Jeremiah 52:13-34

52:13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house. 52:14 The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. 52:15 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took into exile some of the poor, ¹  the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the rest of the craftsmen. 52:16 But he ²  left behind some of the poor ³  and gave them fields and vineyards.

52:17 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the temple of the Lord, as well as the movable stands and the large bronze basin called the “The Sea.” ⁴  They took all the bronze to Babylon. 52:18 They also took the pots, shovels, ⁵  trimming shears, ⁶  basins, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. ⁷  52:19 The captain of the royal guard took the gold and silver bowls, censers, ⁸  basins, pots, lampstands, pans, and vessels. ⁹  52:20 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple (including the two pillars, the large bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” and the movable stands ¹⁰ ) was too heavy to be weighed. 52:21 Each of the pillars was about 27 feet ¹¹  high, about 18 feet ¹²  in circumference, three inches ¹³  thick, and hollow. 52:22 The bronze top of one pillar was about seven and one-half feet ¹⁴  high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate-shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its pomegranate-shaped ornaments was like it. 52:23 There were ninety-six pomegranate-shaped ornaments on the sides; in all there were one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments over the latticework that went around it.

52:24 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁵  52:25 From the city he took an official who was in charge of the soldiers, seven of the king’s advisers who were discovered in the city, an official army secretary who drafted citizens ¹⁶  for military service, and sixty citizens who were discovered in the middle of the city. 52:26 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 52:27 The king of Babylon ordered them to be executed ¹⁷  at Riblah in the territory of Hamath.

So Judah was taken into exile away from its land. 52:28 Here is the official record of the number of people ¹⁸  Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: In the seventh year, ¹⁹  3,023 Jews; 52:29 in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, ²⁰  832 people from Jerusalem; 52:30 in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, ²¹  Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, carried into exile 745 Judeans. In all 4,600 people went into exile.

Jehoiachin in Exile

52:31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-fifth ²²  day of the twelfth month, ²³  Evil-Merodach, in the first year of his reign, pardoned ²⁴  King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. 52:32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than ²⁵  the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 52:33 Jehoiachin ²⁶  took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. 52:34 He was given daily provisions by the king of Babylon for the rest of his life until the day he died.

[52:15]  ¹ tn Heb “poor of the people.”

[52:16]  ² tn Heb “Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and modern English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.

[52:16]  ³ tn Heb “poor of the land.”

[52:17]  ⁴ sn For discussion of the items listed here, see the study notes at Jer 27:19.

[52:18]  ⁵ sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.

[52:18]  ⁶ sn These trimming shears were used to trim the wicks of the lamps.

[52:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “with which they served (or “fulfilled their duty”).”

[52:19]  ⁸ sn The censers held the embers used for the incense offerings.

[52:19]  ⁹ sn These vessels were used for drink offerings.

[52:20]  ¹⁰ tc The translation follows the LXX (Greek version), which reflects the description in 1 Kgs 7:25-26. The Hebrew text reads, “the twelve bronze bulls under the movable stands.” הַיָּם (hayyam, “The Sea”) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton; note that the following form, הַמְּכֹנוֹת (hammÿkhonot, “the movable stands”), also begins with the article.

[52:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.

[52:21]  ¹² tn Heb “twelve cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.

[52:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “four fingers.”

[52:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “five cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.

[52:24]  ¹⁵ sn See the note at Jer 35:4.

[52:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “men, from the people of the land” (also later in this verse).

[52:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”

[52:28]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “these are the people.”

[52:28]  ¹⁹ sn This would be 597 b.c.

[52:29]  ²⁰ sn This would be 586 b.c.

[52:30]  ²¹ sn This would be 581 b.c.

[52:31]  ²² sn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 25:28 has “twenty-seventh.”

[52:31]  ²³ sn The twenty-fifth day would be March 20, 561 b.c. in modern reckoning.

[52:31]  ²⁴ tn Heb “lifted up the head of.”

[52:32]  ²⁵ tn Heb “made his throne above the throne of

[52:33]  ²⁶ tn The subject is unstated in the Hebrew text, but Jehoiachin is clearly the subject of the following verb.