1 ZEDEKIAH was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
3 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.
5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
7 Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.
8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
11 Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
12 Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,
13 And burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
15 Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
16 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
17 Also 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, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
19 And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away.
20 The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
21 And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
22 And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.
23 And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.
24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
25 He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city.
26 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.
28 This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:
29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:
30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
31 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,
32 And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,
33 And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life.
34 And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

1Zedekiah was one and twentie yeere olde when he began to reigne, and he reigned eleuen yeeres in Ierusalem, and his mothers name was Hamutal the daughter of Ieremiah of Libnah.

2And hee did that which was euill in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Iehoiakim had done.

3For through the anger of the Lord it came to passe in Ierusalem and Iudah, till hee had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 And it came to passe in the ninth yere of his reigne, in the tenth moneth, in the tenth day of the moneth, that Nebuchad rezzar king of Babylon came, hee, and all his armie against Ierusalem, and pitched against it, and built fortes against it round about.

5So the citie was besieged vnto the eleuenth yeere of king Zedekiah.

6And in the fourth moneth, in the ninth day of the moneth, the famine was sore in the citie, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

7Then the city was broken vp, and all the men of warre fled, and went foorth out of the citie by night, by the way of the gate between the two wals, which was by the kings garden (now the Caldeans were by the city round about) and they went by the way of the plaine.

8 But the armie of the Caldeans pursued after the king, and ouertooke Zedekiah in the plaines of Iericho, & all his armie was scattered from him.

9Then they tooke the king, and caried him vp vnto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath: where he gaue iudgement vpon him.

10And the king of Babylon slew the sonnes of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slewe also all the princes of Iudah in Riblah.

11Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and the king of Babylon bound him in chaines, and caried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

12 Now in the fifth moneth, in the tenth day of the moneth (which was the nineteenth yeere of Nebuchad-rezzar king of Babylon) came Nebuzaradan captaine of the guard, which serued the king of Babylon, into Ierusalem;

13And burnt the house of the Lord, and the kings house, and all the houses of Ierusalem, and all the houses of the great men burnt he with fire.

14And all the armie of the Caldeans that were with the captaine of the guard, brake downe all the walles of Ierusalem round about.

15Then Nebuzaradan the captaine of the guard, caried away captiue certaine of the poore of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the citie, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.

16But Nebuzaradan the captaine of the guard, left certaine of the poore of the land for Uine-dressers and for husbandmen.

17Also 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, the Caldeans brake, and caried all the brasse of them to Babylon.

18The cauldrons also, and the shouels, and the snuffers, and the bolles, and the spoones, and all the vessels of brasse wherewith they ministred, tooke they away.

19And the basons, and the firepans, and the bolles, and the cauldrons, and the candlestickes, and the spoones, and the cuppes; that which was of golde, in golde, and that which was of siluer, in siluer, tooke the captaine of the guard away:

20The two pillars, one Sea, and twelue brasen bulles, that were vnder the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the Lord: the brasse of all these vessels was without weight.

21And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteene cubites, and a fillet of twelue cubites did compasse it, and the thickenesse thereof was foure fingers: it was hollow.

22And a chapiter of brasse was vpon it, and the height of one chapiter was fiue cubites, with networke and pomegranates vpon the chapiters round about, all of brasse: the second pillar also and the pomegranates were like vnto these.

23And there were ninetie and sixe pomegranates on a side, and all the pomegranates vpon the networke were an hundreth round about.

24 And the captaine of the guard tooke Seraiah the chiefe Priest, and Zephaniah the second Priest, and the three keepers of the doore.

25Hee tooke also out of the citie an Eunuch, which had the charge of the men of warre, and seuen men of them that were neere the kings person which were found in the citie, and the principall Scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the middest of the citie.

26So Nebuzar-adan the captaine of the guard tooke them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.

27And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath: thus Iudah was caried away captiue out of his owne land.

28This is the people whom Nebuchad-rezzar caried away captiue in the seuenth yeere, three thousand Iewes and three and twentie.

29In the eighteenth yeere of Nebuchad-rezzar hee caried away captiue from Ierusalem eight hundredth, thirtie and two persons.

30In the three and twentith yeere of Nebuchad-rezzar, Nebuzar-adan the captaine of the guard, caried away captiue of the Iewes seuen hundreth fortie and fiue persons: all the persons were foure thousand and sixe hundreth.

31 And it came to passe in the seuen and thirtieth yeere of the captiuitie of Iehoiakin king of Iudah, in the twelfth moneth, in the fiue and twentieth day of the moneth, that Euil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first yeere of his reigne, lifted vp the head of Iehoiakin king of Iudah, and brought him forth out of prison,

32And spake kindly vnto him, and set his throne aboue the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,

33And changed his prison garments: and hee did continually eate bread before him all the dayes of his life.

34And for his diet, there was a continuall diet giuen him of the king of Babylon, euery day a portion vntill the day of his death, all the dayes of his life

IV == 2nd Kings 25:1 , 27 ; Jer 39:1-27 ; Jer 39:1 ; Zech 8:19

IX == Jer 32:4

X == Ezek 12:13

XII == jER 39:9 ; 52:29 ; zECH 7:5 ; 8:19

XV == Jer 39:9

XVII == 1st Kings 7:15 , 23 , 27 , 50 ; Jer 27:19

XVIII == Ex 27:3 ; 2nd Kings 25:14-18

XX == 1st Kings 7:47

XXI == 1st Kings 7:15 ; 2nd Kings 25:17 ; 2nd Chr 3:15

XXIII == 1st Kings 7:20

XXIV == 2nd Kings 25:18 ; Jer 21:1 ; 29:25

XXVIII == 2nd Kings 24:2 , 12 , 14

XXIX == Jer 39:9 ; 52:12

XXXI == Gen 40:13 , 20 ; 2nd Kings 25:27-30

XXXIII == 2nd Sam 9:13

1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

2 He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done.

3 Indeed, what was done in Jerusalem and in Judah so angered the LORD that he cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 In the tenth month of the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army advanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it, and built siege walls on every side.

