2 Kings 25:1-11

EasyEnglish Bible

King Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem

25 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched with all his army to attack Jerusalem. He arrived on the 10th day of the 10th month, in the 9th year when Zedekiah had ruled Judah. His soldiers made their camp all around the city. They built heaps of earth all around Jerusalem's walls.^{[a] 2} Babylon's army stayed around the city until the 11th year that Zedekiah had been king. ³ By the 9th day of the 4th month, there was a very bad famine in the city. There was no food for the people to eat. ⁴ Then Babylon's army broke down Jerusalem's wall so that they could go into the city. Their soldiers were all around the city. So the king of Judah and all his army tried to escape in the night. They went through the gate that was near the king's garden. The path went between the two walls of the city. They ran towards the Jordan Valley. ⁵ But the soldiers of Babylon's army chased after the king. They caught him on the flat land near Jericho. All King Zedekiah's soldiers ran away from him in many directions.

⁶ Babylon's soldiers took hold of King Zedekiah. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah. Nebuchadnezzar decided how to punish Zedekiah. ⁷ They killed all Zedekiah's sons as their punishment, while Zedekiah watched. Then they cut out Zedekiah's eyes to make him blind. They tied him with chains and they took him to Babylon.

⁸ King Nebuchadnezzar had an officer whose name was Nebuzaradan. He was the captain of the king's royal guards. Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar had ruled Babylon for 19 years. It was on the 7th day of the 5th month. ⁹ Nebuzaradan destroyed the Lord's temple, the king's palace and all the other houses in Jerusalem. He burned them all with fire, so that he destroyed every important building in the city. ¹⁰ Then Nebuzaradan commanded his whole army to knock down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Captain Nebuzaradan sent away as prisoners all the people who remained in Jerusalem. He also sent away those people who had agreed to serve the king of Babylon and the workers who were still there.