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.

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.

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.

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.

In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city.

And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon.Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him.They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month— that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon— Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.And he burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile.But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service,the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold;and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city.And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor.Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite.And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying,“ Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison.And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table,and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,“ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord,and the prophet Jeremiah said,“ Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles.Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them.And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying,“ Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:“ Go, tell Hananiah,‘ Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron.For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’”And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah,“ Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.Therefore thus says the Lord:‘ Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

“ Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.

Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim.But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,“ Please pray for us to the Lord our God.”Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:“ Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me,‘ Behold, Pharaoh’s army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land.And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire.Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying,“ The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away.For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army,Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people.When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying,“ You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”And Jeremiah said,“ It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days,King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said,“ Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said,“ There is.” Then he said,“ You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.”Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah,“ What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison?Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying,‘ The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’?Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.”So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah( that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:“ For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened.

“ Say to all the people of the land and the priests,‘ When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord:“ Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.You shall say to them,‘ Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you,and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened,then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’”The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying,“ You shall die!Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying,‘ This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord.Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people,“ This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying,“ The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard.Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you.Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets,“ This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying,“ Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah:‘ Thus says the Lord of hosts,“‘ Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah.And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt.Then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, Elnathan the son of Achbor and others with him,and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets.Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon.Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord.He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel.All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand.And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon.And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels.He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia,to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying,“ Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”Then Jeremiah said to them:“ Thus you shall say to Zedekiah,‘ Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city.I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath.And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence.Afterward, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’“ And to this people you shall say:‘ Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war.For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’“ And to the house of the king of Judah say,‘ Hear the word of the Lord,O house of David! Thus says the Lord:“‘ Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of your evil deeds.’”“ Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain, declares the Lord; you who say,‘ Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter our habitations?’I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the Lord; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.”

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him.Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah.He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month— that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon— Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans.But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon.And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service;also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight.As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow.On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates.There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold;and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king’s council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who 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 at Riblah.And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans;in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons;in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600.And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table,and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities:“ Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him,‘ Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you:‘ You shall not die by the sword.You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying,“ Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem,when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah, for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained.The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them,that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother.And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free.But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord:“ Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying,‘ At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name,but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.“ Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the Lord. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts—the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you.Behold, I will command, declares the Lord, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:“ Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.”So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites.I brought them to the house of the Lord into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold.Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them,“ Drink wine.”But they answered,“ We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us,‘ You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever.You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed,but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us.But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said,‘ Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem.”Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:“ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord.The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me.I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying,‘ Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.”But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said,“ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you,therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.”