Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.
And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and they went toward the Arabah.
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he {Hebrew: spake judgements with him.}gave judgment upon him.
And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem.
And he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even {Or, every great man's house}every great house, burned he with fire.
And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the {Or, artificers}multitude.
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
And the cups, and the firepans, and the basins, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the bowls—that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver,— the captain of the guard took away.
The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah—the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
And as for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
And a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and the second pillar also had like unto these, and pomegranates.
And there were ninety and six pomegranates {Or, on the outside Hebrew: towards the four winds.}on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network round about.
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
and out of the city he took an {Or, eunuch}officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king's face, that were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty;
in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons;
in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison;
and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
and changed his prison garments. And Jehoiachin did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life:
and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.
Querverweise zu Jeremia 52,27 Jer 52,27
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
They have healed also the {Or, breach}hurt of {Another reading is, the daughter of my people, as in chapter 8:11, 21}my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
{Or, They shall be put to shame because they have committed abomination; yea, they are not &c.}Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall {Or, stumble}be cast down, saith Jehovah.
Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he {Hebrew: spake judgements with him.}gave judgment upon him.
I will even give them up to be {Or, a terror unto}tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
from mount Hor ye shall mark out unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad;
and the border shall go forth to Ziphron, and the goings out thereof shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border.
And ye shall mark out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham;
and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall reach unto the {Hebrew: shoulder.}side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;
And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
And when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,
behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah, and I will send unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about; and I will {Hebrew: devote.}utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Moreover I will {Hebrew: cause to perish from them.}take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.
He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do.
Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Jehovah's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.
Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these.
And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah's house; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.
Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
Therefore will I also deal in wrath; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, that had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of Jehovah's house, which looketh eastward: and behold, at the door of the gate five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
And he said unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise iniquity, and that give wicked counsel in this city;
that say, {Or, Is not the time near &c?}The time is not near to build houses: this city is the caldron, and we are the flesh.
Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
And the Spirit of Jehovah fell upon me, and he said unto me, Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Thus have ye said, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.
Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron; but {Another reading is, I will bring you,}ye shall be brought forth out of the midst of it.
Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, saith the Lord Jehovah.
And I will bring you forth out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; I will judge you in the border of Israel;
And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
Then shall the land enjoy its sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy its sabbaths.
As long as it lieth desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it had not in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone.
And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
until Jehovah removed Israel out of his sight, as he spake by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
And Jehovah said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste,
and Jehovah have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land.
The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly laid waste; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
For the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; {Or, Ophel}the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.
Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will Jehovah redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.