Babylonian Captivity Introduction – This introduction provides an important background of the Babylonian Captivity including its historical context, the events of the Babylonian Captivity and Bible passages that discuss the Babylonian Captivity.
History of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah
The Kings (and Queen) of Israel and Judah
The Babylonian Captivity in the Old Testament
Babylon Captivity Chronology Summary
Relevant Old Testament References / Prophets
Captivity Words in the Old Testament
H1473 (golah meaning exile, 42 occurrences)
H1540 (galah, to make nude, 188 occurrences)
H1546 (galuth, exiles, 15 occurrences)
H1547 (galuth, exile – Aramaic, 4 occurrences)
H7617 (shabah, transport / carry into captivity, 47 occurrences)
H7622 (shebuth, exile, take prisoner, 31 occurrences)
H7628 (shebiy, exiled, 50 occurrences)
H7633 (shibyah, exile, 9 occurrences)
Ishmael carries away Judean captives after the fall of Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar Takes Captives from Egypt including Judeans
Bible Passages – Babylonian Captivity
Solomon’s Prophecy about Captivity and its Remedy
Hezekiah’s Prophecy about Captivity and Release
Seventy Years of Serving the King of Babylon (Desolation of Jerusalem, Lord’s Indignation)
The Physical Captivity of Israel (Northern 10 Tribes) – Verses
The Great Tribulation – Reasons why the Babylonian Captivity is a Type
Babylon Captivity and the Abomination of Desolation
King of Babylon is a Type of the Antichrist of the Great Tribulation
King of Babylon – A Type of Satan (Lucifer)
King of Babylon – A Type of the Antichrist
King of Babylon – God’s Servant (Judgment of the Great Tribulation)
All Nations Commanded to Serve King of Babylon
History of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah
The Kings (and Queen) of Israel and Judah
The Unified Kingdom
King | Years (B.C.) | |
1 | Saul | 1047-1007 |
2 | David | 1007-967 |
3 | Solomon | 971-931 |
The Divided Kingdom
Judah (and Benjamin)
|
Israel (Northern 10 Tribes) |
||||
King | Years (B.C.) | King | Years (B.C.) | ||
4 | Rehoboam | 931-914 | 4 | Jeroboam | 931-910 |
5 | Abijah (Abijam) | 914-911 | |||
6 | Asa | 911-870 | 5 | Nadab | 910-909 |
6 | Baasha | 909-886 | |||
7 | Elah | 886-885 | |||
8 | Zimri | 885 | |||
9 | Tibni | 885-880 | |||
7 | Jehoshaphat | 871-846 | 10 | Omri | 885-874 |
8 | Jehoram (Joram) | 854-842 | 11 | Ahab | 874-853 |
12 | Ahaziah | 854-853 | |||
9 | Ahaziah (Jehoahaz, Azariah) | 842-841 | 13 | Joram (Jehoram) | 853-841 |
10 | Atahliah (queen) | 841-835 | 14 | Jehu | 841-813 |
11 | Joash (Jehoash) | 835-795 | 15 | Jehoahaz | 813-796 |
12 | Amaziah | 796-767 | 16 | Jehoash (Joash) | 798-782 |
13 | Uzziah (Azariah) | 789-737 | 17 | Jeroboam II | 792-751 |
18 | Zachariah | 751-750 | |||
19 | Shallum | 750 | |||
20 | Menahem | 750-740 | |||
14 | Jotham | 738-718 | 21 | Pekahiah | 740-738 |
15 | Ahaz | 730-714 | 22 | Pekah | 738-718 |
16 | Hezekiah | 715-686 | 23 | Hoshea | 718-709 |
17 | Manasseh | 697-642 | |||
18 | Amon | 642-640 | |||
19 | Josiah | 640-609 | |||
20 | Jehoahaz | 609 | |||
21 | Jehoiakim | 609-598 | |||
22 | Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Coniah) | 608-597 | |||
23 | Zedekiah | 597-586 |
Note: Good kings are in BOLD.
The Babylonian Captivity in the Old Testament
Babylon Captivity Chronology Summary
606 B.C. | Nebuchadnezzar beseiges Jerusalem, took vessels and choice children to Babylon – 3rd year of Jehoiakim (Dan 1:1-4) – 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Ki 24:12). Jehoikim to Nebuchadnezzar 3 years before rebelling (2 Ki 24:1).
