Jeremiah 39
1 And it came to pass when Jerusalem was taken, in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.
In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his whole army arrived at Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the city was broken into;
On the ninth day of the fourth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, the city wall was broken through.
3 and all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebu, Sarsechim, chief chamberlain, Nergal-sharezer, chief magian, and all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
All the officials of the king of Babylon came in and took over the city, making their headquarters at the Middle Gate. They were Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the other officials of the king of Babylon.
4 And it came to pass when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls; and he went out the way of the plain.
When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the defenders saw them there, they ran away. They escaped from the city during the night through the king's garden, passing through the gate between the two walls, and took the road to the Arabah.
5 And the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him, and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, unto Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he pronounced judgment upon him.
But the Babylonian army chased after them and caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and brought him before Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he put him on trial and punished him.
6 And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah;
The king of Babylon had Zedekiah's sons killed as Zedekiah watched, and he also executed all of Judah's leaders there in Riblah.
7 and he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, to carry him to Babylon.
Then he had Zedekiah's eyes gouged out, and had him bound with bronze chains and taken away to Babylon.
8 And the Chaldeans burned the king's house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
The Babylonians burned down the king's palace and the people's houses, and they demolished Jerusalem's city walls.
9 And Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard carried away captive into Babylon the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the deserters that had deserted to him, with the rest of the people that were left.
Then Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried off to Babylon the rest of the people who had stayed in the city, together with those who had deserted and gone over to him.
10 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard left [certain] of the people, the poor who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
But he left behind in the land of Judah some of the poorest people who didn't have any property. He gave them vineyards and fields at that time.
11 And Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had given charge concerning Jeremiah by Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard, saying,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders to Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard regarding Jeremiah, saying,
12 Take him, and keep an eye upon him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
“Go and get Jeremiah and watch out that nothing bad happens to him. Do whatever he wants.”
13 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard sent, and Nebushazban, chief chamberlain, and Nergal-sharezer, chief magian, and all the king of Babylon's princes,
So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the army captains of the king of Babylon
14 even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should conduct him away home. And he dwelt among the people.
took Jeremiah from the guard's courtyard, and they handed him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. Jeremiah stayed there with his own people.
15 And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying,
During the time that Jeremiah had been kept prisoner in the guard's courtyard, a message from the Lord had come to him:
16 Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good, and they shall come to pass before thy face in that day.
“Go and tell Ebed-melech the Cushite that this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to keep my promise I made against this city—to harm it and not to help it—you'll see it for yourself when it happens.
17 And I will deliver thee in that day, saith Jehovah; and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid;
But when that day comes I'm going to save you, declares the Lord. You won't be handed over to the people you're afraid of.
18 for I will certainly save thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thou shalt have thy life for a prey; for thou hast put thy confidence in me, saith Jehovah.
I promise to rescue you so that you're won't be killed. Your reward will be your life, because you trusted in me, declares the Lord.”
