¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath^(A) in God’s name. He became stiff-necked^(B) and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful,^(C) following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(D)(E)

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers^(F) again and again,^(G) because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed^(H) at his prophets until the wrath^(I) of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.^{(J) 17} He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,^[a](K) who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men^(L) or young women, the elderly or the infirm.^(M) God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.^{(N) 18} He carried to Babylon all the articles^(O) from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ They set fire^(P) to God’s temple^(Q) and broke down the wall^(R) of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed^(S) everything of value there.^(T)

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

³ It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah,^(A) and in the end he thrust them from his presence.^(B)

Now Zedekiah rebelled^(C) against the king of Babylon.

⁴ So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth^(D) day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem^(E) with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works^(F) all around it.^{(G) 5} The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.^{(H) 7} Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.^(I) They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians^[a] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^{[b] 8} but the Babylonian^[c] 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.^(J)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah^(K) in the land of Hamath,^(L) where he pronounced sentence on him. ¹⁰ There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons^(M) 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.^(N)