Nebuchadnezzar beseiges Jerusalem, took vessels and choice children to Babylon – 3rd year of Jehoiakim (Dan 1:1-4) – 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Ki 24:12) |
606 B.C. | Nebuchadnezzar smote army of Paroahnecho at Carchemish – 4th year of the reign of Jehoiakim (Jer 46:2). King of Babylon now controls land from river of Egypt to Euphrates (king of Egypt came up no more) (2 Ki 24:7)
Jer 25 – Word to Jeremiah (Jer 25:1) (4th year of Jehoiakim, 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar) from the 13th year of Josiah to this day, the 23rd year (Jer 25:3). Serve King of Babylon 70 years (Jer 25:11, 29:10, Dan 9:2). Jer 45 – message to Baruch 4th year of Jehoikim (Jer 45:1). |
606 B.C. | Messages to Baruch Jer 45:1. 36:1 (Jer 36:1-8) |
606 B.C. | Fast proclaimed and the book read (Jer 36:9-32)
2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:1) – Daniel Chapter 2 – The Great Image |
605 B.C | After 3 years, Jehoiakim rebels from Nebuchadnezzar (2 Ki 24:1). Bands of Chaldees, Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites sent to destroy Judah due to sins of King Manasseh (2Ki 24:2-4). |
598 B.C. | End of Jehoiakim’s Reign (2Ki 23:36), taken in fetters to Babylon (2 Chr 36:6, 2 Ki 24:1-3). Also vessels of house of Lord taken to Babylon (2 Chr 36:7). Jehoiachin (18 yrs old) becomes king alone for 3 months, 10 days (2 Ki 24:6,8-9, 2 Chr 36:9). Nebuchadnezzar beseiged Jerusalem, Jehoichin went out to meet him in 8th year of Nebuchanezzar’s reign (2 Ki 24:10-12).
7th year of Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive 3023 Jews (Jer 52:28) |
597 B.C. | When year expired (2 Chr 36:10) – carried away all treasures, cut in pieces vessels of gold (goodly vessels), all princes, mighty men (7000), craftsmen and smiths (1000), Jehoichin and family, left only the poorest people – total of 10,000 taken captive (2 Ki 24:12-16, 2 Chr 36:10). Zedekiah’s name changed from Mattaniah (2 Ki 24:17) and Zedekiah (21 years old) made king for 11 years (2 Ki 24:18-20, 2 Chr 36:11). Zedekiah was evil (2 Ki 24:19) and humbled himself not before Jeremiah and rebelled from Nebuchadnezzar, mocked messengers of God, preists people did abominations (2 Chr 36:12-16, 2 Ki 24:21).
Jer 29 – Jeconiah, queen, eunuchs, princes, carpenters and smiths departed (see 29:2). Zedekiah reign begins, did evil and rebelled against king of Babylon (Jer 52:1-3). Ezekiel likely taken in this captivity (Ez 1:1-3) |
595 B.C. | Jer 27:12-22 and Jer 28 (see 28:1 and 28:17) |
594 B.C. | On fifth day of the fourth month in the 5th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity (Ez 1:1-3). Ezekiel Chapter 1-7. |
593 B.C. | 5th day, of 6th month in 6th year (Ez 8:1). Ezekiel Chapters 8-19 |
592 B.C. | 10th day, 5th month, 7th year (Ez 20:1). Ezekiel Chapters 20-23. |
588 B.C. | 9th year, 10th month, 10th day of Zedekiah’s reign (2 Ki 25:1) – Nebuchadnezzar’s siege begins
9th year, 10th month, 10th day of Zedekiah’s reign (Jer 39:1, 52:4-5) – Nebuchadnezzar’s siege begins 10th day, 10th month, 9th year (Ez 24:1). Ezekiel Chapters 24-25 |
587 B.C. | Jer 32 – 10th year of Zedekiah (18th year of Nebuchadnezzar) (Jer 32:1)
