7. They killed Zedekiah’s sons in front of him. Then they put out Zedekiah’s eyes. They put chains on him and took him to Babylon.
8. Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem on the 7th day of the fifth month of his nineteenth year as king of Babylon. The captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s best soldiers was Nebuzaradan.
9. Nebuzaradan burned the Lord’S Temple, the king’s palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He destroyed even the largest houses.
10. Then the Babylonian army that was with Nebuzaradan pulled down the walls around Jerusalem.
11. Nebuzaradan captured all the people who were still left in the city. He took all the people as prisoners, even those who had tried to surrender.
12. He let only the poorest of the common people stay there. He let them stay so that they could take care of the grapes and other crops.
13. The Babylonian soldiers broke into pieces all the bronze things in the Lord’S Temple. They broke the bronze columns, the bronze carts, and the large bronze tank that were in the Lord’S Temple. Then they took all of that bronze to Babylon.