¹⁹ They set fire to the house of God, demolished the walls of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces to the ground along with its cherished possessions until everything there of value was destroyed.

²⁰ In addition, Nebuchadnezzar deported to Babylon all those who had escaped the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the Persians came to power. ²¹ During the time that the land lay desolate, it enjoyed its Sabbath rests to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has atoned for its lost Sabbaths, it will lie fallow until seventy years are fulfilled.”