²³ “All your wives and children^(A) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape^(B) from their hands but will be captured^(C) by the king of Babylon; and this city will^[a] be burned down.”^(D)

¹⁰ Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people^(A) who were in Mizpah—the king’s daughters^(B) along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.^(C)

⁶ There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles^(A) of Judah.

¹⁸ But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands^(A) of the Babylonians and they will burn^(B) it down; you yourself will not escape^(C) from them.’”

⁸ but the Babylonian^[a] army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, ⁹ and he was captured.^(A)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah^(B) in the land of Hamath,^(C) where he pronounced sentence on him. ¹⁰ There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons^(D) of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.^(E)

¹² On the tenth day of the fifth^(F) month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan^(G) commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He set fire^(H) to the temple^(I) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses^(J) of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.

¹² I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke^(A) of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.^{(B) 13} Why will you and your people die^(C) by the sword, famine and plague^(D) with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

²⁰ He carried into exile^(A) to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants^(B) to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests;^(C) all the time of its desolation it rested,^(D) until the seventy years^(E) were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.

⁷ They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.^(A)

³ The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he^[a] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.