August 16 - Morning
"On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard,
who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
He set fire to the temple of the Lord,
the royal palace and
all the houses of Jerusalem.
Every important building he burned down.
The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem…
The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars,
the movable stands and
the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord
and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.
They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls used for drink offerings — all that were made of pure gold or silver.
The commander of the guard took as prisoners
Seraiah the chief priest,
Zephaniah the priest next in rank and
the three doorkeepers.
Of those still in the city,
he took the officer in charge of the fighting men,
and seven royal advisers.
He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land,
sixty of whom were found in the city.
Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.
So Judah went into captivity, away from her land."
- Jeremiah 52:12-27 |
