¹⁶ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, ^(A)I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read— ^17 (B)because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ ” ’ ¹⁸ But as for ^(C)the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— ¹⁹ because your ^(D)heart was tender, and you ^(E)humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become ^(F)a desolation and ^(G)a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord.

⁴ Then ^(A)the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And ^(B)the king^[a] went by way of the ^[b]plain. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. ⁶ So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon ^(C)at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. ⁷ Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, ^(D)put^[c] out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.

⁸ And in the fifth month, ^(E)on the seventh day of the month (which was ^(F)the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ^(G)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ^9 (H)He burned the house of the Lord ^(I)and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, ^(J)he burned with fire. ¹⁰ And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard ^(K)broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.

¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive ^(L)the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude.