1In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with his entire army to attack Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against it.
2So the city was under siege until King Zedekiah’s eleventh year.
3By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people had no food.
4Then a hole was made in the city wall. All the soldiers escaped by night through the gate between the two walls, near the king’s garden (the Chaldeans were surrounding the city at this time). The king traveled toward the Jordan Valley.
5But the Chaldean army chased after the king and caught up to him on the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers deserted him.
6They captured the king and brought him before the king of Babylon at Riblah, where he was judged.
7They killed Zedekiah’s sons in front of him, then they put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with chains, and took him to Babylon.
8In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
9He burned down Yahweh’s temple, the king’s palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem; every important building was set on fire.
10All the Chaldean army under the captain of the guard tore down the walls around Jerusalem.
11Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took captive the remaining people in the city, those who had surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the crowd.
12However, the captain of the guard left some of the poorest people in the land to work in the vineyards and fields.
13The Babylonians broke apart the bronze pillars, the stands, and the large bronze basin from Yahweh’s temple and carried the bronze pieces to Babylon.
14They took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, spoons, and all the other bronze items used for temple service.
15The captain of the guard also took the fire pans and the sprinkling bowls, including those made of pure gold and pure silver.
16The two pillars, the one large basin, and the stands that Solomon had made for Yahweh’s temple were so large that the weight of their bronze could not be measured.
17One pillar was 27 feet tall and had a bronze top. The top was 4.5 feet tall and was decorated with a bronze network of pomegranates around it. The second pillar with its network was similar.
18The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
19From the city, he took an officer in charge of the soldiers, five men who advised the king and were found in the city, the army commander’s assistant who was responsible for enlisting the local people, and sixty other local men found in the city.
20Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon in Riblah.
21The king of Babylon executed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So the people of Judah were taken captive from their own land.
22As for the people remaining in Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had left behind, he appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, as their governor.
23When all the commanders of the forces and their men heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah in Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, along with their men.
24Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, telling them, “Don’t be afraid of the Babylonian officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and things will go well for you.”
25But in the seventh month, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was of royal descent, came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah. He also killed the Jews and Babylonians who were with Gedaliah in Mizpah.
26Then all the people, both young and old, and the commanders of the forces, left and went to Egypt because they were afraid of the Babylonians.
27In the thirty-seventh year of King Jehoiachin of Judah’s captivity, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, King Evilmerodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison.
28He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon.
29Jehoiachin also changed out of his prison clothes and ate meals at the king’s table every day for the rest of his life.
30The king also provided him with a regular allowance, a daily portion, for the rest of his life.