²² I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take^(A) it and burn^(B) it down. And I will lay waste^(C) the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

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)

² And on the ninth day of the fourth^(A) month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall^(B) was broken through.^{(C) 3} Then all the officials^(D) of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. ⁴ When Zedekiah king 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,^(E) and headed toward the Arabah.^[a](F)

⁵ But the Babylonian^[b] army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah^(G) in the plains of Jericho. They captured^(H) him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah^(I) in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. ⁶ There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles^(J) of Judah. ⁷ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes^(K) and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.^(L)

⁸ The Babylonians^[c] set fire^(M) to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls^(N) of Jerusalem.