1 Thus it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his forces came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around.
2 And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
4 And the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the kings garden, even though the Chaldeans were encamped all around against the city. And the king went the way toward the plain.
5 And the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment upon him.
7 And they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and brought him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
9 He burned the house of Jehovah and the kings house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of distinction, he burned with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.
11 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had fallen out to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude.
12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers.
13 The bronze pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the carts and the bronze sea that were in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the bronze to Babylon.
14 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils which were used in service.
15 The firepans and the basins, the things of gold in gold and of silver in silver, the captain of the guard carried away.
16 The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, the bronze of all these articles was without weight.
17 The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
19 He also took out of the city an official who had charge of the men of war, five men who were found in the city who looked after the kings presence, the chief marshal of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.
20 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
21 And the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its land.
22 And he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left.
23 And when all the commanders of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah swore before them and their men, and said to them, Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
25 But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came with ten men and struck Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah, so that they died.
26 And all the people, small and great, and the commanders of the forces, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid before the Chaldeans.
27 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-seventh of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.
28 He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
29 And Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread continually before him all the days of his life.
30 And a continual allowance was rationed to him by the king, the matter day by day, all the days of his life.
1 Então, no nono ano do reinado de Zedequias, no décimo dia do décimo mês, Nabucodonosor, rei da Babilônia, marchou contra Jerusalém com todo o seu exército. Ele acampou em frente da cidade e construiu rampas de ataque ao redor dela.
2 A cidade foi mantida sob cerco até o décimo primeiro ano do reinado de Zedequias.
3 No nono dia do quarto mês, a fome na cidade havia se tornado tão severa que não havia nada para o povo comer.
4 Então o muro da cidade foi rompido, e todos os soldados fugiram de noite pela porta entre os dois muros próximos ao jardim do rei, embora os babilônios estivessem em torno da cidade. Fugiram na direção da Arabá,
5 mas o exército babilônio perseguiu o rei e o alcançou nas planícies de Jericó. Todos os seus soldados o abandonaram,
6 e ele foi capturado. Foi levado até o rei da Babilônia, em Ribla, onde pronunciaram a sentença contra ele.
7 Executaram os filhos de Zedequias na sua frente; depois furaram seus olhos, prenderam-no com algemas de bronze e o levaram para a Babilônia.
8 No sétimo dia do quinto mês do décimo nono ano do reinado de Nabucodonosor, rei da Babilônia, Nebuzaradã, comandante da guarda imperial, conselheiro do rei da Babilônia, foi a Jerusalém.
9 Incendiou o templo do Senhor, o palácio real, todas as casas de Jerusalém e todos os edifícios importantes.
10 Todo o exército babilônio, que acompanhava Nebuzaradã derrubou os muros de Jerusalém.
11 E ele levou para o exílio o povo que sobrou na cidade, os que passaram para o lado do rei da Babilônia e o restante da população.
12 Mas alguns dos mais pobres do país o comandante deixou para trás, para trabalharem nas vinhas e nos campos.
13 Os babilônios destruíram as colunas de bronze, os suportes e o tanque de bronze que estavam no templo do Senhor, e levaram o bronze para a Babilônia.
14 Também levaram as panelas, as pás, os cortadores de pavio, as vasilhas e todos os utensílios de bronze utilizados no serviço do templo.
15 O comandante da guarda imperial levou os incensários e as bacias de aspersão, tudo o que era feito de ouro puro ou prata.
16 As duas colunas, o tanque e os suportes, que Salomão fizera para o templo do Senhor, eram mais do que podia ser pesado.
17 Cada coluna tinha oito metros e dez centímetros de altura. O capitel de bronze no alto de cada coluna tinha um metro e trinta e cinco centímetros de altura e era decorado com uma fileira de romãs de bronze ao redor.
18 O comandante da guarda levou como prisioneiros o sumo sacerdote, Seraías, Sofonias, o segundo sacerdote, e os três guardas da porta.
19 Dos que ainda estavam na cidade, ele levou o oficial responsável pelos homens de combate e cinco conselheiros reais. Também levou o secretário, principal líder responsável pelo alistamento militar no país e sessenta homens do povo.
20 O comandante Nebuzaradã levou a todos ao rei da Babilônia, em Ribla.
21 Lá, em Ribla, na terra de Hamate, o rei mandou executá-los. Assim Judá foi para o exílio, para longe de sua terra.
22 Nabucodonosor, rei da Babilônia, nomeou Gedalias, filho de Aicam e neto de Safã, como governador do povo que havia sido deixado em Judá.
23 Quando Ismael, filho de Netanias, Joanã, filho de Careá, Seraías, filho do netofatita Tanumete, e Jazanias, filho de um maacatita, todos os líderes do exército, souberam que o rei da Babilônia havia nomeado Gedalias como governador, eles e seus soldados foram falar com Gedalias em Mispá.
24 Gedalias fez um juramento a esses líderes e a seus soldados, dizendo: "Não tenham medo dos oficiais babilônios. Estabeleçam-se nesta terra e sirvam o rei da Babilônia, e tudo lhes irá bem".
25 Mas no sétimo mês, Ismael, filho de Netanias e neto de Elisama, que tinha sangue real, foi com dez homens e assassinou Gedalias e os judeus e os babilônios que estavam com ele em Mispá.
26 Então todo o povo, desde as crianças até os velhos, juntamente com os líderes do exército, fugiram para o Egito, com medo dos babilônios.
27 No trigésimo sétimo ano do exílio de Joaquim, rei de Judá, no ano em que Evil-Merodaque se tornou rei da Babilônia, ele tirou Joaquim da prisão, no dia vinte e sete do décimo segundo mês.
28 Ele lhe tratou com bondade e deu-lhe o lugar mais honrado entre os outros reis que estavam com ele na Babilônia.
29 Assim, Joaquim deixou suas vestes de prisão e pelo resto de sua vida comeu à mesa do rei.
30 E diariamente, enquanto viveu, Joaquim recebeu uma pensão do rei.