1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
13 And the pillars of brass 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 Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
19 And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
20 And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:
21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
<html><b>In the ninth year of his reign.</b> Of Tzidkiyohu.1<i class=“footnote”>Which corresponds to Nevuchadnetzar's seventeenth year.—Radak</i> <b>Siege towers.</b> [Targum Yonoson] rendered כרקום [=works of siege].</html>
<html><b>By way of the gate between the two walls.</b> A cave went from his house until the Plains of Yericho, and he fled through the cave. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, ordained a deer walking on the roof of the cave. and the Kasdim pursued the deer, and when they reached the cave's entrance in the Plains of Yericho, they saw him and captured him. This is what [Scripture] states, ”And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare.”2<i class=“footnote”>Yechezkeil 12:13.</i></html>
<html><b>And called him to account.</b> He debated with him concerning the oath.3<i class=“footnote”>Tzidkiyohu violated his oath of allegiance to Nevuchadnetzar.—Radak</i> 4<i class=“footnote”>The Gemara in Maseches Nedarim 65a states that Tzidkiyohu had discovered Nevuchadnetzar eating a live, or according to other opinions, an uncooked rabbit. He had him swear that he would never reveal what he had seen. However, Tzidkiyohu had his oath nullified and revealed Nevuchadnetzar's uncivilized behavior. When Nevuchadnetzar found out that people were making fun of him, he realized that Tzidkiyohu had broken his promise.</i></html>
<html><b>And all the houses of the dignitaries.</b> [This includes] synagogues wherein Torah and prayer are aggrandized, and the houses of the princes.5<i class=“footnote”>See Maseches Megillah 27a.</i></html>
<html><b>And the defectors.</b> [Those] who obeyed Nevuchadnetzar and went out to him from the city, as in, “When he went to Tziklag, [members] of Menashe defected to him, etc.”6<i class=“footnote”>I Divrei Hayomim 12:21.</i></html>
<html><b>And farmers.</b> Diggers of the earth, an expression of wine vats [=יקבים]7<i class=“footnote”>The ‘ג’ of ‘יגבים’ and the ‘ק’ of ‘יקבים’ are interchangeable.</i> which are diggings in the ground.8<i class=“footnote”>Alternatively, יקבים are wine pressers.—Metzudas Tzion Or יקבים refer to fishermen who catch the חלזון which was pressed to extract its blood from which the blue dye [for תכלת] is obtained. Nevuchadnetzar used the dye for his robes and therefore allowed these people to remain.</i></html>
<html><b>The height of the crown was three <i>amohs</i>.</b> And in the beginning of the Book [of Melochim] it states, ”five <i>amohs</i> [high].”9<i class=“footnote”>Melochim 7:16.</i> I reconciled the verses there.10<i class=“footnote”>Rashi reconciled the difference as follows: The crown was actually five <i>amohs</i> high but its two lower <i>amohs</i> are not counted because the column was inserted into the crown two <i>amohs</i> deep and it served as a base for the crown.</i> <b>And a netting.</b> (<i>Coife</i>, in O.F.) a type of hat. <b>Had the same.</b> Pomegranates.</html>
<html><b>The scribe of the general of the army.</b> Who knew the number of each city, how many men it enlists into the army.</html>
<html><b>All the officers of the armies.</b> Who had left the city to hide in the strongholds, boulders, rocks and forests.</html>
<html><b>Evil Merodach … elevated.</b> For Nevuchadnetzar died, and Evil Merodach reigned in his place. <b>On the twenty-seventh day of the month.</b> But in Yirmiyohu it states, “On the twenty-fifth.”11<i class=“footnote”>Yirmiyahu 52:31.</i> Rather, on the twenty-fifth Nevuchadnetzar died and he was buried on the twenty-sixth. On the twenty-seventh, Evil Merodach removed him from his grave and dragged him about,12<i class=“footnote”>Evil Merodach was afraid that his father was not really dead and would return to claim his throne. This happened before when Nevuchadnetzar became insane. He left his throne and lived as a wild beast for seven years. See Daniel 4:29-34. In the interim one of his sons was appointed in his place. When Nevuchadnetzar came back he imprisoned his son. Evil Merodach wanted to make sure that would not happen again, and he therefore had Nevuchadnetzar's body removed from his grave and dragged along the ground, thus fulfilling Yeshayohu's prophecy.—Radak</i> in order to nullify his decrees, as it is stated in Yeshayohu, ”and you have been cast out of your grave like a despised sapling, etc.”13<i class=“footnote”>Yeshayohu 14:19.</i></html>
<html><b>He spoke kindly with him.</b> Words of consolation.</html>