¹⁶ Then the officials^(A) and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man should not be sentenced to death!^(B) He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

¹⁷ Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, ¹⁸ “Micah^(C) of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says:

¹⁹ “Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah^(H) fear the Lord and seek^(I) his favor? And did not the Lord relent,^(J) so that he did not bring the disaster^(K) he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster^(L) on ourselves!”

¹⁸ 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) 19} Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and five royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of the conscripts who were found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ There at Riblah,^(D) in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.^(E)

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

Tattenai’s Letter to Darius

5 Now Haggai^(A) the prophet and Zechariah^(B) the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied^(C) to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.