2 Kings 25
1 On January 15 of the ninth year that Zedekiah had been ruling, King Nebuchadnezzar arrived with his whole army, and they surrounded Jerusalem. They built ramps [made of dirt against the walls of the city], so that they could climb up the ramps and attack the city.
| ויהי בשנת התשיעית למלכו בחדש העשירי בעשור לחדש בא נבכדנאצר מלך בבל הוא וכל חילו על ירושלם ויחן עליה ויבנו עליה דיק סביב |
2 They did that for two years.
| ותבא העיר במצור עד עשתי עשרה שנה למלך צדקיהו |
3 After Zedekiah had been ruling for eleven years, the (famine/shortage of food) had become very bad. All their food was gone.
| בתשעה לחדש ויחזק הרעב בעיר ולא היה לחם לעם הארץ |
4 On July 18 of that year, the Babylonian soldiers broke through part of the city wall, [and that enabled them to enter the city]. All the soldiers of Judah [wanted to escape]. But the Babylonian soldiers surrounded the city, so the [king and] the soldiers of Judah waited until it was nighttime. Then they fled through the gate that was between the two walls near the king’s park. They ran across the fields and started to go down to the Jordan [River] Valley.
| ותבקע העיר וכל אנשי המלחמה הלילה דרך שער בין החמתים אשר על גן המלך וכשדים על העיר סביב וילך דרך הערבה |
5 But the Babylonian soldiers chased/ran after them. They caught the king when he was by himself in the valley near the Jordan River. He was by himself because all his soldiers had abandoned him.
| וירדפו חיל כשדים אחר המלך וישגו אתו בערבות ירחו וכל חילו--נפצו מעליו |
6 The Babylonian soldiers took King Zedekiah to Riblah [city] in Babylon. There the king of Babylon decided what they would do to punish him.
| ויתפשו את המלך ויעלו אתו אל מלך בבל רבלתה וידברו אתו משפט |
7 There the king of Babylon forced Zedekiah to watch as the Babylonian soldiers killed all of Zedekiah’s sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes. They put bronze chains on [his hands and feet] and then they took him to Babylon.
| ואת בני צדקיהו שחטו לעיניו ואת עיני צדקיהו עור ויאסרהו בנחשתים ויבאהו בבל |
8 On August 14 of that year, after Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling for 19 years, Nebuzaradan arrived in Jerusalem. He was one of king Nebuchadnezzar’s officials and captain of the men that guarded the king.
| ובחדש החמישי בשבעה לחדש--היא שנת תשע עשרה שנה למלך נבכדנאצר מלך בבל בא נבוזראדן רב טבחים עבד מלך בבל--ירושלם |
9 He [commanded his soldiers to] burn down the temple of Yahweh, the king’s palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. So they burned down all the important buildings in the city.
| וישרף את בית יהוה ואת בית המלך ואת כל בתי ירושלם ואת כל בית גדול שרף באש |
10 Then Nebuzaradan supervised all the soldiers of the Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem.
| ואת חומת ירושלם סביב--נתצו כל חיל כשדים אשר רב טבחים |
11 Then he and his soldiers took to Babylon the people who were still living in the city, the other people [who lived in that area], and the soldiers who had previously surrendered to the Babylonian army.
| ואת יתר העם הנשארים בעיר ואת הנפלים אשר נפלו על המלך בבל ואת יתר ההמון--הגלה נבוזראדן רב טבחים |
12 But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the very poor people to stay in Judah to take care of the vineyards and [to plant crops in] the fields.
| ומדלת הארץ השאיר רב טבחים לכרמים וליגבים |
13 The Babylonian soldiers broke into pieces the bronze pillars, the bronze carts with wheels, and the huge bronze basin, all of which were in the temple courtyard, and they took all the bronze to Babylon.
| ואת עמודי הנחשת אשר בית יהוה ואת המכנות ואת ים הנחשת אשר בבית יהוה--שברו כשדים וישאו את נחשתם בבלה |
14 They also took the pots, the shovels, the instruments for (snuffing out/extinguishing) [the wicks of] the lamps, the dishes, and all the other bronze items that the Israeli priests had used for offering sacrifices at the temple.
| ואת הסירת ואת היעים ואת המזמרות ואת הכפות ואת כל כלי הנחשת אשר ישרתו בם--לקחו |
15 The soldiers also took away the (firepans/trays for carrying burning coals), the basins, and [all the other] items made of pure gold or pure silver.
| ואת המחתות ואת המזרקות אשר זהב זהב ואשר כסף כסף--לקח רב טבחים |
16 The bronze from the two pillars, the carts with wheels, and the huge basin were very heavy; they could not be weighed. (Those things had been made/A man named Hiram had made these things) for the temple when Solomon [was the king of Israel].
