Jeremiah 39:1-18, NLT
Jeremiah 39
The Fall of Jerusalem
1In January*39:1a Hebrew In the tenth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of events in Jeremiah can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. This event occurred on January 15, 588 b.c.; see 52:4a and the note there. of the ninth year of King Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar*39:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 39:5, 11. of Babylon came with his entire army to besiege Jerusalem.
4When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken into the city, they fled. They waited for nightfall and then slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.*39:4 Hebrew the Arabah.
5But the Babylonian*39:5 Or Chaldean; similarly in 39:8. troops chased them and overtook Zedekiah on the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.
8Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned Jerusalem, including the royal palace and the houses of the people, and they tore down the walls of the city.
Jeremiah Remains in Judah
11King Nebuchadnezzar had told Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to find Jeremiah.
15The Lord had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison: