Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem

25 ^(A)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, ^(B)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and ^(C)built a siege wall all around ^[a]it. ² So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month ^(D)the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ^4 (E)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside ^(F)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And ^[b]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 ^(G)they captured the king and ^(H)brought him to the king of Babylon at ^(I)Riblah, and ^[c]he passed sentence on him. ^7 (J)They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then ^(K)put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

21 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when ^(A)King Zedekiah sent to him ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and ^(C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Please ^(D)inquire of the Lord on our behalf, for ^(E)Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(F)Babylon is warring against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us ^(G)according to all His ^[a]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

³ Then Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to ^(H)turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will ^(I)gather them into the center of this city. ⁵ I ^(J)Myself will war against you with an ^(K)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in ^(L)anger and wrath and great indignation. ⁶ I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great ^(M)pestilence. ⁷ Then afterwards,” declares the Lord, “^(N)I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He ^(O)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’

⁸ “You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I ^(P)set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ He who ^(Q)dwells in this city will die by the ^(R)sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty. ¹⁰ For I have ^(S)set My face against this city for ^[b]harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be ^(T)given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will ^(U)burn it with fire.”’