12-16 In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon on the seventh day of the fifth month, Nebuzaradan, the king of Babylon’s chief deputy, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned the Temple of God to the ground, went on to the royal palace, and then finished off the city. He burned the whole place down. He put the Babylonian troops he had with him to work knocking down the city walls. Finally, he rounded up everyone left in the city, including those who had earlier deserted to the king of Babylon, and took them off into exile. He left a few poor dirt farmers behind to tend the vineyards and what was left of the fields.

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13 He set fire(A) to the temple(B) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses(C) of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 14 The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down all the walls(D) around Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile(E) some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen[a] and those who had deserted(F) to the king of Babylon.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 52:15 Or the populace