¹⁹ They burned Elohim’s temple, tore down Jerusalem’s walls, burned down all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value. ²⁰ The king of Babylon took those who weren’t executed to Babylon to be slaves for him and his sons. They remained captives until the Persian Empire began to rule. ²¹ This happened so that Yahweh’s words spoken through Jeremiah would be fulfilled. The land had its years of rest and was made acceptable again. While it lay in ruins, the land had its 70 years of rest.

Jerusalem Is Captured^(A)

39 In the tenth month of Zedekiah’s ninth year as king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army and blockaded it. ² On the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king, they broke into the city.

³ Then all the officers of the king of Babylon came in and sat in Middle Gate: Nergal (the quartermaster), Samgar Nebo (the chief officer), Nergal (the quartermaster and the chief fortuneteller), and all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.

⁴ When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls, and they took the road to the plain of Jericho. ⁵ The Babylonian army pursued them and caught up with Zedekiah in the plain of Jericho. They arrested him and brought him to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. The king of Babylon passed sentence on him. ⁶ The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons as Zedekiah watched at Riblah. He also slaughtered all the leaders of Judah. ⁷ Then he blinded Zedekiah, put him in bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

⁸ The Babylonians burned down the royal palace and the people’s homes, and they tore down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Nebuzaradan, Babylon’s captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to him, and the rest of the people. ¹⁰ But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some poor people who had nothing in the land of Judah. At that time he gave them vineyards and farms.

⁵ “If you wish to remain,^[a] then go back to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed to govern the cities of Judah. Live among the people with him, or go anywhere you want.” The captain of the guard gave Jeremiah some food and a present and let him go. ⁶ Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, at Mizpah and lived with him among the people who were left in the land.

⁷ All the army commanders and their men who were in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, to govern the country and some of the country’s poorest men, women, and children who had not been taken away to Babylon. ⁸ These are the commanders who went with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah: Ishmael (son of Nethaniah), Johanan and Jonathan (sons of Kareah), Seraiah (son of Tanhumeth), the sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jezaniah, who was the son of a man from Maacah. ⁹ Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men. He said, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Babylonians. Live in this country, serve the king of Babylon, and you will prosper.

Gedaliah Is Assassinated by Ishmael^(A)

41 In the seventh month Ishmael (son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, a descendant of the royal family and of the king’s officers) went with ten men to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate together at Mizpah, ² Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him got up, drew their swords, and killed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. So they assassinated the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the land. ³ Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah as well as the Babylonian soldiers that he found there.

¹⁶ Then Kareah’s son Johanan and all the army commanders who were with him brought back the rest of the people of Mizpah whom he had rescued from Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam. Johanan brought back men, women, children, soldiers, and commanders from Gibeon. ¹⁷ When they left Gibeon, they stayed near Bethlehem at Geruth Kimham on their way to Egypt. ¹⁸ They were afraid of the Babylonians because Ishmael had killed Gedaliah whom the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the land.

⁴ On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. They set up camp and built dirt ramps around the city walls. ⁵ The blockade of the city lasted until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. ⁶ On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city became so severe that the common people had no food.

⁷ The enemy broke through the city walls, and all Judah’s soldiers fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden. While the Babylonians were attacking the city from all sides, they took the road to the plain of Jericho. ⁸ The Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plain of Jericho. His entire army had deserted him. ⁹ The Babylonians captured the king and brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in Hamath, where the king of Babylon passed sentence on him. ¹⁰ The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons as Zedekiah watched. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. ¹¹ Then he blinded Zedekiah and put him in bronze shackles. The king of Babylon took him to Babylon and put him in a prison, where he stayed until he died.

¹² On the tenth day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the guard and an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned down Yahweh’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. Every important building was burned down. ¹⁴ The entire Babylonian army that was with the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and on the farms.

¹⁷ The Babylonians broke apart the bronze pillars of Yahweh’s temple, the stands, and the bronze pool in Yahweh’s temple. They shipped all the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They took the pots, shovels, snuffers, bowls, dishes, and all the bronze utensils used in the temple service. ¹⁹ The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver. ²⁰ The bronze from the 2 pillars, the pool, and the 12 bronze bulls under the stands that King Solomon had made for Yahweh’s temple couldn’t be weighed. ²¹ One pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. It was three inches thick and hollow. ²² The capital that was on it was 7½ feet high with a filigree and pomegranates around it. They were all made of bronze. The second pillar was the same. It also had pomegranates. ²³ There were 96 pomegranates on the sides. The total number of pomegranates on the surrounding filigree was 100.

²⁴ The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the 3 doorkeepers. ²⁵ From the city he also took an army commander, 7 men who had access to the king whom he found in the city, the scribe who was in charge of the militia, and 60 common people whom he found in the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the territory of Hamath. So the people of Judah were captives as they left their land.

²⁸ These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took captive: In his seventh year as king, he took 3,023 Jews. ²⁹ In his eighteenth year, Nebuchadnezzar took 832 people from Jerusalem. ³⁰ In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year as king, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took away 745 Jews. In all, 4,600 people were taken away.