1And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign , in the tenth month , in the tenth day of the month , that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came , he, and all his host , against Jerusalem , and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about . 2And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah . 3And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city , and there was no bread for the people of the land . 4And the city was broken up , and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls , which is by the king’s garden : (now the Chaldees were against the city round about :) and the king went the way toward the plain . 5And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king , and overtook him in the plains of Jericho : and all his army were scattered from him. 6So they took the king , and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah ; and they gave judgment upon him. 7And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes , and put out the eyes of Zedekiah , and bound him with fetters of brass , and carried him to Babylon .
The Exile of the People
8And in the fifth month , on the seventh day of the month , which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon , came Nebuzar-adan , captain of the guard , a servant of the king of Babylon , unto Jerusalem : 9And he burnt the house of the LORD , and the king’s house , and all the houses of Jerusalem , and every great man’s house burnt he with fire . 10And all the army of the Chaldees , that were with the captain of the guard , brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about . 11Now the rest of the people that were left in the city , and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon , with the remnant of the multitude , did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away . 12But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen . 13And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD , and the bases , and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD , did the Chaldees break in pieces , and carried the brass of them to Babylon . 14And the pots , and the shovels , and the snuffers , and the spoons , and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered , took they away . 15And the firepans , and the bowls , and such things as were of gold , in gold , and of silver , in silver , the captain of the guard took away . 16The two pillars , one sea , and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD ; the brass of all these vessels was without weight . 17The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits , and the chapiter upon it was brass : and the height of the chapiter three cubits ; and the wreathen work , and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about , all of brass : and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work . 18And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest , and Zephaniah the second priest , and the three keepers of the door : 19And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war , and five men of them that were in the king’s presence , which were found in the city , and the principal scribe of the host , which mustered the people of the land , and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city : 20And Nebuzar-adan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah : 21And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath . So Judah was carried away out of their land .
The Fate of the Temple and the City
22And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah , whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left , even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam , the son of Shaphan , ruler . 23And when all the captains of the armies , they and their men , heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor , there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah , even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , and Johanan the son of Careah , and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite , and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite , they and their men . 24And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men , and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees : dwell in the land , and serve the king of Babylon ; and it shall be well with you. 25But it came to pass in the seventh month , that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , the son of Elishama , of the seed royal , came , and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah , that he died , and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah . 26And all the people , both small and great , and the captains of the armies , arose , and came to Egypt : for they were afraid of the Chaldees . 27And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah , in the twelfth month , on the seven and twentieth day of the month , that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison ; 28And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon ; 29And changed his prison garments : and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life . 30And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king , a daily rate for every day , all the days of his life .