2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month ^xthe famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. 3 Then all ^othe officials of the king of Babylon came ^pand sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim ^qthe Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.

4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by ^ythe king’s garden, and ^zthe Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the ^aArabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king ^band brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^cRiblah, and they passed sentence on him.

10 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at ^fRiblah. 11 ^gHe put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison ^gtill the day of his death.

The Temple Burned

12 ^hIn the fifth month, on ⁱthe tenth day of the month—that was ^jthe nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who ^kserved the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.

17 And the ^mpillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the ⁿbronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ^ocarried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 And they took away ^pthe pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; 19 ^qalso the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and ^rthe lampstands and ^sthe dishes for incense ^sand the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 20 As for the two pillars, the one sea, ^tthe twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea,¹ and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,^{2 u}its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. 22 On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was ^vfive cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.

13 And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.

The People Exiled to Babylon

24 And the captain of the guard took ^wSeraiah the chief priest, and ^xZephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and ^yseven men of the king’s council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at ^zRiblah. 27 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at ^zRiblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

9 Then ^zNebuzaradan, the ^acaptain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, ^bthose who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. 10 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, ^cleft in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed ^yGedaliah the son of ^zAhikam, son of Shaphan, governor.

The Lord Delivers Jeremiah

11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, 12 ^d“Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” 13 So ^eNebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, ^eand all the chief officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and took Jeremiah from ^fthe court of the guard. They entrusted him to ^gGedaliah the son of ^hAhikam, son of ⁱShaphan, that he should take him home. So ^jhe lived among the people.

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^rafter Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from ^sRamah, when he took him ^tbound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ^u“The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. 3 The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. ^vBecause you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. 4 Now, behold, I release you today from ^tthe chains on your hands. ^wIf it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, ^wbut if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. ^xSee, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. 5 If you remain,¹ then return to ^yGedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, ^zwhom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went to ^yGedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^aMizpah, and lived with him ^bamong the people ^cwho were left in the land.