¹⁷ He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.^(A)

Zedekiah King of Judah^(B)

¹⁸ Zedekiah^(C) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(D) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ¹⁹ He did evil^(E) in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust^(F) them from his presence.^(G)

The Fall of Jerusalem^(H)(I)(J)

Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25 So in the ninth^(K) year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar^(L) king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works^(M) all around it. ² The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

³ By the ninth day of the fourth^[a] month the famine^(N) in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. ⁴ Then the city wall was broken through,^(O) and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians^[b] were surrounding^(P) the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^{[c] 5} but the Babylonian^[d] army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,^{(Q) 6} and he was captured.^(R)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah,^(S) where sentence was pronounced on him. ⁷ They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.^(T)

Zedekiah King of Judah^(A)

¹¹ Zedekiah^(B) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. ¹² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord^(C) his God and did not humble^(D) himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. ¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath^(E) in God’s name. He became stiff-necked^(F) and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful,^(G) following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(H)(I)

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers^(J) again and again,^(K) because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed^(L) at his prophets until the wrath^(M) of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.^{(N) 17} He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,^[a](O) who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men^(P) or young women, the elderly or the infirm.^(Q) God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.^{(R) 18} He carried to Babylon all the articles^(S) from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ They set fire^(T) to God’s temple^(U) and broke down the wall^(V) of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed^(W) everything of value there.^(X)

²⁰ He carried into exile^(Y) to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants^(Z) to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests;^(AA) all the time of its desolation it rested,^(AB) until the seventy years^(AC) were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.