Jeremiah 52

1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became the King [of Judah]. He ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of [a man named] Jeremiah from Libnah [town].

Zedekiah was one and twentie yeere olde when he began to reigne, and he reigned eleuen yeeres in Ierusalem, and his mothers name was Hamutal, the daughter of Ieremiah of Libnah.

2 Zedekiah did [many] things that Yahweh says are evil, like [his father] Jehoiakim had done.

And he did euil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Iehoiakim had done.

3 [The events that are summarized here happened] because Yahweh was angry with [the people of] Jerusalem and [of other places in] Judah, and finally he (exiled them/forced them to go to other countries) [and said that he did not want to have anything to do with] them any more. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Doubtlesse because the wrath of the Lord was against Ierusalem and Iudah, till he had cast them out from his presence, therefore Zedekiah rebelled against the King of Babel.

4 [So, ] on January 15, when Zedekiah had been ruling for almost nine years, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army to attack Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built dirt ramps up to the top of the city walls [to enable them to attack the city].

But in the ninth yeere of his reigne, in the tenth moneth the tenth day of the moneth came Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, he and all his hoste against Ierusalem, and pitched against it, and buylt fortes against it round about.

5 They continued to surround Jerusalem until Zedekiah had been ruling for almost eleven years.

So the citie was besieged vnto the eleuenth yeere of the King Zedekiah.

6 When Zedekiah had been ruling for almost eleven years, by July 18 of that year, the (famine/lack of food) in the city had become very severe, and there was no [more] food for the people [to eat].

Now in the fourth moneth, the ninth day of the moneth, the famine was sore in ye citie, so that there was no more bread for ye people of the land.

7 Then [the soldiers of Babylonia] broke through [a section of] the city wall, and all the [Israeli] soldiers fled. But because the city was surrounded by soldiers from Babylonia, [Zedekiah and the Israeli] soldiers [waited until] it became dark. Then they left the city through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden. Then they ran towards the Jordan River Valley.

Then the citie was broken vp and all the men of warre fled, and went out of the citie by night, by the way of the gate betweene the two walles, which was by the kings garden: (now the Caldeans were by the citie round about) and they went by the way of the wildernes.

8 But the soldiers of Babylonia pursued King Zedekiah, and they caught up with him on the plains near Jericho. [He was alone because] all his men had deserted him and had scattered.

But the army of the Caldeans pursued after the king, and tooke Zedekiah in the desert of Iericho, and all his host was scattered from him.

9 The soldiers of Babylonia took him to the king of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the Hamath [region]. There the king of Babylon told [his soldiers what] they should do to punish Zedekiah.

Then they tooke the king and caryed him vp vnto the king of Babel to Riblah in the lande of Hamath, where he gaue iudgement vpon him.

10 They forced Zedekiah to watch while they killed his sons and all the officials from Judah.

And the king of Babel slewe the sonnes of Zedekiah, before his eyes he slew also al ye princes of Iudah in Riblah.

11 [Then] they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes. They fastened him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. They put him in a prison, and he remained there until the day that he died.

Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and the king of Babel bound him in chaines, and caried him to Babel, and put him in pryson till the day of his death.

12 On August 17 of that year, which was when King Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling for almost 19 years, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the king’s bodyguards and one of the king’s officials, arrived in Jerusalem.

Now in the fift moneth in the tenth day of the moneth (which was the nineteenth yere of ye King Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel) came Nebuzar-adan chiefe steward which stoode before the king of Babel in Ierusalem,

13 He [commanded his soldiers to] burn down the temple of Yahweh, the king’s palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. They [also] destroyed all the important buildings [in the city].

And burnt the House of the Lord, and the Kings house, and all the houses of Ierusalem, and all the great houses burnt he with fire.

14 Then he supervised the soldiers from Babylonia while they tore down the walls on all sides of Jerusalem.

And al the armie of the Caldeans that were with the chiefe steward, brake downe all ye walles of Ierusalem round about.

15 Then Nebuzaradan (forced to go/exiled) [to Babylon] some of the poorest people, those Israelis who had said they would support the king of Babylon, the rest of the craftsmen, and other people who had remained in Jerusalem.

Then Nebuzar-adan the chiefe steward caried away captiue certaine of the poore of the people, and the residue of the people that remayned in the citie, and those that were fled, and fallen to the king of Babel, with the rest of the multitude.

16 But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the very poor people to remain [in Judah] to take care of the vineyards and fields.

But Nebuzar-adan the chiefe steward left certaine of the poore of the lande, to dresse the vines, and to till the land.

17 The soldiers from Babylonia broke [into pieces] the [huge] bronze pillars that were in front of the temple, and the [large] bronze water tank, and the [ten bronze water] carts, and they took all the bronze to Babylon.

Also the pillars of brasse that were in the House of the Lord, and the bases, and the brasen Sea, that was in the house of ye Lord, the Caldeans brake, and caried all the brasse of them to Babel.

18 They also took away the basins [for holding the ashes from the burned sacrifices], the shovels [for cleaning out the ashes], the tools for snuffing out the wicks of the lamps, the basins [for holding the blood of the sacrificed animals], the dishes [for incense], and all the [other] bronze items that were used when sacrifices were made at the temple.

The pots also and the besomes, and the instruments of musicke, and the basins, and the incense dishes, and all the vessels of brasse wherewith they ministred, tooke they away.

19 Nebuzaradan also [told his soldiers to] take away the small bowls, the dishes for burning incense, the basins, pots, lampstands, bowls [for incense], and the bowls used for pouring out the wine offerings. They took all the other items that were made of pure gold or silver.

And the bowles, and the ashpannes, and the basins, and the pots, and the candlestickes, and the incense dishes, and the cuppes, and all that was of golde, and that was of siluer, tooke the chiefe steward away,

20 The bronze from the two pillars, the [large water] tank and the twelve statues of oxen that were beneath it, and the water carts, was more/heavier than they could weigh. Those things had been made for the temple during the time that Solomon was the king.

With the two pillars, one Sea, and twelue brasen bulles, that were vnder the bases, which King Salomon had made in ye house of ye Lord: the brasse of all these vessels was without weight.

21 Each of the pillars was (27 feet/8 meters) tall and (18 feet/5.5 meters) around. They were hollow, and each had sides/walls that were (3 in./8 cm.) thick.

And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteene cubites, and a threede of twelue cubites did compasse it, and the thicknesse thereof was foure fingers: it was holowe.

22 The bronze head on the top of each pillar was (7-1/2 feet/over 2 meters) high and was decorated all around with a bronze [network of figures that represented] pomegranates.

And a chapiter of brasse was vpon it, and the height of one chapiter was fiue cubites with networke, and pomegranates vpon the chapiters round about, all of brasse: the seconde pillar also, and the pomegranates were like vnto these.

23 There was a total of 100 figures of pomegranates on the network at the top, 96 of which could be seen from the ground.

And there were ninetie and sixe pomegranates on a side: and all the pomegranates vpon the net worke were an hundreth round about.

24 When Nebuzaradan [returned to Babylon], he took [with him as prisoners] Seraiah the Supreme Priest, Zephaniah who was Seraiah’s deputy, and the three men who guarded the entrances [to the temple].

And the chiefe steward tooke Sheraiah the chiefe Priest, and Zephaniah the seconde Priest, and the three keepers of the doore.

25 He found [some other] people who were [hiding] in the city. [So] from them he took a commander of the army [of Judah], seven of the king’s advisors, the army commander’s chief secretary who was in charge of recruiting [soldiers for the army], and 60 [other] soldiers.

Hee tooke also out of the citie an Eunuch, which had the ouersight of the men of warre, and seuen men that were in the Kings presence, which were founde in the citie, and Sopher captayne of the hoste who mustered the people of the lande, and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the middes of the citie.

26 Nebuzaradan took them all to the king of Babylon, [who was still] at Riblah.

Nebuzar-adan the chiefe stewarde tooke them, and brought them to the king of Babel to Riblah.

27 There at Riblah in the Hamath region, the king of Babylon commanded that they [all] be executed. [Many of the people of] Judah were (forced to leave/exiled from) their own land.

And the king of Babel smote them, and slewe them in Riblah, in the lande of Hamath: thus Iudah was caried away captiue out of his owne land.

28 The number of people who were captured and sent to Babylon at that time, when Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling for almost seven years, was 3,023.

This is the people, whome Nebuchad-nezzar caried away captiue, in the seuenth yeere, euen three thousande Iewes, and three and twentie.

29 Then, when he had been ruling for almost 18 years, his [soldiers] took 832 [more Israeli people to Babylonia].

In the eightenth yere of Nebuchad-nezzar he caried away captiue from Ierusalem eight hundreth thirtie and two persons.

30 When he had been ruling almost 23 years, he sent Nebuzaradan [to Jerusalem again], and he brought back 745 [more Israelis to Babylonia]. That was a total of 4,600 Israelis [who were taken to Babylonia].

In the three and twentieth yeere of Nebuchad-nezzar, Nebuzar-adan the chiefe stewarde caried away captiue of the Iewes seuen hundreth fourtie and fiue persons: all the persons were foure thousand and sixe hundreth.

31 After King Jehoiachin of Judah had been in prison [in Babylon] for almost thirty-seven years, Evil-Merodach became the king of Babylon. He was kind to Jehoiachin and ordered that he be released from prison. That was on March 31 of the year that Evil-Merodach became king.

And in the seuen and thirtieth yeere of the captiuitie of Iehoiachin King of Iudah, in the twelfth moneth, in the fiue and twentieth day of the moneth, Euil-merodach King of Babel, in the first yeere of his reigne, lifted vp the head of Iehoiachin King of Iudah, and brought him out of pryson,

32 He [always] spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a position in which he was honored more than [all] the other kings [who had been exiled/taken to Babylon].

And spake kindly vnto him, and set his throne aboue the throne of the Kings, that were with him in Babel,

33 He [supplied new clothes] for Jehoiachin, to replace the clothes that he had been wearing in prison. [He also allowed] Jehoiachin to eat with him every day, all during the rest of his life.

And changed his pryson garmentes, and he did continually eate bread before him all the dayes of his life.

34 Every day, the King [of Babylon] gave him some money [to buy the things that he needed. That continued] until the day that Jehoiachin died.

His porcion was a continuall portion giuen him of ye king of Babel, euery day a certaine, all the dayes of his life vntill he died.