12th day, 10th month, 10th year (Ez 29:1). Ezekiel 29:1-30:19). 1st of the month, 11th year (Ez 26:1). Ezekiel Chapters 26-28. 7th of month, 1st month, 11 th year (Ez 30:20). Ezekiel 30:20-31:18 |
586 B.C. | End of Zedekiah’s reign (2 Ki 24:20) – 4th month 9th day famine prevailed, city broken up, men of war fled, king fled was captured, army scattered (2 Ki 25:2-5). Young men and old slain in sanctuary (2 Chr 36:17). Zedekiah brought to Riblah to Neb. And slew his sons, put out his eyes (2 Ki 25:6-7). In 5th month, 7th day, which was the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan sent to Jerusalem (2 Ki 25:8) and burnt temple and houses burnt and walls broken down (2 Ki 25:9-10, 2 Chr 36:19). People carried away , but left the poor (2 Ki 25:11-12). Brass, pots, other implements, all vessels, king’s and prince’s treasures carried to Babylon (2 Ki 25:13-17, 2 Chr 36:18). Burnt the house of God, broke down wall of Jerusalem, burnt palaces and destroyed its vessels (2 Chr 36:19). Other people (priests, doorkeepers, scribes 60 other people) taken to Riblah and killed (2 Ki 25:18-21). Others had become servants in Babylon until king of Persia to fulfill word of Jeremiah until land enjoyed her sabbaths 70 years (2 Chr 36:20-21)
11th year, 4th month, 9th day, severe famine city broken up (Jer 39:2, 52:6-7). Princes of Babylon came in (Jer 39:3). Zedekiah and army fled out of city (Jer 39:4, 52:7). Chaldean army caught Zedekiah and brought him the King Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah (Jer 39:5, 52:8) where Zedekiah sons and nobles were slain (Jer 39:6, 52:9-10). Zedekiah’s eyes put out (Jer 39:7, 52:11). in 5th month, 10th day, burned Lord’s, king’s and people’s houses and burned and broke down walls of Jerusalem (Jer 39:8, 52:12-14). 18th year of Neb., carried away captive 832 persons (Jer 52:29), poor remant in city, those who fell away (Jer 39:9, 52:15). People carried away in the 5th month (Jer 1:3). The poor of Judah left in the the land of Judah gave them vineyards (Jer 39:10, 52:16). Took away reamining broken materials to Babylon (Jer 52:17-23). Other people (priests, doorkeepers, eunuch scribes and 60 people) taken to Riblah and killed (Jer 52:24-27). 12th year, 10th month, 5th day (Ez 33:21) – city is captured. Ezekiel 33:21-chapter 39. 1st day, 12th month, 12th year (Ez 32:1). Ezekiel Chapters 32:1-33:20 |
586 B.C.
To 536 B.C. |
Land Enjoys her Sabbaths (Jubilee) – Lev 26:34, Lev 26:43, 2 Chr 36:21 |
Relevant Old Testament References / Prophets
- Lev 26
- Deut 28
- 2 Kings
- 2Chronicles
- Ezra (post-exilic)
- Nehemiah (post-exilic)
- Esther
- Ps 137
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah (and Lamentations)
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Micah
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai / Zechariah (Post-Exilic Prophets)
Captivity Words in the Old Testament
