Jeremias 52

ARC · Chapter 52/52

1Era Zedekias da edade de vinte e um annos quando começou a reinar, e reinou onze annos em Jerusalem: e o nome de sua mãe era Hamutal, filha de Jeremias, de Libna.

2E fez o que era mal aos olhos do Senhor, conforme tudo o que fizera Joaquim.

3Porque succedeu, por causa da ira do Senhor contra Jerusalem e Judah, até que elle os lançou de diante d'elle, que se rebellou Zedekias contra o rei de Babylonia.

4E aconteceu, no anno nono do seu reinado, no mez decimo, no decimo dia do mez, que veiu Nabucodonozor, rei de Babylonia, contra Jerusalem, elle e todo o seu exercito, e se acamparam contra ella, e levantaram contra ella tranqueiras ao redor.

5Assim esteve cercada a cidade, até ao anno undecimo do rei Zedekias.

6No mez quarto, aos nove do mez, quando já a fome prevaleceu na cidade, e o povo da terra não tinha pão,

7Então a cidade foi arrombada, e todos os homens de guerra fugiram, e sairam da cidade de noite, pelo caminho da porta, entre os dois muros que estavam junto ao jardim do rei (porque os chaldeos estavam contra a cidade ao redor), e foram-se pelo caminho da campina.

8Porém o exercito dos chaldeos seguiu o rei, e alcançaram a Zedekias nas campinas de Jericó, e todo o seu exercito se espalhou d'elle.

9E prenderam o rei, e o fizeram subir ao rei de Babylonia, a Ribla, na terra de Hamath, o qual pronunciou juizos contra elle.

10E o rei de Babylonia degolou os filhos de Zedekias diante dos seus olhos, e tambem degolou a todos os principes de Judah em Ribla.

11E cegou os olhos a Zedekias, e o atou com duas cadeias de bronze; e o rei de Babylonia o levou a Babylonia, e o poz na casa do carcere até ao dia da sua morte.

12E no quinto mez, no decimo dia do mez (este era o decimo nono anno do rei Nabucodonozor, rei de Babylonia), veiu Nebuzaradan, capitão da guarda, que assistia na presença do rei de Babylonia, a Jerusalem.

13E queimou a casa do Senhor, e a casa do rei; e tambem a todas as casas de Jerusalem, e a todas as casas dos grandes queimou a fogo.

14E todo o exercito dos chaldeos, que estava com o capitão da guarda, derribou a todos os muros de Jerusalem ao redor.

15E dos mais pobres do povo, e o resto do povo, que deixaram ficar na cidade, e os rebeldes que se haviam passado ao rei de Babylonia, e o resto da multidão, Nebuzaradan, capitão da guarda, levou presos.

16Mas dos mais pobres da terra deixou Nebuzaradan, capitão da guarda, ficar alguns, para serem vinhateiros e lavradores.

17Quebraram mais os chaldeos as columnas de bronze, que estavam na casa do Senhor, e as bases, e o mar de bronze, que estavam na casa do Senhor, e levaram todo o bronze para Babylonia.

18Tambem tomaram os caldeirões, e as pás, e os garfos, e as bacias, e os perfumadores, e todos os vasos de bronze, com que se ministrava.

19E tomou o capitão da guarda os copos, e os incensarios, e as bacias, e os caldeirões e os castiçaes, e os perfumadores, e as galhetas: assim o que era de puro oiro em oiro, como o que era de prata maciça em prata.

20As duas columnas, o unico mar, e os doze bois de bronze, que estavam no logar das bases, que fizera o rei Salomão para a casa do Senhor: o bronze d'elles, de todos estes vasos, não tinha peso.

21Quanto ás columnas, a altura de uma columna era de dezoito covados, e um fio de doze covados a cercava; e era a sua grossura de quatro dedos, e era oca.

22E havia sobre ella um capitel de bronze, e a altura do capitel era de cinco covados, e a rede e as romãs em roda do capitel tudo era de bronze; e similhante a esta era o da outra columna, com as romãs.

23E havia noventa e seis romãs em cada banda: as romãs todas eram um cento, em roda da rede.

24Tomou tambem o capitão da guarda a Seraias, o sacerdote primeiro, e a Sofonias, o sacerdote segundo, e aos tres guardas do umbral da porta.

25E da cidade tomou a um eunucho que tinha cargo da gente de guerra, e a sete homens dos que viam a face do rei, que se acharam na cidade, como tambem o escrivão-mór do exercito, que registrava o povo da terra para a guerra, e a sessenta homens do povo da terra, que se acharam no meio da cidade.

