Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Fall of Jerusalem^(A)(B)(C)

52 Zedekiah^(D) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.^{(E) 2} He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim^(F) had done. ³ It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah,^(G) and in the end he thrust them from his presence.^(H)

Now Zedekiah rebelled^(I) against the king of Babylon.

⁴ So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth^(J) day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem^(K) with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works^(L) all around it.^{(M) 5} The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.^{(N) 7} Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.^(O) They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians^[a] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^{[b] 8} but the Babylonian^[c] army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, ⁹ and he was captured.^(P)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah^(Q) in the land of Hamath,^(R) where he pronounced sentence on him. ¹⁰ There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons^(S) of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.^(T)

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna^(A) write: