¹⁹ So I made a decree, and someone searched and discovered that this city has risen against kings from long ago and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it.

⁷ The Lord was with him; wherever he went, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.^(A)

¹³ He took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (he had taken away the chief men of the land),^{(A) 14} so that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up and that by keeping his covenant it might stand.^{(B) 15} But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?^{(C) 16} As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant with him he broke—in Babylon he shall die.^{(D) 17} Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.^{(E) 18} Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.^{(F) 19} Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will surely return upon his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke.

¹⁷ And now, if it seems good to the king, have a search made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”^(A)

The Decree of Darius

6 Then King Darius made a decree, and they searched the archives where the documents were stored in Babylon.^{(B) 2} But it was in Ecbatana, the capital in the province of Media, that a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record.

¹⁵ so that a search may be made in the annals of your ancestors. You will discover in the annals that this is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from long ago. On that account this city was laid waste.

²⁰ Indeed, Jerusalem and Judah so angered the Lord that he expelled them from his presence.

The Fall and Captivity of Judah

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.^(A)

¹⁴ then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you,