The Destruction of Jerusalem

¹⁵ But the Lord, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again,^(A) for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers,^(B) despising his words,^(C) and scoffing at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.^{(D) 17} So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans,^(E) who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him. ¹⁸ He took everything to Babylon—all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple.^(F) They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.

²⁰ He deported those who escaped from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian^[a] kingdom.^{(G) 21} This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Jeremiah,^(H) and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation^(I) until seventy years were fulfilled.