2 Kings 25:18

THE MESSAGE

The king's deputy took a number of special prisoners: Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the associate priest, three wardens, the chief remaining army officer, five of the king's counselors, the accountant, the chief recruiting officer for the army, and sixty men of standing from among the people. Nebuzaradan the king's deputy marched them all off to the king of Babylon at Riblah. And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon killed the lot of them in cold blood. Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The captain of the guards also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

Hebrew Names Version
The captain of the guard took Serayah the chief Kohen, and Tzefanyah the second Kohen, and the three keepers of the threshold:

King James Version
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:

English Standard Version
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold;

New Century Version
The commander of the guards took some prisoners—Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three doorkeepers.

New English Translation
The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers.

Amplified Bible
The captain of the bodyguard took [captive] Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers [of the temple].

New American Standard Bible
Then the captain of the bodyguards took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three doorkeepers.

World English Bible
The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the chiefe steward tooke Seraiah the chiefe Priest, and Zephaniah the second Priest, and the three keepers of the doore.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three doorkeepers of the temple.

Berean Standard Bible
The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three doorkeepers.

Contemporary English Version
Next, Nebuzaradan arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah his assistant, and three temple officials.

Complete Jewish Bible
The commander of the guard took [prisoner] S'rayah the chief cohen, Z'kharyah the second-ranking cohen and three doorkeepers.

Darby Translation
And the captain of the body-guard took Seraiah the high priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.

Easy-to-Read Version
From the Temple, Nebuzaradan took Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three men who guarded the entrance.

George Lamsa Translation
And the commander of the guard took Sheriah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the door;

Good News Translation
In addition, Nebuzaradan, the commanding officer, took away as prisoners Seraiah the High Priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three other important Temple officials.

Lexham English Bible
Then the commander of the imperial guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and three of the threshold keepers.

Literal Translation
And the chief of the executioners took Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the gate;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the chefe captayne toke Seraia the prest of the first course, & Sophony the prest of the seconde course, and thre dorekepers,

American Standard Version
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:

Bible in Basic English
And the captain of the armed men took Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three door-keepers;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the chiefe captayne of the men of warre toke Saraia the chiefe priest, and Zephoniah the highest priest saue one, and the three kepers of the holy things:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door;

King James Version (1611)
And the captaine of the guard, tooke Seraiah the chiefe Priest, and Zephaniah the second Priest, and the three keepers of the doore.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the captain of the guard took Saraias the high-priest, and Sophonias the second in order, and the three doorkeepers.

English Revised Version
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also the prince of the chyualrie took Saraie, the firste preest, and Sophony, the secunde prest,

Update Bible Version
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:

Webster's Bible Translation
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:

New King James Version
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.

New Living Translation
Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.

New Life Bible
Then the captain of the soldiers took Seraiah the head religious leader, and Zephaniah the religious leader next in power. And he took the three men who were keepers of the door.

New Revised Standard
The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the three guardians of the threshold;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the chief of the royal executioners took Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, - and the three keepers of the entrance hall;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the general of the army took Seraias, the chief priest, and Sophonias, the second priest, and three doorkeepers:

Revised Standard Version
And the captain of the guard took Serai'ah the chief priest, and Zephani'ah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold;

Young's Literal Translation
And the chief of the executioners taketh Seraiah the head priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple.

Contextual Overview

⁸In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, on the seventh day of the fifth month, Nebuzaradan, the king of Babylon's chief deputy, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned The Temple of God to the ground, went on to the royal palace, and then finished off the city—burned the whole place down. He put the Babylonian troops he had with him to work knocking down the city walls. Finally, he rounded up everyone left in the city, including those who had earlier deserted to the king of Babylon, and took them off into exile. He left a few poor dirt farmers behind to tend the vineyards and what was left of the fields. ¹³The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze washstands, and the huge bronze basin (the Sea) that were in The Temple of God and hauled the bronze off to Babylon. They also took the various bronze-crafted liturgical accessories used in the services of Temple worship, as well as the gold and silver censers and sprinkling bowls. The king's deputy didn't miss a thing—he took every scrap of precious metal he could find. ¹⁶The amount of bronze they got from the two pillars, the Sea, and all the washstands that Solomon had made for The Temple of God was enormous—they couldn't weigh it all! Each pillar stood twenty-seven feet high, plus another four and a half feet for an ornate capital of bronze filigree and decorative fruit. ¹⁸The king's deputy took a number of special prisoners: Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the associate priest, three wardens, the chief remaining army officer, five of the king's counselors, the accountant, the chief recruiting officer for the army, and sixty men of standing from among the people. Nebuzaradan the king's deputy marched them all off to the king of Babylon at Riblah. And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon killed the lot of them in cold blood. Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

captain: 2 Kings 25:24, 2 Kings 25:25, 2 Kings 25:26

Seraiah: 1 Chronicles 6:14, Ezra 7:1, Jeremiah 52:24

Zephaniah: Jeremiah 21:1, Jeremiah 29:25, Jeremiah 29:29

the second priest: Called by the Jews, sagan, who officiated for the high priest in case of any temporary incapacity.