When the Old Testament discusses the carrying away of people captive, the phrase ‘carry away’ is the Hebrew word galah (H1540, H1541, H1473) which literally means to strip a person of clothes. Lev 18:6-19, Lev 20:18-19, Ruth 3:4 reveal that the word literally means to strip a person naked (presumably this is what happened to captives). This word occurs approximately 240 times in the Old Testament either as being naked or being carried away captive into exile. The Hebrew word for captive (H7617, H7622, H7628 and H7633) literally means captive. This word is used about 135 times in the Old Testament.
H1473 (golah meaning exile, 42 occurrences)
gôlâh
captivity, 28
2Ki 24:15, 1Ch 5:22, Ezr 1:11, Ezr 4:1, Ezr 6:19-21 (3), Ezr 10:7, Ezr 10:16, Est 2:6, Jer 29:16, Jer 29:20, Jer 29:31, Jer 46:19, Jer 48:7, Jer 48:11, Jer 49:3, Eze 3:11, Eze 3:15, Eze 11:24-25 (2), Eze 12:4, Eze 12:7, Eze 25:3, Eze 39:28, Amo 1:15, Zec 6:10, Zec 14:2
carried, 10
2Ch 36:20, Ezr 8:35, Ezr 9:4, Ezr 10:6, Ezr 10:8, Jer 28:6 (2), Jer 29:1, Jer 29:4, Nah 3:10
away, 7
Ezr 2:1, Ezr 8:35, Ezr 9:4, Ezr 10:6, Ezr 10:8, Neh 7:6, Nah 3:10
captive, 4
2Ki 24:16, Isa 49:21, Jer 28:6, Jer 29:1
captives, 3
Jer 29:1 (2), Jer 29:4, Eze 1:1
removing, 2
Eze 12:3-4 (2)
into, 1
Lam 1:3
remove, 1
Eze 12:11
H1540 (galah, to make nude, 188 occurrences)
gâlâh
carried, 34
2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 16:9, 2Ki 17:6, 2Ki 17:11, 2Ki 17:23, 2Ki 17:28, 2Ki 17:33, 2Ki 24:14-15 (2), 2Ki 25:21, 1Ch 5:6, 1Ch 5:26, 1Ch 6:15, 1Ch 9:1, Ezr 2:1 (2), Est 2:6 (4), Jer 13:19 (2), Jer 29:1 (2), Jer 29:4, Jer 29:7, Jer 29:14, Jer 39:9, Jer 40:1, Jer 40:7, Jer 52:15, Jer 52:27-28 (2), Amo 1:6
captive, 24
2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 16:9, 1Ch 5:6, Jer 1:3, Jer 13:19 (2), Jer 20:4, Jer 22:12, Jer 24:1, Jer 27:20, Jer 29:14, Jer 39:9, Jer 40:1, Jer 40:7, Jer 52:15, Jer 52:27-30 (4), Amo 6:6-7 (3), Amo 7:11, Nah 2:7
uncover, 22
Lev 18:6-19 (17), Lev 20:18-19 (2), Rth 3:4, Isa 47:2 (2)
discovered, 18
Exo 20:26, 1Sa 14:11, 2Sa 22:16, Psa 18:15, Isa 57:8 (2), Jer 13:22, Eze 13:14 (2), Eze 16:36, Eze 16:57, Eze 21:24, Eze 23:10 (2), Eze 23:18 (2), Eze 23:29, Hos 7:1
away, 17
2Ki 17:6, 2Ki 17:11, 2Ki 17:23, 2Ki 17:28, 2Ki 17:33, 2Ki 18:11, 2Ki 24:14-15 (2), 2Ki 25:11, 2Ki 25:21, 1Ch 5:6, 1Ch 5:26, 1Ch 6:15, 1Ch 9:1, 2Ch 36:20, Ezr 2:1, Nah 2:7
revealed, 11
Deu 29:29, 1Sa 3:7, 1Sa 3:21, 2Sa 7:27, Isa 22:14, Isa 23:1, Isa 40:5, Isa 56:1 (2), Jer 11:20, Dan 10:1
discover, 10
Deu 22:30, 1Sa 14:8, Job 41:13, Pro 18:2, Pro 25:9, Lam 4:22, Eze 16:37, Hos 2:10, Mic 1:6, Nah 3:5
uncovered, 10
Gen 9:21, Lev 20:11, Lev 20:17-18 (2), Lev 20:20-21 (2), Rth 3:7, 2Sa 6:20, Isa 47:3, Jer 49:10
captivity, 9
Isa 5:13, Lam 1:3, Eze 39:22-23 (2), Amo 5:5 (2), Amo 5:27, Amo 7:17, Mic 1:16
open, 6
Num 24:4, Num 24:16, Psa 119:18, Pro 27:5, Jer 32:11, Jer 32:14
carry, 5
2Ki 25:11 (2), Jer 20:4, Jer 43:3, Lam 4:22
show, 5
1Sa 20:2, 1Sa 20:12-13 (2), 1Sa 22:17, Isa 49:9
captives, 3
2Ki 24:14, Jer 29:7, Jer 43:3
departed, 3
1Sa 4:21-22 (2), Hos 10:5
opened, 3
Num 22:31, Job 38:17, Jer 20:12
openeth, 3
Job 33:16, Job 36:10, Job 36:15
removed, 3
2Ki 17:26, 1Ch 8:6-7 (2)
revealeth, 3
Pro 11:13, Pro 20:19, Amo 3:7
published, 2
Est 3:14, Est 8:13
remove, 2
Eze 12:3 (2)
reveal, 2
Job 20:27, Jer 33:6
showed, 2
Psa 98:2, Pro 26:26
showeth, 2
1Sa 22:8 (2)
told, 2
1Sa 9:15, 1Ch 17:25
uncovereth, 2
Deu 27:20, 2Sa 6:20
advertise, 1
