17. So God brought the king of Babylon to attack the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The king of Babylon killed the young men even when they were in the Temple. He didn’t have mercy on the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The king of Babylon killed young and old people. He killed men and women. He killed sick and healthy people. God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
18. Nebuchadnezzar carried all the things in God’s Temple away to Babylon. He took all the valuable things from the Lord’S Temple, from the king, and from the king’s officials.
19. Nebuchadnezzar and his army burned the Temple. They broke down Jerusalem’s wall and burned all the houses that belonged to the king and his officials. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem.
20. Nebuchadnezzar took the people who were still alive back to Babylon and forced them to be slaves. They stayed in Babylon as slaves until the Persian kingdom defeated the kingdom of Babylon.
21. The land of Judah became an empty desert and stayed that way for 70 years. All this time the land rested to make up for the Sabbath rests that the people had not kept. This is just what the Lord said would happen in the warning he gave through the prophet Jeremiah.
22. During the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia, the Lord caused Cyrus to make a special announcement. He did this so that what the Lord promised through Jeremiah the prophet would really happen. Cyrus sent messengers to every place in his kingdom. They carried this message:
23. This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, made me king over the whole earth. He gave me the responsibility of building a Temple for him in Jerusalem. Now, all of you who are his people are free to go to Jerusalem. And may the Lord your God be with you.