Jeremiah 39:11–18; Jeremiah 40:1–6; Jeremiah 52:12–27; 2 Kings 25:8–21; 2 Chronicles 36:15–21

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Jeremiah 39:11–18

The Lord Delivers Jeremiah

11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, 12 dTake him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you. 13 So eNebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, eand all the chief officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and took Jeremiah from fthe court of the guard. They entrusted him to gGedaliah the son of hAhikam, son of iShaphan, that he should take him home. So jhe lived among the people.

15 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah kwhile he was shut up in the court of the guard: 16 Go, and say to lEbed-melech the Ethiopian, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: mBehold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and nnot for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. 17 But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men oof whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your plife as a prize of war, qbecause you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.


Jeremiah 40:1–6

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord rafter Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from sRamah, when he took him tbound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, uThe Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. vBecause you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. Now, behold, I release you today from tthe chains on your hands. wIf it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, wbut if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. xSee, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. If you remain,1 then return to yGedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, zwhom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go. So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. Then Jeremiah went to yGedaliah the son of Ahikam, at aMizpah, and lived with him bamong the people cwho were left in the land.


Jeremiah 52:12–27

The Temple Burned

12 hIn the fifth month, on ithe tenth day of the monththat was jthe nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of BabylonNebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who kserved the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and lthe deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

17 And the mpillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the nbronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ocarried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 And they took away pthe pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; 19 qalso the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and rthe lampstands and sthe dishes for incense sand the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 20 As for the two pillars, the one sea, tthe twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea,1 and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,2 uits circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. 22 On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was vfive cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.

The People Exiled to Babylon

24 And the captain of the guard took wSeraiah the chief priest, and xZephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and yseven men of the king’s council, who were found in the city; and the secretary 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 brought them to the king of Babylon at zRiblah. 27 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at zRiblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.


2 Kings 25:8–21

eIn the fifth month, on fthe seventh day of the monththat was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of BabylonNebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. gAnd he burned the house of the Lord hand the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, ibroke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 jAnd the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left ksome of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 lAnd the pillars mof bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and nthe stands and othe bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 pAnd they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, qthe bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 rThe height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,1 and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.

18 sAnd the captain of the guard took tSeraiah the chief priest and uZephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and vfive men of the king’s council who were found in the city; and the secretary 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 city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at wRiblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at wRiblah in the land of Hamath. xSo Judah was taken into exile out of its land.


2 Chronicles 36:15–21

15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, csent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 dBut they kept mocking the messengers of God, edespising his words and scoffing at his prophets, funtil the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

Jerusalem Captured and Burned

17 gTherefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 hAnd all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 iAnd they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He jtook into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, kand they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had lenjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate mit kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.