Rth 4:4
appear, 1
1Sa 2:27
appeared, 1
Gen 35:7
appeareth, 1
Pro 27:25
bewray, 1
Isa 16:3
brought, 1
2Ki 17:27
carrying, 1
Jer 1:3
depart, 1
Job 20:28
disclose, 1
Isa 26:21
discovereth, 1
Job 12:21-22 (2)
exile, 1
2Sa 15:19
gone, 1
Isa 24:11
plainly, 1
1Sa 2:27
shamelessly, 1
2Sa 6:20
H1546 (galuth, exiles, 15 occurrences)
gâlûth
captivity, 11
Jdg 18:30, 2Ki 25:27, Jer 29:22, Jer 52:31, Eze 1:2, Eze 33:21, Eze 40:1, Amo 1:6, Amo 1:9, Oba 1:20 (2)
away, 4
Est 2:6 (4)
captives, 3
Isa 20:4, Isa 45:13, Jer 28:4
carried, 3
Jer 24:4-5 (2), Jer 27:20, Jer 40:1
captive, 2
Jer 24:5, Jer 40:1
H1547 (galuth, exile – Aramaic, 4 occurrences)
gâlûth
captivity, 3
Ezr 6:16, Dan 6:13 (2)
captives, 1
Dan 2:25
H7617 (shabah, transport / carry into captivity, 47 occurrences)
hâbâh
captive, 21
Gen 14:14, Gen 34:29, Num 24:22, Deu 21:10, Jdg 5:12, 1Ki 8:48, 1Ki 8:50, 2Ki 5:2, 2Ki 6:22, 2Ch 6:37, 2Ch 25:12, 2Ch 28:8, 2Ch 28:11, 2Ch 30:9, Psa 68:18, Psa 137:3, Jer 13:17, Jer 41:10 (2), Jer 41:14, Oba 1:11
carried, 18
1Ki 8:47 (2), 1Ki 8:50, 2Ch 6:37-38 (2), 2Ch 14:15, 2Ch 21:17, 2Ch 28:5, 2Ch 28:8, 2Ch 28:17, Psa 106:46, Psa 137:3, Jer 13:17, Jer 41:10 (2), Jer 41:14, Eze 6:9, Oba 1:11
captives, 16
Gen 31:26, Num 31:9, 1Sa 30:2-3 (2), 1Sa 30:5, 1Ki 8:46-47 (3), 2Ch 6:36, 2Ch 6:38, Psa 106:46, Isa 14:2 (2), Jer 43:12, Jer 50:33, Eze 6:9
away, 7
1Ki 8:46, 1Ki 8:48, 1Ch 5:21, 2Ch 6:36, 2Ch 14:15, 2Ch 21:17, 2Ch 28:5
carry, 5
Num 24:22, 1Ki 8:46, 2Ch 6:36, 2Ch 25:12, Jer 43:12
brought, 1
2Ki 5:2
driven, 1
Exo 22:10
H7622 (shebuth, exile, take prisoner, 31 occurrences)
shebûth / shebı̂yth
Total KJV Occurrences: 31
captivity, 31
Deu 30:3, Job 42:10, Psa 14:7, Psa 53:6, Psa 126:1 (2), Psa 126:4, Jer 29:14, Jer 30:3, Jer 30:18, Jer 31:23, Jer 32:44, Jer 33:7 (2), Jer 33:11, Jer 33:26, Jer 48:47, Jer 49:6, Jer 49:39, Lam 2:14, Eze 16:53 (4), Eze 29:14, Eze 39:25, Hos 6:11, Joe 3:1, Amo 9:14, Zep 2:7, Zep 3:20
H7628 (shebiy, exiled, 50 occurrences)
shebı̂y
Total KJV Occurrences: 47
captivity, 31
Num 21:29, Deu 28:41, Jdg 5:12, 2Ch 29:9, Ezr 2:1, Ezr 3:8, Ezr 8:35, Ezr 9:7, Neh 1:2-3 (2), Neh 7:6, Psa 68:17-18 (2), Psa 78:61, Jer 15:2 (3), Jer 20:6, Jer 22:22, Jer 43:10-11 (3), Lam 1:5, Lam 1:18, Eze 12:11, Eze 30:17-18 (2), Dan 11:33, Amo 9:4, Nah 3:10, Hab 1:9
captives, 8
Num 31:12, Num 31:19, 2Ch 28:17, Isa 49:25, Isa 61:1, Jer 48:46, Eze 16:53, Dan 11:8
captive, 3
Exo 12:29, Isa 49:24, Isa 52:2
prisoners, 2
Num 21:1, Isa 20:4
taken, 2
Num 31:26, Amo 4:10
away, 1
Amo 4:10 (2)
H7633 (shibyah, exile, 9 occurrences)
shibyâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 14
captives, 8
Deu 21:11, Deu 32:42, 2Ch 28:5, 2Ch 28:11, 2Ch 28:13-15 (3), Jer 48:46
captivity, 6
Deu 21:13, 2Ch 6:37-38 (2), Neh 4:4, Jer 30:16, Jer 46:27
Deportations
Five key deportations
The primary example of captivity in the Old Testament is that of Babylon taking many of the people of Judah and Jerusalem captive. In fact, we find five discrete captivities of Judah during the 70 year desolation of Jerusalem / Judah:
- Daniel and selected youth of Israel – Dan 1:1-5 (606 B.C.)
- King Jehoiakim and 3023 captives – Jer 52:28, 2 Chr 36:6, 2 Ki 24:1-3 (599 B.C. – 598 B.C.)
