King Jehoiachin of Judah went out to meet the king of Babylon. His mother, his officers, leaders, and officials also went with him. Then the king of Babylon captured Jehoiachin. This was during the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule.
Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon as a prisoner. He also took the king’s mother, his wives, officers, and the leading men of the land. He took them from Jerusalem to Babylon as prisoners.
Manasseh’s prayer and how God listened and felt sorry for him are written in The Book of the Seers. Also all his sins, the wrongs he did before he humbled himself, and the places where he built high places and set up the Asherah poles are written in The Book of the Seers.
“Fall down and sit in the dirt, Virgin Daughter Babylon. You have no throne, so sit on the ground, daughter of the Chaldeans. You are not the ruler now. You are no longer the beautiful young princess that people said you were.
There will be crying and sadness in the meeting places by the city gates. Jerusalem will sit there empty, like a woman who has lost everything to thieves and robbers and now just sits on the ground and cries.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They told him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘How long will you refuse to obey me? Let my people go to worship me!
The elders of Zion sit on the ground. They sit on the ground and are quiet. They pour dust on their heads. They put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.
(This letter was sent after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the carpenters, and the metalworkers had been taken from Jerusalem.)
When the royal officials heard all the messages from the scroll, they were afraid and looked at one another. They said to Baruch, “We must tell King Jehoiakim about these messages on the scroll.”
The beauty of Daughter Zion has gone away. Her princes were like deer that cannot find a meadow to feed in. They walk away without strength from those who chased them.
Jerusalem’s skirts were dirty. She gave no thought to what would become of her. Her fall was amazing. She had no one to comfort her. She says, “Lord, see how I am hurt! See how my enemy thinks he is so great!”
This is what the Lord GOD says: “Take off the turban! Take off the crown! The time has come to change. The important leaders will be brought low, and those who are not important now will become important leaders.
but you must mourn quietly. Dress as you normally do; wear your turban and sandals; don’t cover your mustache, and don’t eat the food people normally eat when someone dies.”
You will wear your turbans and your sandals. You will not show your sadness publicly or cry publicly, but you will waste away with guilt and talk to each other quietly about your grief.
“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will do this to you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah: Even if you were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.