Nebuzaradan

8It was month five, day seven, in Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king of Babylon. Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem. He was the captain of the king's guard and served the king of Babylon.

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:

NoteThe captain of the guard led the king's own special soldiers. He was one of Babylon's most important men.

9He burned down the LORD's temple, the king's palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every large building was burned.

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.

NoteThe temple was the special building in Jerusalem where people worshiped God. The palace was the house where the king lived.

10The whole army of Babylon was with the captain of the guard. They broke down the walls all around Jerusalem.

And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

NoteThick walls kept a city safe from enemies. Once the walls were down, the city could not fight back.

11Nebuzaradan took away the people still living in the city. He also took the ones who had gone over to Babylon's side. He took the rest of the crowd too. They were all marched away to another land.

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.

NoteBeing marched away to live in another land is called exile. The people could not go home again.

12But the captain of the guard let some of the poorest people stay. They stayed to care for the grapevines and work the fields.

But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

NoteBabylon wanted the fields and vineyards to keep growing food. Someone had to stay and work them.

13In the LORD's temple there were tall bronze pillars, bronze stands, and a huge bronze bowl. Babylon's soldiers broke them all in pieces. They carried the bronze back to Babylon.

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.

NoteThe huge bronze bowl was called the Sea. It held water that the priests used for washing at the temple.

14They also took the pots, shovels, lamp trimmers, and dishes. They took all the bronze tools used in the temple.

And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.

NoteLamp trimmers were little tools for snipping the burnt part off a lamp wick.

15The captain of the guard also took the fire pans and the bowls. He took everything made of gold and everything made of silver.

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.

NoteFire pans were pans for carrying hot coals. Sweet smelling spices were burned on them at the temple.

16Solomon had made the two pillars, the big bowl, and the stands for the LORD's temple. There was so much bronze in them that nobody could weigh it.

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.

NoteSolomon was a king of Israel long before this. He built the temple in Jerusalem.

17Each pillar stood eighteen cubits tall. On top of each pillar sat a bronze cap three cubits high. Around the cap was bronze lattice work, with bronze fruit hanging on it. Both pillars looked the same.

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.

NoteA cubit was about eighteen inches, the length of a grown-up's arm from elbow to fingertips. So each pillar stood about as tall as three grown men. The fruit shapes were pomegranates, a round red fruit full of seeds.

18The captain of the guard took away Seraiah, the chief priest. He also took Zephaniah, the next priest under him, and three men who guarded the door.

And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:

NotePriests were the men who served God at the temple. The chief priest was their leader. The door guards kept watch over the temple doors.

19From the city he took a leader who was in charge of the soldiers. He took five men who gave advice to the king. He took the chief writer of the army, who signed men up to fight. He also took sixty other men he found in the city.

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:

NoteArmies took away a beaten country's leaders on purpose. Without leaders, the people could not start a new fight.

20Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took all these men. He brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:

21There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all killed. So the people of Judah were taken away from their own land.

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.

NoteHamath was a land north of Israel. Judah was the southern part of Israel, and Jerusalem was its main city.

8Babylon's soldiers set fire to the king's palace and to the people's houses. They also knocked down the walls of Jerusalem.

And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.

NoteThick walls kept a city safe from enemies. Once they were knocked down, Jerusalem could not fight back.

9Nebuzaradan was the leader of the king's guards. He took the people who were still left in the city away to Babylon. He also took the ones who had given up and joined his side.

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained.

NoteTaking people away to live in another country is called exile. They had to leave their homes and never come back. Some people in the city had already given up during the fight. They walked out and joined Babylon's side.

10But Nebuzaradan let some of the poor people stay in the land of Judah. These were people who owned nothing. He gave them grape fields and farm fields to keep.

But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

NoteGrape fields and farm fields were how people fed their families. These poor people had never owned any land before.

11Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had given orders about Jeremiah. He told them to Nebuzaradan, the leader of his guards.

Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,

NoteJeremiah was a prophet. A prophet told people what God said. He had told Judah for years that this day would come.

12He said, "Take Jeremiah and take good care of him. Do not let anyone hurt him. Do whatever he asks you to do."

Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.

13So Nebuzaradan, the leader of the guards, sent men to get Jeremiah. Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergal-sharezer, Rabmag, sent men too. So did all the other leaders of Babylon's king.

So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes;

NoteRabsaris and Rabmag are job titles here, like captain or chief. They are not the men's names.

14They brought Jeremiah out of the prison yard. They put him in the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. Gedaliah was to take him home. So Jeremiah lived among his own people.

Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.

NoteThe prison yard was an open space by the palace guards' rooms. Jeremiah was kept there, not shut in a dark cell. Gedaliah came from a family that had helped Jeremiah before.

1This is the message the LORD gave to Jeremiah. It came after Nebuzaradan set him free at the town of Ramah. Nebuzaradan was the leader of the king of Babylon's guards. He had found Jeremiah in chains with the other prisoners. All of them were being taken away to Babylon.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon.

NoteJeremiah was a prophet, a man who told people what God said. When you see LORD in capital letters, it stands for God's own name. Babylon was a strong country far away. Its army had just beaten Jerusalem and knocked it down. Nebuzaradan was the leader of the Babylonian king's soldiers. Ramah was a town where the prisoners were kept before the long walk to Babylon.

