² The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

³ By the ninth day of the fourth^[a] month the famine^(A) in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.

² And on the ninth day of the fourth^(A) month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall^(B) was broken through.^{(C) 3} Then all the officials^(D) of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon.

⁴ Then the city wall was broken through,^(A) and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians^[a] were surrounding^(B) the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^{[b] 5} but the Babylonian^[c] army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,^{(C) 6} and he was captured.^(D)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah,^(E) where sentence was pronounced on him.

¹⁰ There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons^(A) of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.^(B)

¹² On the tenth day of the fifth^(C) month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan^(D) commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

¹⁷ The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars,^(A) the movable stands^(B) and the bronze Sea^(C) that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.^{(D) 18} They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,^(E) dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.^{(F) 19} The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers,^(G) sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands,^(H) dishes^(I) and bowls used for drink offerings^(J)—all that were made of pure gold or silver.^(K)

²⁰ The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls^(L) under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed.^{(M) 21} Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference^[a]; each was four fingers thick, and hollow.^{(N) 22} The bronze capital^(O) on top of one pillar was five cubits^[b] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates^(P) of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. ²³ There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates^(Q) above the surrounding network was a hundred.^(R)

¹³ He set fire^(A) to the temple^(B) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses^(C) of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. ¹⁴ The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down all the walls^(D) around Jerusalem.

²⁴ The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah^(A) the chief priest, Zephaniah^(B) the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.^{(C) 25} Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary^(D) who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land, sixty of whom were found in the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan^(E) the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ There at Riblah,^(F) in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.

So Judah went into captivity, away^(G) from her land.

⁹ Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him,^(A) and the rest of the people.^{(B) 10} But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

²² Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah^(A) son of Ahikam,^(B) the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah.