Bible Strands
2 Kings 25:15
The captain of the guard also took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—anything made of pure gold or fine silver.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the Babylonian sacking of Jerusalem, where the captain of the guard seizes the temple’s remaining sacred vessels after stripping the bronze furnishings. This action occurs during the final dismantling of Solomon’s temple by Nebuzaradan’s forces.
The words — The Hebrew maḵ·tōt (fire-pans or censers) and mi·z·rā·qōt (sprinkling bowls) name the specific liturgical containers targeted for confiscation. These terms identify the exact ritual implements removed alongside the gold and silver articles.
The thread — The seizure of consecrated metal vessels parallels the plunder of holy utensils in Daniel 5:2 and contrasts with the deliberate crafting of similar gold implements in Exodus 37:23. The inventory of precious metals mirrors the accounting method used for temple furnishings in Numbers 7:13.
Why it lands — The text documents the systematic confiscation of the temple’s gold and silver utensils to mark the termination of its ritual function. It requires the reader to recognize that the removal of these objects signifies the end of the old covenant’s physical sanctuary.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
Cross-references
- Daniel 5:2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
- Exodus 37:23 He also made its seven lamps, its wick trimmers, and trays of pure gold.
- Numbers 7:13 His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
- 1 Kings 7:48 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
- 2 Chronicles 24:14 When they were finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the house of the LORD—utensils for the service and for the burnt offerings, dishes, and other objects of gold and silver. Throughout the days of Jehoiada, burnt offerings were presented regularly in the house of the LORD.
- Ezra 1:9 This was the inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes, 29 silver utensils,