- King Jehoiachin (including Ezekiel, all princes, mighty men (7000), craftsmen and smiths (1000), Jehoiachin and family) – 2 Chr 36:10, 2 Ki 24:12-16, Jer 29:2, 52:1-3, Eze 1:1-3 (597 B.C.)
- Fall of Jerusalem – King Zedekiah (18th year of Nebuchadnezzar, carried away captive 832 persons (Jer 52:29), poor remnant in city, those who fell away (Jer 1:3, 39:7-9, 52:15, 2 Ki 25:7 2 Chr 36:6) – (586 B.C.). Jeremiah temporarily held captive (Jer 40:1)
- 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar, 745 Jews carried away captive – Jer 52:30 (582 B.C.)
Ishmael carries away Judean captives after the fall of Jerusalem
Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
(Jer 41:10)
So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
(Jer 41:14)
Nebuchadnezzar Takes Captives from Egypt including Judeans
And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword. And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
(Jer 43:10-13)
Bible Passages – Babylonian Captivity
Psalms
For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
(Psa 137:3)
2 Kings
Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
(2Ki 25:11)
And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
(2Ki 24:12-16)
So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
(2Ki 25:6-7)
And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
(2Ki 25:21)
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
(2Ki 25:27)
1 Chronicles
And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
(1Ch 6:15)
So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.
(1Ch 9:1)
For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.
(1Ch 17:25)
2 Chronicles
And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
(2Ch 36:20)
Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
(2Ch 36:6-7)
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
(2Ki 24:1-3)
And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
(2Ch 36:10)
Isaiah
Jeremiah
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
(Jer 1:1-3)
But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive.
(Jer 13:17)
The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.
(Jer 13:19)
And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.
(Jer 13:22)
Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
(Jer 15:2)
For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
(Jer 20:4)
And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
(Jer 20:6)
But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
(Jer 20:12)
The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
(Jer 22:22)
But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
(Jer 22:12)
The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
(Jer 24:1)
Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
(Jer 24:5)
Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
(Jer 27:20)
Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD’S house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place.
(Jer 28:6)
Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
(Jer 29:1-4)
And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
(Jer 29:7)
And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
(Jer 29:14)
Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
(Jer 29:16)
Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
(Jer 29:20)
And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
(Jer 29:22)
Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:
(Jer 29:31)
Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
(Jer 33:6)
Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
(Jer 39:7-10)
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon.
(Jer 40:1)
Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon;
(Jer 40:7)
But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon.
(Jer 43:3)
And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword.
(Jer 43:11)
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
(Jer 50:33)
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
(Jer 52:1-3)
And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
(Jer 52:14-16)
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, which were found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty: In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons: In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred. And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison
(Jer 52:24-31)
Lamentations
Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
(Lam 1:3)
Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.
(Lam 1:5)
The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
(Lam 1:18)
Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.
(Lam 2:14)
The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
(Lam 4:22)
Ezekiel
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
(Eze 1:1-3)
And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
(Eze 3:11)
Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
(Eze 3:15)
And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
(Eze 6:9)
Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
(Eze 11:24)
Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.
(Eze 11:25)
Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.
(Eze 12:3)
Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
(Eze 12:4)
And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight.
(Eze 12:7)
Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
(Eze 12:11)
And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
(Eze 23:29)
And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;
(Eze 25:3)
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
(Eze 33:21)
And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
(Eze 39:23)
Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them anymore there.
(Eze 39:28)
In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.
(Eze 40:1)
Daniel
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
(Dan 1:1-5)
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
(Dan 2:25)
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
(Dan 5:13)
Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
(Dan 6:13)
Minor Prophets
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
(Oba 1:11)
They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
(Hab 1:9)
Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;
(Zec 6:10)
Solomon’s Prophecy about Captivity and its Remedy
If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
(2Ch 6:36-39)
Hezekiah’s Prophecy about Captivity and Release
Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him. So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.
(2Ch 30:8-10)
Edom – Judah Captivity
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
(Amo 1:6)
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
(Amo 1:9)
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
(Oba 1:10-14)
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
(Oba 1:20)
Seventy Years of Serving the King of Babylon (Desolation of Jerusalem, Lord’s Indignation)
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
(Jer 25:1-14)
For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
(Jer 29:10)
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
(Dan 9:2)
Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
(Zec 7:5)
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
(Ezr 1:1)
Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
(2Ch 36:17-23)
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
(Psa 90:10)
Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
(Zec 1:12)
Judah ‘Driven’ Out by Babylon
Hebrew – nâdach
Total KJV Occurrences: 52
And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
(Deu 30:1)
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
(Deu 30:4)
But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
(Deu 30:17)
But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
(Neh 1:9)
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
(Isa 11:12)
And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
(Isa 13:14)
Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.