5 The siege of the city continued until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

6 On the ninth day of the fourth month, when famine had gripped the city and the people had no more bread,

7 the city walls were breached. Then all the soldiers took to flight and left the city by night through the gate between the two walls which was near the king's garden. With the Chaldeans surrounding the city, they went in the direction of the Arabah.

8 But the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the desert near Jericho, while his whole army fled from him.

9 The king, therefore, was arrested and brought to Riblah, in the land of Hamath, to the king of Babylon, who pronounced sentence on him.

10 As Zedekiah looked on, the king of Babylon slew his sons as well as all the princes of Judah at Riblah.

11 Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters, and had him brought to Babylon and kept in prison until the day of his death.

12 On the tenth day of the fifth month (this was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard, came to Jerusalem as the representative of the king of Babylon.

13 He burned the house of the LORD, the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every large building he destroyed with fire.

14 And the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.

15 Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, led into exile the rest of the people left in the city, and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the artisans.

16 But some of the country's poor, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, left behind as vinedressers and farmers.

17 The bronze pillars that belonged to the house of the LORD, and the wheeled carts and the bronze sea in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke into pieces; they carried away all the bronze to Babylon.

18 They took also the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the bowls, the pans, and all the bronze vessels used for service.

19 The basins also, the fire holders, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the pans, the sacrificial bowls which were of gold or silver, these too the captain of the guard carried off,

20 as well as the two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve oxen of bronze under the sea, and the wheeled carts which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD. The bronze of all these furnishings could not be weighed.

21 Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in diameter; each was four fingers thick, and hollow inside.

22 A bronze capital five cubits high surmounted the one pillar, and a network with pomegranates encircled the capital, all of brass; and so for the other pillar. The pomegranates. . .

23 there were ninety-six pomegranates. There were a hundred pomegranates, all around the network.

24 The captain of the guard also took Seraiah, the high priest, Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three keepers of the entry.

25 And from the city he took one courtier, a commander of soldiers, and seven men in the personal service of the king who were present in the city, and the scribe of the army commander who mustered the people of the land, and sixty of the common people who were in the city.

26 The captain of the guard, Nebuzaradan, arrested these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah,

27 who had them struck down and put to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath. Thus was Judah exiled from her land.

28 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar led away captive: in his seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three people of Judah;

29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, eight hundred and thirty-two persons from Jerusalem;

30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, exiled seven hundred and forty-five people of Judah: four thousand six hundred persons in all.

31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the inaugural year of his reign, took up the case of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and released him from prison.

32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a throne higher than that of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

33 Jehoiachin took off his prison garb and ate at the king's table as long as he lived.

34 The allowance given him by the king of Babylon was a perpetual allowance, in fixed daily amounts, all the days of his life until the day of his death.

he words of Jeremiah being ended, 51:64, that verse and this chapter was written by someone else about 25 years later, probably Baruch or another disciple. Traditionally, Jeremiah wrote 1st and 2nd Kings, except 2 Ki. 25, and it was probably finished by the same man who finished this. Of course the Holy Spirit is the author. This chapter is very similar to Jer. 39, and serves to show that the things Jeremiah had prophesied were fulfilled. This would  encourage those yet in captivity. 

v 1-11. Judah’s history is summarized, Zedekiah made king, his rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, famine during the siege, Zedekiah’s attempted escape and capture, his sons executed before his eyes were put out, and going in chains to Babylon.

v 12-16. Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem on the 7th day of the 5th month, in 2 Ki. 25:8, and started burning it the 10th day, 52:12. The temple and every important building was burned and all survivors taken captive except the poor.

v 17-23. Jeremiah prophesied that the remaining furnishings would be taken to Babylon, 27:19-22, but Hananiah said the things already taken would be returned. This detailed account of the enormity of bronze removed added additional proof that Jeremiah was a true prophet of the Lord.

v 24-27. Nebuchadnezzar had all the chief men of Jerusalem rounded up and (probably assembled first at Ramah) taken to Riblah, his field headquarters, where they were executed. There would have been no executions if they obeyed  Jeremiah.

v 28-30. There were other minor deportations to Babylon besides those listed in 2 Ki. 24:12-14 and 25:8-12. they were each a year earlier than the ones in 2 Ki., and the number is much smaller, 10,000 in 2 Ki. compared to 3023, plus a group in Jeremiah, 832. Also a final small group of 745, v 30, shows the extent of destruction. The last group was probably those taken to quell rebellion after Gedaliah’s assassination.

v 31-34. At the end of his first year as king, Evil-merodach released Jehoiachin as a part of his celebration and gave favor for him to eat in the presence of the king. This was of the Lord, to show the people that Jeremiah had not only been right about the destruction and captivity, but he was also right about restoration to blessing.

Many would vigorously disagree that chapters 50 and 51 have to do with the end times. They insist that it has been a place of desert and wild animals from that day to this, but facts simply do not support them. It has not been completely without inhabitant and thousands of bricks are in use many places today. Also parts of Babylon are currently being rebuilt. This all supports the view that rebuilt political Babylon will indeed be at the old location and destroyed in Rev. 18. This is consistent with the many places in Jeremiah that look forward to the end time. So you have to decide in which one you believe in; the view of the rebuilt political Babylon on the Euphrates in contrast to those who insist that both ecclesiastical and political Babylon are at Rome.