The Divided Kingdom

But the armie of the Caldees pursued after the King, and tooke him in the desertes of Iericho, and all his hoste was scattered from him.

Then they tooke the King, and caried him vp to the King of Babel to Riblah, where they gaue iudgement vpon him.

And they slew the sonnes of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bounde him in chaines, and caried him to Babel.

And in the fift moneth, and seuenth day of the moneth, which was the nineteenth yere of King Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, came Nebuzar-adan chiefe stewarde and seruaunt of the King of Babel, to Ierusalem,

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.

And all the armie of the Caldees that were with the chiefe stewarde, brake downe the walles of Ierusalem round about.

And the rest of the people that were left in the citie, and those that were fled and fallen to the King of Babel, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan chiefe steward carie away captiue.

But the chiefe steward left of the poore of the land to dresse the vines, and to till the land.

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 the Lord, did the Caldees breake, and caried the brasse of them to Babel.

The pots also and the besomes, and the instruments of musike, and the incense dishes, and al the vessels of brasse that they ministred in, tooke they away.

And the asshe pannes, and the basens, and all that was of gold, and that was of siluer, tooke the chiefe steward away,

With the two pillars, one Sea and the bases, which Salomon had made for the house of the Lord: the brasse of all these vessels was without weight.

The height of the one pillar was eighteene cubits, and the chapiter thereon was brasse, and the height of the chapiter was with networke three cubites, and pomegranates vpon the chapiter rounde about, all of brasse: and likewise was the second pillar with the networke.

And the chiefe steward tooke Seraiah the chiefe Priest, and Zephaniah the second Priest, and the three keepers of the doore.

And out of the citie hee tooke an Eunuch that had the ouersight of the men of warre, and fiue men of them that were in the Kinges presence, which were founde in the citie, and Sopher captaine of the hoste, who mustred the people of the lande, and threescore men of the people of the lande, that were founde in the citie.

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

And the King of Babel smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Iudah was caried away captiue out of his owne land.

Howbeit there remained people in the land of Iudah, whom Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel left, and made Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam the sonne of Shaphan ruler ouer them.

Then when all the captaines of the host and their men heard, that the king of Babel had made Gedaliah gouernour, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, to wit, Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah, and Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and Seraiah the sonne of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Iaazaniah the sonne of Maachathi, they and their men.

And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and sayd vnto them, Feare not to be the seruants of the Caldees: dwell in the land, and serue the King of Babel, and ye shalbe well.

But in the seuenth moneth Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah the sonne of Elishama of the Kings seede, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, and he died, and so did he the Iewes, and the Caldees that were with him at Mizpah.

Then all ye people both small and great, and the captaines of the armie arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraide of the Caldees.

Notwithstanding in the seuen and thirtieth yeere after Iehoiachin King of Iudah was caried away, in the twelft moneth and the seuen and twentieth day of the moneth, Euil-merodach King of Babel in the yeere that hee began to reigne, did lift vp the head of Iehoiachin King of Iudah out of the prison,

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

And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eate bread before him, all the dayes of his life.