The Lord’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.

从犹大王约西亚的儿子约雅敬在位的时候，直到犹大王约西亚的儿子西底家在位的末年，就是十一年五月间耶路撒冷人被掳的时候，耶和华的话也常临到耶利米。

从约西亚的儿子犹大王约雅敬在位的时候，直到约西亚的儿子犹大王西底家在位的末年，就是第十一年五月间耶路撒冷被掳时，耶和华的话也常临到耶利米。

从约西亚的儿子犹大王约雅敬在位的时候，直到约西亚的儿子犹大王西底家在位的末年，就是第十一年五月间耶路撒冷被掳时，耶和华的话也常临到耶利米。

从犹大王约西亚的儿子约雅敬开始执政，一直到约西亚的另一个儿子西底迦做犹大王的第十一年五月，就是耶路撒冷的居民被掳之日，耶和华的话常常传给耶利米。

从犹大王约西亚的儿子约雅敬年间，直到犹大王约西亚的儿子西底家末年，就是第十一年五月，耶路撒冷人被掳的时候，耶和华的话也常临到耶利米。

從猶大王約西亞的兒子約雅敬在位的時候，直到猶大王約西亞的兒子西底家在位的末年，就是十一年五月間耶路撒冷人被擄的時候，耶和華的話也常臨到耶利米。

從約西亞的兒子猶大王約雅敬在位的時候，直到約西亞的兒子猶大王西底家在位的末年，就是第十一年五月間耶路撒冷被擄時，耶和華的話也常臨到耶利米。

從約西亞的兒子猶大王約雅敬在位的時候，直到約西亞的兒子猶大王西底家在位的末年，就是第十一年五月間耶路撒冷被擄時，耶和華的話也常臨到耶利米。

從猶大王約西亞的兒子約雅敬開始執政，一直到約西亞的另一個兒子西底迦做猶大王的第十一年五月，就是耶路撒冷的居民被擄之日，耶和華的話常常傳給耶利米。

從猶大王約西亞的兒子約雅敬年間，直到猶大王約西亞的兒子西底家末年，就是第十一年五月，耶路撒冷人被擄的時候，耶和華的話也常臨到耶利米。

當猶大王約西亞的兒子約雅敬的日子，直到猶大王約西亞的兒子西底家十一年年底，直到五月間耶路撒冷人流亡的時候，永恆主的話都常常傳與耶利米。

又諭之於猶大王約西亞子約雅敬時、迄約西亞子西底家十一年之末、是年五月、耶路撒冷被虜、○

猶大王約西亞子約雅敬在位時亦得默示、得默示直至約西亞子西底家在位十一年之終、是年五月、耶路撒冷民被擄、

and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

After Josiah, his son Jehoiakim was king over Judah. The Lord’ s message also came to Jeremiah during the whole time Jehoiakim ruled. The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah while Zedekiah was king over Judah. He did this until the fifth month of the 11th year of Zedekiah’s rule. That’s when the people of Jerusalem were forced to leave their country. Zedekiah was the son of Josiah. Here is what Jeremiah said.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

The LORD also spoke to him when Jehoiakim son of Josiah ruled over Judah, and he continued to speak to him until the fifth month of the eleventh year that Zedekiah son of Josiah ruled over Judah. That was when the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

Two and a half years later, on July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, a section of the city wall was broken down.

Pharaoh Neco then installed Eliakim, another of Josiah’s sons, to reign in place of his father, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt as a prisoner, where he died.

Jehoiakim was twenty five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the treasures from the Temple of the Lord, and he placed them in his palace in Babylon.The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign, including all the evil things he did and everything found against him, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Then his son Jehoiachin became the next king.

Then the king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, as the next king, and he changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.Zedekiah was twenty one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.But Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.These things happened because of the Lord’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, the soldiers waited for nightfall and escaped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley.But the Babylonian troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city.Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the Lord’s Temple in the days of Solomon.Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1/2 feet high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah.When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, and all their men.Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm.“ Don’t be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised.But in midautumn of that year, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.In the thirty seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2 of that year.He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.So the king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived.

One day in late summer of that same year— the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah— Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said,“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:‘ I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks.Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon.And I will bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple.He said,“ Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives.But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people.The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease.So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the Lord.”Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces.And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered,“ This is what the Lord says:‘ Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area.Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah:“ Go and tell Hananiah,‘ This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron.The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.’”Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah,“ Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies.Therefore, this is what the Lord says:‘ You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’”Two months later the prophet Hananiah died.

“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.

Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim as the king of Judah. He was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.But neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the Lord said through Jeremiah.Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to ask Jeremiah,“ Please pray to the Lord our God for us.”Jeremiah had not yet been imprisoned, so he could come and go among the people as he pleased.At this time the army of Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt appeared at the southern border of Judah. When the Babylonian army heard about it, they withdrew from their siege of Jerusalem.Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah:“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what is going to happen. Tell him,‘ Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you.Then the Babylonians will come back and capture this city and burn it to the ground.’“ This is what the Lord says: Do not fool yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians are gone for good. They aren’t!Even if you were to destroy the entire Babylonian army, leaving only a handful of wounded survivors, they would still stagger from their tents and burn this city to the ground!”When the Babylonian army left Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s approaching army,Jeremiah started to leave the city on his way to the territory of Benjamin, to claim his share of the property among his relatives there.But as he was walking through the Benjamin Gate, a sentry arrested him and said,“ You are defecting to the Babylonians!” The sentry making the arrest was Irijah son of Shelemiah, grandson of Hananiah.“ That’s not true!” Jeremiah protested.“ I had no intention of doing any such thing.” But Irijah wouldn’t listen, and he took Jeremiah before the officials.They were furious with Jeremiah and had him flogged and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary. Jonathan’s house had been converted into a prison.Jeremiah was put into a dungeon cell, where he remained for many days.Later King Zedekiah secretly requested that Jeremiah come to the palace, where the king asked him,“ Do you have any messages from the Lord?”“ Yes, I do!” said Jeremiah.“ You will be defeated by the king of Babylon.”Then Jeremiah asked the king,“ What crime have I committed? What have I done against you, your attendants, or the people that I should be imprisoned like this?Where are your prophets now who told you the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?Listen, my lord the king, I beg you. Don’t send me back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for I will die there.”So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon. Instead, he was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. The king also commanded that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every day as long as there was any left in the city. So Jeremiah was put in the palace prison.

This message for all the people of Judah came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign over Judah. This was the year when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon began his reign.Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people in Judah and Jerusalem,“ For the past twenty three years— from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until now— the Lord has been giving me his messages. I have faithfully passed them on to you, but you have not listened.

“ Say to all your people and your priests,‘ During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting?

This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah.“ This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word.Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will change my mind about the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins.“ Say to them,‘ This is what the Lord says: If you will not listen to me and obey my word I have given you,and if you will not listen to my servants, the prophets— for I sent them again and again to warn you, but you would not listen to them—then I will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on earth.’”The priests, the prophets, and all the people listened to Jeremiah as he spoke in front of the Lord’s Temple.But when Jeremiah had finished his message, saying everything the Lord had told him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple mobbed him.“ Kill him!” they shouted.“ What right do you have to prophesy in the Lord’s name that this Temple will be destroyed like Shiloh? What do you mean, saying that Jerusalem will be destroyed and left with no inhabitants?” And all the people threatened him as he stood in front of the Temple.When the officials of Judah heard what was happening, they rushed over from the palace and sat down at the New Gate of the Temple to hold court.The priests and prophets presented their accusations to the officials and the people.“ This man should die!” they said.“ You have heard with your own ears what a traitor he is, for he has prophesied against this city.”Then Jeremiah spoke to the officials and the people in his own defense.“ The Lord sent me to prophesy against this Temple and this city,” he said.“ The Lord gave me every word that I have spoken.But if you stop your sinning and begin to obey the Lord your God, he will change his mind about this disaster that he has announced against you.As for me, I am in your hands— do with me as you think best.But if you kill me, rest assured that you will be killing an innocent man! The responsibility for such a deed will lie on you, on this city, and on every person living in it. For it is absolutely true that the Lord sent me to speak every word you have heard.”Then the officials and the people said to the priests and prophets,“ This man does not deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”Then some of the wise old men stood and spoke to all the people assembled there.They said,“ Remember when Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. He told the people of Judah,‘ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.’But did King Hezekiah and the people kill him for saying this? No, they turned from their sins and worshiped the Lord. They begged him for mercy. Then the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had pronounced against them. So we are about to do ourselves great harm.”At this time Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath jearim was also prophesying for the Lord. And he predicted the same terrible disaster against the city and nation as Jeremiah did.When King Jehoiakim and the army officers and officials heard what he was saying, the king sent someone to kill him. But Uriah heard about the plan and escaped in fear to Egypt.Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt along with several other men to capture Uriah.They took him prisoner and brought him back to King Jehoiakim. The king then killed Uriah with a sword and had him buried in an unmarked grave.Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan stood up for Jeremiah and persuaded the court not to turn him over to the mob to be killed.

During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled.Then the Lord sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the Lord had promised through his prophets.These disasters happened to Judah because of the Lord’s command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh,who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The Lord would not forgive this.The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became the next king.The king of Egypt did not venture out of his country after that, for the king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt— from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.Jehoiachin did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father had done.

The sons of Josiah were Johanan( the oldest), Jehoiakim( the second), Zedekiah( the third), and Jehoahaz( the fourth).

Zedekiah was twenty one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the Lord.He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials.Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value.The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.

The Lord spoke through Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to speak with him. They begged Jeremiah,“ Please speak to the Lord for us and ask him to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking Judah. Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies.”Jeremiah replied,“ Go back to King Zedekiah and tell him,‘ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will make your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside your walls attacking you. In fact, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city.I myself will fight against you with a strong hand and a powerful arm, for I am very angry. You have made me furious!I will send a terrible plague upon this city, and both people and animals will die.And after all that, says the Lord, I will hand over King Zedekiah, his staff, and everyone else in the city who survives the disease, war, and famine. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their other enemies. He will slaughter them and show them no mercy, pity, or compassion.’“ Tell all the people,‘ This is what the Lord says: Take your choice of life or death!Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life!For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the Lord. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.’“ Say to the royal family of Judah,‘ Listen to this message from the Lord!This is what the Lord says to the dynasty of David:“‘ Give justice each morning to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Otherwise, my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.I will personally fight against the people in Jerusalem, that mighty fortress— the people who boast,“ No one can touch us here. No one can break in here.”And I myself will punish you for your sinfulness, says the Lord. I will light a fire in your forests that will burn up everything around you.’”

Zedekiah was twenty one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.But Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.These things happened because of the Lord’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah’s reign.By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.Then a section of the city wall was broken down, and all the soldiers fled. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.But the Babylonian troops chased King Zedekiah and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah.Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains, and the king of Babylon led him away to Babylon. Zedekiah remained there in prison until the day of his death.On August 17 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city.Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields.The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord’s Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, basins, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.The captain of the guard also took the small bowls, incense burners, basins, pots, lampstands, ladles, bowls used for liquid offerings, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea with the twelve bronze oxen beneath it, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the Lord’s Temple in the days of King Solomon.Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference. They were hollow, with walls 3 inches thick.The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1/2 feet high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.There were 96 pomegranates on the sides, and a total of 100 pomegranates on the network around the top.Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; seven of the king’s personal advisers; the army commander’s chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.The number of captives taken to Babylon in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 3,023.Then in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year he took 832 more.In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty third year he sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who took 745 more— a total of 4,600 captives in all.In the thirty seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on March 31 of that year.He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king’s presence for the rest of his life.So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. This continued until the day of his death.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all the armies from the kingdoms he ruled, and he fought against Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. At that time this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:“ Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him,‘ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. Then you will be exiled to Babylon.“‘ But listen to this promise from the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says: You will not be killed in warbut will die peacefully. People will burn incense in your memory, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, crying,“ Alas, our master is dead!” This I have decreed, says the Lord.’”So Jeremiah the prophet delivered the message to King Zedekiah of Judah.At this time the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah— the only fortified cities of Judah not yet captured.This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, proclaiming freedom for the slaves.He had ordered all the people to free their Hebrew slaves— both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Judean in bondage.The officials and all the people had obeyed the king’s command,but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again.So the Lord gave them this message through Jeremiah:“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors long ago when I rescued them from their slavery in Egypt.I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me.Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name.But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.“ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth.Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows.Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people— for you have broken your oath.I will give you to your enemies, and they will kill you. Your bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.“ I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to the army of the king of Babylon. And although they have left Jerusalem for a while,I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.”This is the message the Lord gave Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah:“ Go to the settlement where the families of the Recabites live, and invite them to the Lord’s Temple. Take them into one of the inner rooms, and offer them some wine.”So I went to see Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah and all his brothers and sons— representing all the Recabite families.I took them to the Temple, and we went into the room assigned to the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was located next to the one used by the Temple officials, directly above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the Temple gatekeeper.I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink,but they refused.“ No,” they said,“ we don’t drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab son of Recab gave us this command:‘ You and your descendants must never drink wine.And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters.We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops.We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor.But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked this country, we were afraid of the Babylonian and Syrian armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem. That is why we are here.”Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah:“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem,‘ Come and learn a lesson about how to obey me.The Recabites do not drink wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me.Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you,“ Turn from your wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me.The descendants of Jehonadab son of Recab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.’“ Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:‘ Because you refuse to listen or answer when I call, I will send upon Judah and Jerusalem all the disasters I have threatened.’”Then Jeremiah turned to the Recabites and said,“ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:‘ You have obeyed your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect, following all his instructions.’Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:‘ Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’”