¶ And it came to pass in the ninth¹ year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar² king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched⁴ against it; and they built forts against it round about.

And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

And on the ninth day⁵ of the fourth month the famine⁶ prevailed in the city, and there was no⁷ bread for the people of the land.

And the city⁸ was broken up, and all the men of war fled⁹ 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 king¹⁰ went the way toward the plain.

And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook¹¹ him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.

So they took¹² the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah¹³; and they gave judgment upon him¹⁴.

And they slew¹⁵ the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out¹⁶ the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him¹⁷ with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

¶ And in the fifth month¹⁸, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth¹⁹ year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan²⁰, captain²¹ of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:

And he burnt²² the house of the LORD, and the king's²³ house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.

¶ And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake²⁴ down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

Now the rest²⁵ of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives²⁶ that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.

But the captain of the guard left of the poor²⁷ of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.

And the²⁸ pillars²⁹ of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases³⁰, 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.

And the pots³¹, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.

And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things³² as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.

The two pillars, one sea³³, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.

The height of the one pillar³⁴ 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.

And the captain³⁵ of the guard took Seraiah³⁶ the chief priest, and Zephaniah³⁷ the second priest³⁸, and the three keepers of the door³⁹:

And out of the city he took an officer⁴⁰ 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 principal⁴¹ 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:

¶ And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought⁴² them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:

And the king⁴³ of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah⁴⁴ was carried away out of their land.

¶ And as for the people⁴⁵ that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah⁴⁶ the son of Ahikam⁴⁷, the son of Shaphan, ruler.

And when⁴⁸ 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 Mizpah⁴⁹, 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.

And Gedaliah sware to them,⁵⁰ 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 be⁵¹ well with you.

But it came to pass in the seventh⁵² month, that Ishmael⁵³ the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal⁵⁴, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.

⁵⁵And 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.

And it came to pass⁵⁶ 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 Evilmerodach king of Babylon⁵⁷ in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head⁵⁸ of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;

And he spake kindly to him,⁵⁹ and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;

And changed⁶⁰ his prison garments: and he did eat bread⁶¹ continually before him all the days of his life.

¶ And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate⁶² for every day, all the days of his life⁶³.