1Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother’s name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah. She was from Libnah.2Zedekiah did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD. He did just as Jehoiakim had done.3The enemies of Jerusalem and Judah attacked them because the LORD was angry. In the end he threw them out of his land. Zedekiah refused to obey the king of Babylon.4Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He marched out against Jerusalem. All his armies went with him. It was in the ninth year of the rule of Zedekiah. It was on the tenth day of the tenth month. The armies set up camp outside the city. They set up ladders and built ramps and towers all around it.5It was surrounded until the 11th year of King Zedekiah’s rule.6By the ninth day of the fourth month, there wasn’t any food left in the city. So the people didn’t have anything to eat.7Then the Babylonians broke through the city wall. Judah’s whole army ran away. They left the city at night. They went out through the gate between the two walls that were near the king’s garden. They escaped even though the Babylonians surrounded the city. Judah’s army ran towards the Arabah Valley.8But the armies of Babylon chased King Zedekiah. They caught up with him in the plains near Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him. They had scattered in every direction.9The king was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah. Riblah was in the land of Hamath. That’s where Nebuchadnezzar decided how Zedekiah would be punished.10At Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah. He forced him to watch it with his own eyes. Nebuchadnezzar also killed all the officials of Judah.11Then he poked out Zedekiah’s eyes. He put him in bronze chains. And he took him to Babylon. There he put Zedekiah in prison until the day he died.12Nebuzaradan served the king of Babylon. In fact, he was commander of the royal guard. He came to Jerusalem. It was in the 19th year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. It was on the tenth day of the fifth month.13Nebuzaradan set the LORD’s temple on fire. He also set fire to the royal palace and all the houses in Jerusalem. He burned down every important building.14The armies of Babylon broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. That’s what the commander told them to do.15Some of the poorest people still remained in the city along with the others. But the commander Nebuzaradan took them away as prisoners. He also took the rest of the skilled workers. That included the people who had joined the king of Babylon.16But Nebuzaradan left the rest of the poorest people of the land behind. He told them to work in the vineyards and fields.17The armies of Babylon destroyed the LORD’s temple. They broke the bronze pillars into pieces. They broke up the bronze stands that could be moved around. And they broke up the huge bronze bowl. Then they carried away all the bronze to Babylon.18They also took away the pots, shovels, wick cutters, sprinkling bowls and dishes. They took away all the bronze objects that were used for any purpose in the temple.19The commander of the royal guard took away the bowls and the shallow cups for burning incense. He took away the sprinkling bowls, the pots, the lampstands and the dishes. He took away the bowls used for drink offerings. So he took away everything made out of pure gold or silver.20The bronze was more than anyone could weigh. It included the bronze from the two pillars. It included the bronze from the huge bowl and the 12 bronze bulls under it. It also included the stands. King Solomon had made all those things for the LORD’s temple.21Each pillar was 9 metres high and 6 metres round. The pillars were hollow. The metal in each of them was 8 centimetres thick.22The bronze top of one pillar was 2.5 metres high. It was decorated with a set of bronze chains and pomegranates all around it. The other pillar was just like it. It also had pomegranates.23There were 96 pomegranates on the sides of each of the two tops. The total number of pomegranates above the bronze chains around each top was 100.24The commander of the guard took many prisoners. They included Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the priest who reported to him. They also included the three men who guarded the temple doors.25Some people were still left in the city. The commander took as a prisoner the officer in charge of the fighting men. He took the seven men who gave advice to the king. He also took the secretary who was the chief officer in charge of getting the people of the land to serve in the army. There were 60 people of the land still in the city.26The commander Nebuzaradan took all of them away. He brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.27There the king had them put to death. Riblah was in the land of Hamath. So the people of Judah were taken as prisoners. They were taken far away from their own land.28Here is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon as prisoners. In the seventh year of his rule, he took 3,023 Jews.29In his 18th year, he took 832 people from Jerusalem.30In Nebuchadnezzar’s 23rd year, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the royal guard, took 745 Jews to Babylon. The total number of people taken to Babylon was 4,600.
Jehoiachin is set free
31Awel-Marduk set Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, free from prison. It was in the 37th year after Jehoiachin had been taken away to Babylon. It was also the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon. It was on the 25th day of the 12th month.32Awel-Marduk spoke kindly to Jehoiachin. He gave him a place of honour. Other kings were with Jehoiachin in Babylon. But his place was more important than theirs.33So Jehoiachin put away his prison clothes. For the rest of Jehoiachin’s life the king of Babylon provided what he needed.34The king did that for Jehoiachin day by day as long as he lived. He did it until the day Jehoiachin died.
1Sidkia var tjugoett år gammal när han blev kung, och han regerade i Jerusalem i elva år. Hans mor hette Hamital och var dotter till Jeremia från Libna.2Sidkia var en ogudaktig kung, alldeles som Jojakim hade varit.3Det var på grund av Herrens vrede, som allt detta som hittills beskrivits drabbade Jerusalem och Juda, och som gjorde att Herren till sist måste fördriva dem från sin närhet. Sidkia satte sig alltså upp emot Babylon.4I Sidkias nionde regeringsår, på den tionde dagen i tionde månaden, kom Nebukadnessar, kungen av Babylon, med hela sin armé mot Jerusalem, byggde belägringsvallar omkring staden5och belägrade den i två år.6På den nionde dagen i den fjärde månaden, när hungersnöden i staden var mycket stor och all mat i det närmaste slut,7bröt fienden igenom muren, och Sidkia och alla soldaterna flydde under natten. De lämnade staden genom porten mellan de två murarna i närheten av kungens trädgård, trots att staden var omringad, och flydde över fälten mot Hedmarken till.8Men de kaldeiska soldaterna förföljde dem och fick tag i kung Sidkia i närheten av Jeriko. Hela hans armé hade skingrats.9De förde honom till kungen i Babylon, som uppehöll sig i staden Ribla i kungariket Hamat, där han blev ställd inför rätta.10Kungen lät Sidkia se på när hans söner och furstar blev dödade.11Sedan stack man ut ögonen på honom och förde honom fängslad till Babylon, där han fick tillbringa resten av sitt liv som fånge.12På den tionde dagen i den femte månaden av den babyloniske kungen Nebukadnessars nittonde regeringsår, kom Nebusaradan, befälhavaren för livvakten, till Jerusalem13och brände ner templet, palatset och alla större hus14och satte de kaldeiska trupperna i arbete med att riva ner stadsmurarna.15Som fångar till Babylon tog han sedan med sig några av de fattigaste och dem som hade övergett Sidkia och kommit över till den babyloniska armén. Han tog också med de hantverkare som fanns kvar.16Men många av de fattigaste lämnade han kvar att arbeta i vingårdarna och på fälten.17Babylonierna högg ner de båda kopparpelare som stod vid ingången till templet och slog också sönder kopparfatet och ställningen det var placerat på och tog med sig detta till Babylon.18De tog också med sig askkärlen, kittlarna och askskovlarna som användes vid altaret, ljussaxarna, skedarna, kärlen och all annan utrustning från templet.19De tog också fyrfaten och ljusstakarna av guld och silver och alla bägare.20De två stora pelarna, kopparfatet och de tolv tjurarna under det var så tunga att det inte gick att väga dem eller ens uppskatta deras vikt. Allt detta hade tillverkats på kung Salomos tid.21Pelarna var åtta meter höga, fem och en halv meter i omkrets och ihåliga med tio centimeter tjocka väggar.22Pelarnas huvuden var över två meter höga och hade ornament i form av granatäpplen.23Det fanns nittiosex granatäpplen på varje sida, och ytterligare ett hundratal i ett nätverk runt om.24-25Befälhavaren för vakten tog som fångar med sig översteprästen Seraja och hans assistent Sefanja, tre av tempelvakterna, en av armébefälhavarna, sju av kungens speciella rådgivare, som man träffade på i staden, och sekreteraren åt den befälhavare som hade ansvar för rekryteringen till den judiska armén. Dessutom tog han med sig ytterligare sextio betydelsefulla män som gömt sig i staden.26De fördes till kungen i Babylon, som befann sig i Ribla,27och där blev de alla avrättade. Det var så det gick till när Juda landsförvisades.28Under kung Nebukadnessars sjunde regeringsår fördes 3.023 män som fångar till Babylon.29Elva år senare tog han ytterligare 832 fångar,30och fem år därefter sände han Nebusaradan, befälhavaren för vakten, att hämta ytterligare 745 män. Sammanlagt blev detta 4.600 män.31Den tjugofemte dagen i tolfte månaden under det trettiosjunde året av kung Jojakins fångenskap i Babylon, när Evil-Merodak var kung där, blev Jojakin frigiven ur fängelset.32Kungen var mycket vänlig mot honom och gav honom den främsta platsen bland alla de kungar som var hos honom i Babylon.33Han fick lägga av fångdräkten och äta vid kungens bord under resten av sitt liv.34Han fick också regelbundet ett underhåll ända fram till sin död.