door: Heb. threshold

Reciprocal: Numbers 3:32 - General 2 Kings 12:9 - the priests 1 Chronicles 6:15 - when the Lord 1 Chronicles 9:11 - the ruler 1 Chronicles 12:27 - the leader 1 Chronicles 15:23 - General Nehemiah 9:32 - on our kings Isaiah 22:3 - thy rulers Jeremiah 20:1 - chief Jeremiah 21:7 - I will Jeremiah 32:2 - then Jeremiah 34:21 - Zedekiah Jeremiah 35:4 - the keeper Jeremiah 52:10 - he slew Lamentations 4:16 - they respected Ezekiel 11:7 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba, Dedan.

Genesis 13:10
Lot looked. He saw the whole plain of the Jordan spread out, well watered (this was before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), like God 's garden, like Egypt, and stretching all the way to Zoar. Lot took the whole plain of the Jordan. Lot set out to the east. That's how they came to part company, uncle and nephew. Abram settled in Canaan; Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom. The people of Sodom were evil—flagrant sinners against God . After Lot separated from him, God said to Abram, "Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever. I'll make your descendants like dust—counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So—on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I'm giving it all to you." Abram moved his tent. He went and settled by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to God .

Genesis 14:10
The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram's nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.

Genesis 20:1
Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She's my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, "You're as good as dead—that woman you took, she's a married woman." Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn't so much as touched her. He said, "Master, would you kill an innocent man? Didn't he tell me, ‘She's my sister'? And didn't she herself say, ‘He's my brother'? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this." God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family." Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked. Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, "What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you've done to me ought never to have been done." Abimelech went on to Abraham, "Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?" Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they'd kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she's my father's daughter but not my mother's. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father's home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I'm your brother.'" Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female. He said, "My land is open to you; live wherever you wish." And to Sarah he said, "I've given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You're vindicated." Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Genesis 21:14
Abraham got up early the next morning, got some food together and a canteen of water for Hagar, put them on her back and sent her away with the child. She wandered off into the desert of Beersheba. When the water was gone, she left the child under a shrub and went off, fifty yards or so. She said, "I can't watch my son die." As she sat, she broke into sobs.

Genesis 25:24
When her time to give birth came, sure enough, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish, as if snugly wrapped in a hairy blanket; they named him Esau (Hairy). His brother followed, his fist clutched tight to Esau's heel; they named him Jacob (Heel). Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

1 Samuel 15:7
Then Saul went after Amalek, from the canyon all the way to Shur near the Egyptian border. He captured Agag, king of Amalek, alive. Everyone else was killed under the terms of the holy ban. Saul and the army made an exception for Agag, and for the choice sheep and cattle. They didn't include them under the terms of the holy ban. But all the rest, which nobody wanted anyway, they destroyed as decreed by the holy ban.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ver. 18-21. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest,.... The sagan, or deputy priest, who officiated for the high priest, when by any means he was rendered unfit and incapable; so Joseph, the son of Ellem, as Josephus x relates, officiated for Matthias, when defiled with a nocturnal pollution; and seven days before the day of atonement they always substituted one under the high priest, lest anything of this kind should happen to him y. From hence, to the end of 2 Kings 25:21 the account is the same as in Jeremiah 52:25, only here in 2 Kings 25:19 it is said, that five men that were in the king's presence were taken, there seven men; to account for which, 2 Kings 25:19- :.

x Antiqu. l. 17. c. 6. sect. 4. y Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

It devolved on Nebuzaradan to select for exemplary punishment the persons whom he regarded as most guilty, either in respect of the original rebellion or of the protracted resistance. Instead of taking indiscriminately the first comers, he first selected those who by their offices would be likely to have had most authority - the high priest; the second priest (2 Kings 23:4 note); three of the temple Levites; the commandant of the city; five members of the king’s Privy Council (or seven, see 2 Kings 25:19 note); and the secretary (or adjutant) of the captain of the host. To these he added sixty others, who were accounted “princes.” Compared with the many occasions on which Assyrian and Persian conquerers put to death hundreds or thousands after taking a revolted town, Nebuzaradan (and Nebuchadnezzar) must be regarded as moderate, or even merciful, in their vengeance. Compare Jeremiah 40:2-5.

The three keepers of the door - Rather, “three keepers.” The Hebrew has no article. The temple “door-keepers” in the time of Solomon numbered twenty-four 1 Chronicles 26:17-18, who were probably under six chiefs. After the captivity the chiefs are either six Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45 or four 1 Chronicles 9:17.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 25:18. Seraiah the chief priest - Zephaniah — The person who is here called the second priest was what the Jews call sagan, a sort of deputy, who performed the functions of the high priest when he was prevented by any infirmity from attending the temple service. See on 2 Kings 23:4.