| העמודים שנים הים האחד והמכנות אשר עשה שלמה לבית יהוה--לא היה משקל לנחשת כל הכלים האלה |
17 Each of the pillars was (27 feet/8 meters) tall. The bronze capital/top of each pillar was (7-1/2 feet/2.3 meters) high. They were each decorated all around with something that looked like a net made of bronze chains connecting bronze pomegranates.
| שמנה עשרה אמה קומת העמוד האחד וכתרת עליו נחשת וקומת הכתרת שלש אמה (אמות) ושבכה ורמנים על הכתרת סביב הכל נחשת וכאלה לעמוד השני על השבכה |
18 Nebuzaradan took with him to Babylon Seraiah the Supreme Priest, Zephaniah his assistant, and the three men who guarded the entrance [to the temple].
| ויקח רב טבחים את שריה כהן הראש ואת צפניהו כהן משנה ואת שלשת שמרי הסף |
19 And they found people who were still hiding in Jerusalem. From those people he took one officer from the Judean army, five of the king’s advisors, the chief secretary of the army commander who was in charge of recruiting men to join the army, and 60 other important Judean men.
| ומן העיר לקח סריס אחד אשר הוא פקיד על אנשי המלחמה וחמשה אנשים מראי פני המלך אשר נמצאו בעיר ואת הספר שר הצבא המצבא את עם הארץ וששים איש מעם הארץ הנמצאים בעיר |
20 Nebuzaradan took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah [city].
| ויקח אתם נבוזראדן רב טבחים וילך אתם על מלך בבל רבלתה |
21 There at Riblah, in Hamath province, the king of Babylon commanded that they all be executed. That is what happened when the people of Judah were (taken forcefully/exiled) from their land [to Babylon].
| ויך אתם מלך בבל וימיתם ברבלה בארץ חמת ויגל יהודה מעל אדמתו |
22 Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah, who was the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to be the governor of the people who were still living in Judah.
| והעם הנשאר בארץ יהודה אשר השאיר נבוכדנאצר מלך בבל--ויפקד עליהם את גדליהו בן אחיקם בן שפן |
23 When all the army captains of Judah and their soldiers who had not surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar found out that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah to be the governor, they met with him at Mizpah [town]. These army captains were Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth from Netophah [town], and Jaazaniah from the Maacah region.
| וישמעו כל שרי החילים המה והאנשים כי הפקיד מלך בבל את גדליהו ויבאו אל גדליהו המצפה וישמעאל בן נתניה ויוחנן בן קרח ושריה בן תנחמת הנטפתי ויאזניהו בן המעכתי--המה ואנשיהם |
24 Gedaliah solemnly promised them [that the officials from Babylon were not planning to harm them]. He said, “You may live in this land [without being afraid] and serve the king of Babylon, and [if you do], everything will go well for you.”
| וישבע להם גדליהו ולאנשיהם ויאמר להם אל תיראו מעבדי הכשדים שבו בארץ ועבדו את מלך בבל--ויטב לכם |
25 But in October of that year, Ishmael, whose grandfather Elishama was one of the relatives of the descendants of King David, went to Mizpah along with ten other men and assassinated/killed Gedaliah and all the men who were with him. There were also men from Judah and men from Babylon whom they assassinated.
| ויהי בחדש השביעי בא ישמעאל בן נתניה בן אלישמע מזרע המלוכה ועשרה אנשים אתו ויכו את גדליהו וימת ואת היהודים ואת הכשדים אשר היו אתו במצפה |
26 Then many [HYP] of the people from Judah, important people and unimportant ones, and the army captains, were very afraid of [what] the Babylonians [would do to them], so they fled to Egypt.
| ויקמו כל העם מקטן ועד גדול ושרי החילים ויבאו מצרים כי יראו מפני כשדים |
27 Thirty-seven years after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken to Babylon, [Nebuchadnezzar’s son] Evil-Merodach became the king of Babylon. He was kind to Jehoiachin, and on April 2 of that year, he released/freed Jehoiachin from prison.
| ויהי בשלשים ושבע שנה לגלות יהויכין מלך יהודה בשנים עשר חדש בעשרים ושבעה לחדש נשא אויל מרדך מלך בבל בשנת מלכו את ראש יהויכין מלך יהודה--מבית כלא |
28 He always spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and honored him more than the other kings who had been taken/exiled to Babylon.
| וידבר אתו טבות ויתן את כסאו מעל כסא המלכים אשר אתו בבבל |
29 He gave Jehoiachin new clothes to replace the clothes that he had been wearing in prison, and he allowed Jehoiachin to eat at the king’s table every day for the rest of his life.
| ושנא את בגדי כלאו ואכל לחם תמיד לפניו כל ימי חייו |
30 The king of Babylon also gave him money every day, so that he could buy the things that he needed. The king continued to do that until Jehoiachin died.
| וארחתו ארחת תמיד נתנה לו מאת המלך--דבר יום ביומו כל ימי חיו |