(Isa 16:3)
Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
(Isa 16:4)
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
(Isa 27:13)
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
(Jer 8:3)
But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
(Jer 16:15)
Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
(Jer 23:2)
And I will gather ( ) the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again ( ) to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
(Jer 23:3)
But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led ( ) the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
(Jer 23:8)
And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
(Jer 24:9)
For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far ( ) from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
(Jer 27:10)
For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
(Jer 27:15)
And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
(Jer 29:14)
And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
(Jer 29:18)
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
(Jer 30:17)
Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
(Jer 32:37)
Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.
(Jer 40:12)
But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;
(Jer 43:5)
Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
(Jer 46:28)
Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth.
(Jer 49:5)
And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
(Jer 49:36)
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
(Jer 50:17)
And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled ( ) bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
(Eze 4:13)
( ) The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
(Eze 34:4)
I will seek ( ) that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
(Eze 34:16)
O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
(Dan 9:7)
But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
(Joe 2:20)
In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
(Mic 4:6)
Behold, at that time I will undo ( ) all that afflict thee: and I will save ( ) her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
(Zep 3:19)
The Physical Captivity of Israel (Northern 10 Tribes) – Verses
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
(Amo 1:6)
But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
(Amo 5:5)
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.
(Amo 5:27)
Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.
(Amo 6:7)
For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
(Amo 7:11)
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
(Amo 7:17)
Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
(Isa 5:13)
Beerah his son, whom Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites.
(1Ch 5:6)
And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
(1Ch 5:26)
In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
(2Ki 15:29)
And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.
(2Ki 16:9)
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
(2Ki 17:6)
And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
(2Ki 17:11)
Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
(2Ki 17:23)
Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
(2Ki 17:26)
Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
(2Ki 17:27)
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
(2Ki 17:28)
They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
(2Ki 17:33)
And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes:
(2Ki 18:11)
And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
(Amo 9:4)
For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
(2Ch 29:9)
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
(Jer 50:33)
The Great Tribulation – Reasons why the Babylonian Captivity is a Type
- Captivity and Siege in the Olivet Discourse (Luke 21, Mat 24, Mark 13)
- Babylon takes the church captive – Rev 17-18
- King of Babylon – a type of the Antichrist (Is 14)
- Abomination of Desolation (Mat 24, Mark 13)
- Desolation corresponds to the desolation of Judah / Jerusalem
- Pattern of Prophetic Events in the Old and New Testament
Old Testament Judah | New Testament Apostate Church | |
Sin (apostasy) | False prophecy, other gods and idols (abominations) | False prophecy, worship of other gods and idols |
Tribulation (punishment) | Captivity, scattering, killing by famine, pestilence, sword and wild beasts | Abomination of Desolation, loosing of Satan, Antichrist, False prophet, Babylon |
Judgment | Destruction of Babylon and surrounding nations | Destruction of nations, |
Salvation | Return from captivity, church age (salvation of the spirit) | Eternity, salvation of the soul, spiritual body, New Jerusalem (new heavens / new earth) |
Babylon Captivity and the Abomination of Desolation
- Abomination of Desolation
- When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place … For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Mat 24:15,21)
- And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Dan 9:27)
- Abomination – refers to idolatry
- Desolation – causes judgment / scattering of the church
- Worship of Satan’s Kingdom
King of Babylon is a Type of the Antichrist of the Great Tribulation
King of Babylon – A Type of Satan (Lucifer)
- Is 14:3-23:
- Oppressor – Is 14:4
- Wicked – Is 14:5
- Smote people in wrath, ruled nations in anger – Is 14:6
- Feller of trees – Is 14:8
- Pompous – Is 14:11
- Lucifer, son of the morning (dawn) – Is 14:12
- Lucifer – H1966 (1 occurrence) – brightness
- Did weaken the nations – Is 14:12
- Pride: For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high (Isaiah 14:13-14)
- Made the earth to tremble, did shake the nations – Is 14:16
- Made the world a wilderness; destroyed the cities, did not open the house of the prisoners – Is 14:17
- Destroyed the land, slain the people – Is 14:20
King of Babylon – A Type of the Antichrist
In addition to the above descriptions of the King of Babylon that describe the desire of Satan, they also harmonize with the Satan-powered antichrist of the Great Tribulation. We recall from 2 Thess 2 that the antichrist as a man seeks to exalt himself above God. He actually shows himself to be a god:
- Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2Th 2:1-4)
Additional reasons:
- Babylon is carried by the Scarlet colored beast of Rev 17 – The scarlet beast of Revelation 17:3-14 is a symbolic representation of Satan and his kingdom. The scarlet beast itself is Satan (which is of the 7 kings and therefore, considered as the 8th king). The scarlet beast was, is not (yet is) and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. This represents the fact that at the time of the writing of Revelation, Satan was bound in the bottomless pit during the millennium (which is a symbol for the entire church age). Satan will once again ascend out of the bottomless pit for a short season (Great Tribulation). The phrase is not (yet is) refers to the fact that although Satan is bound in the bottomless pit (millennium – church age), he still has access to the earth and walks about as a roaring lion. This scarlet beast as 7 heads and 10 horns. The 7 heads represent 7 kings and 7 mountains. Kings represent world leaders and the mountains represent kingdoms. The 7 heads includes 5 kings that have fallen, one king that is (at the time of the writing of the Book of Revelation in the 1sst century A.D.), and one king that will come for a short period of time. The 5 fallen kings represent leaders of the world (Satan’s kingdom) that oppressed, persecuted, afflicted or desolated God’s people (Israel / Judah). The 5 kingdoms were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia and Greece. The one king that was at the time of the writing of Revelation was the Roman Empire. The one king that is to come for a short time is the antichrist (Leopard Beast of Revelation 13, etc.). The 10 kings that rise for 1 hour symbolize the fullness of the world’s nations that will gather against Jesus Christ at the Day of Judgement (a.k.a., the Battle of Armageddon). The color scarlet is identified with sin (Is 1:18) and was used in Old Testament sacrifices (Heb 9:19). In Is 1:18, scarlet is also linked to red and therefore, can be related to the blood of Christ as well it is the color of Satan in Rev 12:3. Names represent greater truths and are symbolically used (see discussion above on the ‘name’ on Babylon’s forehead). The beast is strongly connected to blasphemy. Blasphemy (which is literally means ‘injurious or evil speaking’) is when one accuses another wrongly and tries to hurt another person. It is the opposite of love, which seeks to be kind, gentle, does not behave unseemly, thinks no evil and bears all things (1 Cor 13:8, etc.). Blasphemy relates to Satan since he is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10 Job 1:9, 2:5, Zech 3:1-2, Lk 22:31, Titus 2:3), he makes himself equal to God (John 10:33-36, Lk 5:21, Mk 2:7, 14:64, Mat 26:65) and is the lord of untruth and deception (John 8:44, 1 John 3:8, Rev 2:9, 1 Tim 1:20, 6:1, acts 13:45, 18:6, 1 Tim 1:13,etc.) Therefore, we see strong connection between the beast and Satan.
- That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! (Isa 14:4)
- Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? (Isa 14:9-17)
- Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. (Isa 14:20)
King of Babylon – God’s Servant (Judgment of the Great Tribulation)
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
(Jer 25:9)
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
(Jer 27:6)
And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
(Jer 43:10)
Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.
(Eze 29:18-20)
All Nations Commanded to Serve King of Babylon
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD’S house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
(Jer 27:6-17)
Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
(Jer 28:13-14)
And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
(Jer 40:9)
For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
(Jer 30:8-10)
- (A.k.a., Beast, Man of Sin, Son of Perdition, Little Horn, King of the North, etc.)
- Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (1John 2:18)
- Many other names for the end-time antichrist:
- Man of sin, son of perdition, lawless one – 2 Thess 2:3, 8
- The Beast – Rev 13:1-10
- The 7th Head of the scarlet-colored beast – Rev 17:10
- The Little Horn – Dan 7:8, Dan 8:9
- The King of the North – Dan 11:40
- Etc.
- Definition of an Antichrist
- Antichrist
- Against Christ (Prophet, Priest, King)
- Prophet – Word of God
- Priest – Christ is only way to salvation
- King – Obedience
- Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. (1Jn 2:22)
- And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1Jn 4:3)
- Actions of the Antichrist
- Pride Examples:
- Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God… Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness (2Th 2:4, 7, 9-10)
- And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Rev 13:7)
Babylon of Revelation 17-18
It is important to note that Rev 17-18 provides a very detailed, symbolic description of Babylon, which will exist during the Great Tribulation. The great whore, Babylon represents the apostate church which is full of whoredoms, represents the pursuit of other gods and idols (Rev 17:4-5, 18:1-3). God’s people are commanded to come out of her and do not partake of her sins.
- False Christianity
- Persecution and Spiritual Fornication
- Persecution of True Christians:
- And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus … (Rev 17:6)
- False gods and idolatry:
- … Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. (Rev 18:2-3)