2The leader of the guards took Jeremiah aside and spoke to him. He said, "The LORD your God said this trouble would come to this place."

And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.

Note"This place" means the city of Jerusalem and the land around it.

3"Now the LORD has done just what he said he would do. Your people sinned against the LORD and did not obey him. That is why this has happened to you."

Now the LORD hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.

NoteTo sin means to do what God has said is wrong.

4"But look, today I am taking the chains off your wrists. If you want to come with me to Babylon, come. I will take good care of you. If you do not want to come, then do not come. The whole land is open to you. Go anywhere that seems good and right to you."

And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go.

5Jeremiah had not yet turned to go. Nebuzaradan said, "Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan. The king of Babylon has put him in charge of the towns of Judah. Live with him among the people. Or go anywhere else you think is right." Then the leader of the guards gave Jeremiah food and a gift, and let him go.

Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go.

NoteThe king of Babylon made Gedaliah a governor. A governor takes care of a land for a king who lives somewhere else. Gedaliah was one of the Jews, but Babylon's king picked him.

6So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at the town of Mizpah. He lived there with the people who were still left in the land.

Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

NoteMizpah was a small town a short way north of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was broken down, so Mizpah became the main town instead.

12On the tenth day of the fifth month, Nebuzaradan came into Jerusalem. He was the captain of the king's guard and worked for the king of Babylon. This was Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king.

Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,

NoteThe captain of the guard led the king's own soldiers. He was a very important officer.

13He burned down the LORD's temple and the king's palace. He burned all the houses of Jerusalem, including every large building.

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:

NoteThe temple was the special house where people came to worship God. The palace was the house where the king lived.

14The whole army from Babylon was there with the captain. They knocked down all the walls around Jerusalem.

And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.

NoteThick stone walls kept a city safe. Without walls, any army could walk right in.

15Nebuzaradan the captain took people away to Babylon. He took some of the poorest people and those still left in the city. He also took the men who had gone over to the king of Babylon, and the workers who were left.

Then Nebuzaradan 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.

NoteTaking people away to live in another land is called exile. Babylon moved people far from home so they would not fight back.

16But Nebuzaradan let some of the poorest people stay in the land. They stayed to care for the grapevines and the fields.

But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.

NoteGrapevines and fields need care all year long. Someone had to stay and grow the food.

17In the LORD's temple stood tall bronze pillars, bronze stands, and a huge bronze bowl called the Sea. The soldiers from Babylon broke them apart. They carried all the bronze to Babylon.

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.

NoteBronze is a hard metal with a brownish gold color. The Sea was a giant bowl of water. Priests washed there before they worked in the temple.

18They also took the pots, the shovels, and the tools for trimming lamp wicks. They took the sprinkling bowls, the dishes, and every bronze tool used in the temple.

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.

NoteLamps back then burned oil with a cloth wick. The wick had to be trimmed to keep the flame burning. The sprinkling bowls held liquid that was sprinkled during worship.

19The captain of the guard took the basins and the pans for burning incense. He took bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes, and cups. He took everything made of pure gold or fine silver.

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.

NoteIncense is a spice that smells sweet when it burns. People burned it in the temple. A lampstand held little oil lamps to give light.

20King Solomon had made all this for the LORD's temple long ago. There were two pillars, the Sea, and twelve bronze bulls under the stands. There was so much bronze that no one could weigh it.

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.

NoteSolomon was a king of Israel long before this. He built the temple hundreds of years earlier.

21Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. It measured twelve cubits around. It was hollow, and its wall was as thick as four fingers.

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.

NoteA cubit is about eighteen inches. That is how long a grown-up's arm is from elbow to fingertips. So each pillar was about twenty-seven feet tall.

22On top of each pillar sat a bronze cap five cubits high. Around the cap was a net design with bronze pomegranates, a round fruit. The second pillar and its pomegranates looked the same.

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.

NoteA pomegranate is a red fruit that is full of juicy seeds. These ones were made of metal, just for decoration.

23There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides. In all, one hundred pomegranates went around the net design.

And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.

24The captain of the guard took Seraiah, the chief priest. He took Zephaniah, the priest just under him. He took the three men who guarded the temple doors.

And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:

NoteA priest worked at the temple and helped people worship God. The chief priest was the leader of all the priests.

25From the city he took a palace officer who was in charge of the soldiers. He took seven men who helped the king closely. He took the army's chief writer, who signed men up to fight. He also took sixty ordinary men found in the city.

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.

NoteThe King James Bible calls this man “an eunuch”. That word meant a trusted helper who lived and worked in the palace.

26Nebuzaradan the captain took all these men to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.

27There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all killed. So the people of Judah were taken away from their own land.

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.

NoteNow almost all the people of Judah lived far away in Babylon.

28Here are the people Nebuchadnezzar took away. In his seventh year he took 3,023 Jews.

This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:

Note“Jews” means people who came from Judah.

29In his eighteenth year he took 832 people from Jerusalem.

In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:

30In his twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain took 745 Jews. Altogether, 4,600 people were taken away.

In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan 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.