

9 So they seized the king, and brought him up, unto the king of Babylon at Riblah, in the land of Hamath,and he pronounced upon him sentences of judgment.

10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes,moreover also all the princes of Judah, slew he in Riblah;

11 and the eyes of Zedekiah, put he out,and bound him with fetters of bronze and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prisonuntil the day of his death.

12 And in the fifth month on the tenth of the month, the same, was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, chief of the royal executioners,who stood before the king of Babylon into, Jerusalem;

13 and he burned the house of Yahweh and the house of the king,yea all the houses of Jerusalem even every great mans house, burned he with fire;

14 and all the walls of Jerusalem round about, did all the force of the Chaldeans who were with the chief of the royal executioners, break down.

15 And seine of the poor of the people and the residue of the people who were left in the city, and the disheartened who had fallen away unto the king of Babylon and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners carry away captive.

16 But, others of the poor of the land, did Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners leave, for vinedressers and for husbandmen.

17 And the pillars of bronze that pertained to the house of Yahweh and the stands and the sea of bronze which was in the house of Yahweh, did the Chaldeans, break in pieces,and they carried away all the bronze of them to Babylon;

18 and the caldrons and the shovels and the snuffers and the dashing bowls, and the spoons even all the utensils of bronze wherewith ministration used to he made did they take away;

19 and the basins and the censers and the dashing bowls and the caldrons and the lamps and the spoons and the cups, which were of gold in gold, and which were of silver in silver, did the chief of the royal executioners, take away.

20 As for the two pillars the one sea, and the twelve oxen of bronze which were under the stands which King Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh, without weight was the bronze of all these things.

21 Now as for the pillars, eighteen cubits, was the height of each pillar, and, a line of twelve cubits, compassed it about,and the thickness thereof was four fingers breadthhollow;

22 and there was, a capital, upon it, of bronze, and the height of each capital, was five cubits, with lattice-work and pomegranates upon the capital round aboutthe whole was of bronze,and like these, were the second pillar and the pomegranates.

23 And the pomegranates were ninety-six on a side,all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the lattice-work round about.

24 And the chief of the royal executioners, took away, Seraiah the first priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest,and the three keepers of the entrance-hall;

25 and out of the city, took he one eunuch who was in charge over the men f war and seven men of them who used to watch the face of the king, who were found in the city, and the scribe of the prince of the host, who used to muster 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 when Nebuzaradan chief the royal executioners, bad taken them, and brought them unto the king of Babylon at Riblah,

27 then did the king of Babylon smite them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath,thus carried he Judah captive away from off their own soil.

28 This, is the people, whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive,In the seventh yearof them of Judah, three thousand and twenty-three;

29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzarout of Jerusalem, eight hundred and thirty-two souls;

30 In the three-and-twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuzaradan, chief of the royal executioners took away captive, of them of Judah, seven hundred and forty-five souls: All, the souls, were four thousand and six hundred.

31 And it came to pass, in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year he began to reign, lifted up, the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison;

32 and spake with him comfortable words,and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon;

33 so he changed his prison garments,and used to eat bread before his face continually, all the days of his life.

34 And his allowance, was a continual allowance given him from the king of Babylon the portion of the day upon its own day, until the day of his death,all the days of his life.