⁵⁸ Thus says the Lord of hosts:

Jeremiah’s Command to Seraiah

⁵⁹ The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of ^(G)Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was the quartermaster. ⁶⁰ So Jeremiah ^(H)wrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. ⁶¹ And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, ⁶² then you shall say, ‘O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that ^(I)none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ ⁶³ Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, ^(J)that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. ⁶⁴ Then you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary.’ ”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

The Fall of Jerusalem Reviewed^(K)

52 Zedekiah was ^(L)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 ^(M)Libnah. ² He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ³ For because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah ^(N)rebelled against the king of Babylon.

⁴ Now it came to pass in the ^(O)ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. ⁵ So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶ By the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the ^[b]plain.

⁸ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. ^9 (P)So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. ^10 (Q)Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ He also ^(R)put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in ^[c]bronze fetters, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

The Temple and City Plundered and Burned

^12 (S)Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (^(T)which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ^(U)Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. ¹⁴ And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. ^15 (V)Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers.

^17 (W)The ^(X)bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took away ^(Y)the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the ^[d]bowls, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. ¹⁹ The basins, the firepans, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the spoons, and the cups, whatever was solid gold and whatever was solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. ²⁰ The two pillars, one Sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under it, and the carts, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—^(Z)the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. ²¹ Now concerning the ^(AA)pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen ^[e]cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumference, and its thickness was ^[f]four fingers; it was hollow. ²² A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze. The second pillar, with pomegranates was the same. ²³ There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; ^(AB)all the pomegranates, all around on the network, were one hundred.

The People Taken Captive to Babylonia

^24 (AC)The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, ^(AD)Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. ²⁵ He also took out of the city an ^[g]officer who had charge of the men of war, seven men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the principal scribe 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. ²⁶ And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

^28 (AE)These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: ^(AF)in the seventh year, ^(AG)three thousand and twenty-three Jews; ^29 (AH)in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; ³⁰ in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons. All the persons were four thousand six hundred.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison^(AI)

^31 (AJ)Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that ^[h]Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, ^(AK)lifted^[i] up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. ³² And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So ^[j]Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, ^(AL)and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. ³⁴ And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

Graces of the Heirs of Grace

3 Remind them ^(A)to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, ^(B)to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. ³ For ^(C)we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when ^(D)the kindness and the love of ^(E)God our Savior toward man appeared, ^5 (F)not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through ^(G)the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ^6 (H)whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace ^(I)we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

^8 (J)This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Avoid Dissension

⁹ But ^(K)avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. ^10 (L)Reject a divisive man after the first and second ^[a]admonition, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

Final Messages

¹² When I send Artemas to you, or ^(M)Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Send Zenas the lawyer and ^(N)Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. ¹⁴ And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

Farewell

¹⁵ All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all. Amen.

A Song of Praise for the Lord’s Faithfulness to His People

^(A)A Psalm of Thanksgiving.