26Tomando-os pois Nebuzaradan, capitão da guarda, os trouxe ao rei de Babylonia, a Ribla.

27E o rei de Babylonia os feriu e os matou em Ribla, na terra de Hamath: assim Judah foi levado da sua terra em captiveiro.

28Este é o povo que Nabucodonozor levou captivo no setimo anno: tres mil e vinte e tres judeos.

29No anno decimo oitavo de Nabucodonozor levou elle em captiveiro de Jerusalem oitocentas e trinta e duas almas.

30No anno vinte e tres de Nabucodonozor, levou Nebuzaradan, capitão da guarda, em captiveiro dos judeos, setecentas e quarenta e cinco almas: todas as almas são quatro mil e seiscentas.

31Succedeu pois no anno trigesimo setimo do captiveiro de Joaquim, rei de Judah, no mez duodecimo, aos vinte e cinco do mez, que exalçou Evil-merodach, rei de Babylonia, no anno primeiro do seu reinado, a cabeça de Joaquim, rei de Judah, e o tirou da casa da prisão;

32E fallou com elle benignamente, e poz o seu throno acima dos thronos dos reis que estavam com elle em Babylonia;

33E lhe mudou os vestidos da sua prisão; e comeu pão sempre na sua presença, todos os dias da sua vida.

34E, quanto á sua pitança, foi-he dada pitança ordinaria do rei de Babylonia, porção quotidiana, no seu dia, até o dia da sua morte, todos os dias da sua vida.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A final historical appendix summarizes the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and the number of exiles taken to Babylon, ending with the news that King Jehoiachin was released from prison and treated with honor at the Babylonian court.

Explanation

This final chapter functions as an appendix almost identical to the ending of 2 Kings 24-25, likely included to close the book with a factual historical summary of the events Jeremiah had spent his whole life announcing. The technical details about the temple's bronze pillars, their exact measurements, and the sacred objects carried off to Babylon preserve valuable information about the architecture of Solomon's temple that would otherwise have been lost. The final note, about Jehoiachin being released from prison and honored at the table of the new Babylonian king Evil-Merodach, closes the book with a small but real thread of hope: even in the worst circumstances, the Davidic line survives and receives unexpectedly dignified treatment, symbolically preparing the ground for the complete restoration promised in the earlier chapters.

Fun facts

  • This chapter is nearly identical to 2 Kings 24:18-25:30, suggesting it was included as an independent historical appendix, possibly by a later editor, to confirm the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecies.
  • Evil-Merodach, who released Jehoiachin from prison, is confirmed by actual Babylonian records as Amel-Marduk, son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar II, who reigned briefly between 562 and 560 BC.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 52:1Opens the book’s final historical appendix, almost identical to 2 Kings 24–25: introduces Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, twenty-one years old when he took the throne, with a mother named Hamutal.
  2. Jeremias 52:2Summarizes his reign with the same formula used for wicked kings: he did what was evil in God’s sight, repeating the pattern of his predecessor Jehoiakim.
  3. Jeremias 52:3Explains the root of the catastrophe: God’s wrath against Jerusalem and Judah had already been decreed, and it was in that context that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, to whom he owed loyalty as a vassal.
  4. Jeremias 52:4Dates the start of the final siege precisely: Zedekiah’s ninth year, tenth month, tenth day — Nebuchadnezzar arrives with his whole army and builds siege works around the city.
  5. Jeremias 52:5The siege would drag on for a long time, lasting until Zedekiah’s eleventh year — nearly two years of the city’s total isolation.
  6. Jeremias 52:6Dates the critical moment: fourth month, ninth day, when famine had already overcome the population’s resistance, with no bread left at all.
  7. Jeremias 52:7Describes the breach in the wall and the nighttime escape of Zedekiah and his soldiers through a hidden passage between two walls near the royal garden — the same scene as chapter 39.
  8. Jeremias 52:8The Babylonians pursue the fleeing group and catch up with Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho, the moment his own army scatters, abandoning the king.
  9. Jeremias 52:9Zedekiah is captured and taken to Riblah, in the territory of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar was stationed, to receive his sentence in person.
  10. Jeremias 52:10The sentence includes the execution of Zedekiah’s sons and all the princes of Judah, all before the king’s own eyes — the last thing he would see before being blinded.
  11. Jeremias 52:11After killing his sons, Nebuchadnezzar blinds Zedekiah, binds him with bronze chains, and takes him prisoner to Babylon, where he would remain until his death.
  12. Jeremias 52:12This final chapter repeats almost word for word the account in 2 Kings 25. It was likely appended to the book afterward, as a historical postscript, to confirm that everything Jeremiah had announced for decades truly happened.
  13. Jeremias 52:13Details the destruction by fire: the temple, the royal palace, and all the important houses of Jerusalem, including those of the nobles, were burned down.
  14. Jeremias 52:14Besides the fire, the entire Babylonian army also tears down the walls surrounding Jerusalem — the destruction of the city’s physical defenses.
  15. Jeremias 52:15Nebuzaradan deports the remaining poor, the rest of the people, and those who had defected to the Babylonian side during the siege — a nearly complete purge of the population.
  16. Jeremias 52:16Only the poorest of the land are left behind, specifically to work as vinedressers and farmers — keeping some minimal agricultural production going on the devastated land.
  17. Jeremias 52:17The Babylonians dismantle and haul away the temple’s bronze pillars, the stands, and the great bronze “sea” (a giant basin), pieces from Solomon’s time, melting everything down to reuse the metal.
  18. Jeremias 52:18They also take the smaller bronze utensils used in temple worship — pots, shovels, forks, basins, censers — all made of bronze.
  19. Jeremias 52:19Nebuzaradan personally takes the solid gold and silver objects — cups, censers, lampstands — separating the precious metal from the plain bronze.
  20. Jeremias 52:20Recalls the historical origin of these pieces: the two pillars, the bronze sea, and the twelve oxen supporting it were made by King Solomon centuries earlier — an architectural treasure with generations of history now being destroyed.
  21. Jeremias 52:21Details the physical dimensions of the temple’s pillars — about twenty-seven feet tall, hollow inside — a precise technical record of the lost architecture.
  22. Jeremias 52:22Describes the decorative capital on top of the pillars, with an interwoven network and carved pomegranates in bronze — ornamental details showing the original artistic care of Solomon’s construction.
  23. Jeremias 52:23Even records the exact number of decorative pomegranates on the pillars — ninety-six visible on each side, a hundred in all on the network — a level of detail that preserves the precise memory of what was lost.
  24. Jeremias 52:24Lists high-ranking religious prisoners: Seraiah, the chief priest, Zephaniah, the second priest, and the guards responsible for the temple entrance.
  25. Jeremias 52:25Also includes a military officer, seven of the king’s close advisers, the scribe in charge of military conscription, and sixty ordinary men found in the city — the real makeup of Judah’s leadership.
  26. Jeremias 52:26Nebuzaradan brings all these prisoners to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah to receive their final sentence.
  27. Jeremias 52:27The king of Babylon executes this group at Riblah — closing the account of Jerusalem’s fall with the elimination of the remaining leadership, before summarizing the total numbers of the exile.
  28. Jeremias 52:28The detailed list of exiles in three separate waves (597, 586, and 582 BC) shows numbers far smaller than one might expect for an entire exiled nation. Likely because it counted only adult men, or because the text aimed for historical precision rather than rhetorical exaggeration.
  29. Jeremias 52:29Records a second wave of deportation, in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year (the same date as chapter 39, corresponding to the fall of Jerusalem), with 832 people taken.
  30. Jeremias 52:30Records a third wave, years later, with 745 people, totaling 4,600 exiles across the three waves — a relatively small number, likely counting only heads of households or able-bodied adults, not the entire population.
  31. Jeremias 52:31The book ends decades after the fall of Jerusalem, with Jehoiachin, the same Coniah from chapter 22, released from Babylonian prison and treated with honor by a new king — a quietly hopeful ending, suggesting that David’s line, though humbled, had not been entirely erased.
  32. Jeremias 52:32Nebuchadnezzar II dies and his son Evil-Merodach takes the Babylonian throne; he treats Jehoiachin kindly, giving him a place of honor above the other exiled kings at court.
  33. Jeremias 52:33Jehoiachin trades his prisoner’s clothes for regular garments and begins eating regularly at the Babylonian king’s own table for the rest of his life — a dignified turnaround after decades of imprisonment.
  34. Jeremias 52:34Closes the entire book with a quiet note of hope: Jehoiachin receives a daily allowance from the Babylonian crown, guaranteed until the day of his death — a personal, human ending after so much national destruction.

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