Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 ^(A)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^(B)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his military force, against Jerusalem, and he camped against it and ^(C)built a siege wall all around ^[a]it. ² So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(D)the famine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ^4 (E)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside ^(F)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^[b]they went by way of the Arabah. ⁵ But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his military force was scattered from him. ⁶ Then ^(G)they seized the king and ^(H)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(I)Riblah, and they spoke their judgment on him. ^7 (J)And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then he ^(K)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

21 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when ^(A)King Zedekiah sent to him ^(B)Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and ^(C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Please ^(D)inquire of Yahweh on our behalf, for ^[a](E)Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(F)Babylon is warring against us; perhaps Yahweh will deal with us ^(G)according to all His ^[b]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will go up from us.”

³ Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, ⁴ ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to ^(H)turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will ^(I)gather them into the center of this city. ⁵ I ^(J)Myself will war against you with an ^(K)outstretched hand and a strong arm, even in ^(L)anger and wrath and great indignation. ⁶ I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great ^(M)pestilence. ⁷ Then afterwards,” declares Yahweh, “^(N)I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who remain in this city from the pestilence, the sword, and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He ^(O)will not show pity on them nor spare nor have compassion.”’

⁸ “You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I ^(P)set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ He who ^(Q)inhabits this city will die by the ^(R)sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as spoil. ¹⁰ For I have ^(S)set My face against this city for ^[c]evil and not for good,” declares Yahweh. “It will be ^(T)given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will ^(U)burn it with fire.”’