16 The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, athe bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.
17aThe height of one pillar was1 eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network.
18aAnd the captain of the guard took bSeraiah the chief priest, cZephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
19 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, afive men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land whowere found in the city.
20 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.
21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. aThus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
22 Then he made Gedaliah the son of aAhikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over bthe people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left.
23 Now when all the acaptains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare I Kings 17:9; II Kings 5:14 with Luke 4:24-27; I Kings 10:1 with Matthew 12:42).
