The Temple Destroyed

Nebuzaradan enters Jerusalem, burns its central buildings, breaks down its walls, and carries the remaining population into exile. Only some of the poorest are left to work the land.

O⁸n the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign over Babylon, Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. ⁹He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem — every significant building. ¹⁰And the whole army of the Chaldeans under the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹Then Nebuzaradan captain of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the population. ¹²But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

The Chaldeans dismantle and carry off the temple’s bronze, gold, and silver articles. The closing details about pillars and furnishings make the plunder concrete and final.

¹³Moreover, the Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars and stands and the bronze Sea in the house of the LORD, and they carried the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service. ¹⁵The captain of the guard also took away the censers and sprinkling bowls— anything made of pure gold or fine silver. ¹⁶As for the two pillars, the Sea, and the movable stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the weight of the bronze from all these articles was beyond measure. ¹⁷Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall. The bronze capital atop one pillar was three cubits high, with a network of bronze pomegranates all around. The second pillar, with its network, was similar.