ISV(i)
17 The height of one of the pillars was eighteen cubits, and the capital on top of it was three cubits high. A latticework carved in the form of pomegranates encircled the capital, crafted completely out of brass. The second pillar was identical to the first.
18Judah’s Leaders are ExecutedThe captain of the guard arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, three temple officials,
19 one overseer from the city who supervised the soldiers, five of the king’s advisors who had been discovered in the city, the scribe who served the army captain who mustered the army of the land, and 60 men of the land who were discovered in the city.
20 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them to the king of Babylon at Riblah,
21 where the king of Babylon executed them in the land of Hamath. And so Judah was transported into exile from the land.
22Gedaliah is Appointed GovernorNow as for the people who remained in the land of Judah whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left behind, he appointed Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, to rule.
23 When all the captains of the armies, along with their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, these men visited Gedaliah at Mizpah: Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, Kareah’s son Johanan, Tanhumeth the Netophathite’s son Seraiah, and Jaazaniah, who was descended from the Maacathites.
24 Gedaliah made this promise to them and to their men: “Don’t be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and things will go well with you.”
25 Nevertheless, seven months later, Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, the grandson of Elishama from the royal family, came with ten men and attacked Gedaliah. As a result, he died along with the Jews and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
26 Then all the people, including those who were insignificant and those who were important, fled with the captains of the armed forces to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27Jehoiachin Leaves PrisonLater on, after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been in exile for 37 years, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, during the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison.
28 He spoke kindly to him and elevated his position above the thrones of the kings with him in Babylon.
29 Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes and had regular meals in the king’s presence every day for the rest of his life,
30 and a regular stipend was provided to him by the king in accordance with his needs for as long as he lived.
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