1-3. In the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army began their attack on Jerusalem. They kept the city surrounded for a year and a half. Then, on the ninth day of the fourth month of the eleventh year that Zedekiah was king, they broke through the city walls.After Jerusalem was captured, Nebuchadnezzar's highest officials, including Nebo Sarsechim and Nergal Sharezer from Simmagir, took their places at Middle Gate to show they were in control of the city.
4. When King Zedekiah and his troops saw that Jerusalem had been captured, they tried to escape from the city that same night. They went to the king's garden, where they slipped through the gate between the two city walls and headed towards the valley of the River Jordan.
5. But the Babylonian troops caught up with them near Jericho. They arrested Zedekiah and took him to the town of Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar put him on trial, then found him guilty
6. and gave orders for him to be punished. Zedekiah's sons were killed there in front of him, and so were the leaders of Judah's ruling families.
7. His eyes were put out, and he was put in chains, so he could be dragged off to Babylonia.
8. Meanwhile, the Babylonian army had burnt the houses in Jerusalem, including the royal palace, and they had broken down the city walls.
9. Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian officer in charge of the guards, led away everyone from the city as prisoners, even those who had deserted to Nebuchadnezzar.
10. Only the poorest people who owned no land were left behind in Judah, and Nebuzaradan gave them fields and vineyards.
11. Nebuchadnezzar had given the following orders to Nebuzaradan:
12. “Find Jeremiah and keep him safe. Take good care of him and do whatever he asks.”
13. Nebuzaradan, Nebushazban, Nergal Sharezer, and the other officers of King Nebuchadnezzar