15. The Lord God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his messengers because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place.
16. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until the Lord became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them.
17. So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He didn’t spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him.
18. He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God’s temple, the treasures from the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials.
19. They burned God’s temple, tore down Jerusalem’s walls, burned down all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value.
20. The king of Babylon took those who weren’t executed to Babylon to be slaves for him and his sons. They remained captives until the Persian Empire began to rule.
21. This happened so that the Lord’s words spoken through Jeremiah would be fulfilled. The land had its years of rest and was made acceptable ⌊again⌋. While it lay in ruins, ⌊the land had its⌋ 70 years of rest.
22. The promise the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah was about to come true in Cyrus’ first year as king of Persia. The Lord inspired the king to make this announcement throughout his whole kingdom and then to put it in writing.