^4 (A)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside ^(B)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^[a]they went by way of the Arabah. 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 ^(C)they captured the king and ^(D)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(E)Riblah, and he ^[b]passed sentence on him. ⁷ And ^(F)they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then ^(G)put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.

Jerusalem Burned and Plundered

^8 (H)Now on the seventh day of the ^(I)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ And ^(J)he burned the house of the Lord, ^(K)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. ¹⁰ So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards ^(L)tore down the walls around Jerusalem.

⁸ ‘But like the ^(A)bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness,’ indeed, this is what the Lord says, ‘so will I give up ^(B)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the ^(C)remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who live in the land of ^(D)Egypt. ⁹ I will ^(E)make them an object of terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ^(F)disgrace and a proverb, a taunt and a ^(G)curse in all the places where I will scatter them. ¹⁰ And I will send the ^(H)sword, the famine, and the plague upon them until they are eliminated from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

³ because Zedekiah king of Judah had ^(A)imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you ^(B)prophesy, saying, ‘^(C)This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(D)hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it; ⁴ and Zedekiah king of Judah will ^(E)not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will ^(F)speak with him ^[a]face to face and see him eye to eye. ⁵ Then he will ^(G)take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will ^(H)not succeed”’?”

⁸ Then the Chaldeans will ^(A)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’

³ This is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be ^(A)handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.’”