Jerusalem Falls to Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with his army against Jerusalem. They camped around the city and built siege works against it. The siege lasted from the ninth year of King Zedekiah to his eleventh year. By then the famine inside Jerusalem was so severe that the people had no bread.

When a breach was made in the city, Zedekiah and the fighting men fled by night. They went by the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, heading towards the Arabah. But the Chaldean army caught Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his army was scattered. He was taken to Riblah for judgement before the king of Babylon.

There Zedekiah saw his sons killed before him, and the king of Babylon also killed Judah's nobles or princes. Then Zedekiah's eyes were put out, he was bound in fetters, and he was taken to Babylon. Jeremiah adds that he remained there in prison until he died.

Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, came to Jerusalem. The Babylonians burned the house of the Lord, the king's house, and the houses of Jerusalem, and they broke down the city walls. Many people were carried away to Babylon, including deserters and others left in the city. Some of the poorest people were left in the land to work vineyards and fields.

They broke up and carried off bronze objects from the temple, along with other vessels of bronze, silver, and gold. They also took leading priests, officers, royal attendants, and other men from the city to Riblah, where the king of Babylon put them to death. So Judah was carried away out of its land.

Chronicles explains why this happened. The Lord had sent messengers again and again because he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place, but they mocked his messengers and despised his words. The land was left desolate and kept its Sabbaths, fulfilling Jeremiah's word about seventy years. Jeremiah also records three exile totals: 3,023, then 832, then 745, making 4,600 in all.