5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against him, bound him chains, and carried him to Babylon. 7Nebuchadnezzar also carried some of the vessels of the temple of the LORD, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, his abominations which he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah; and his son, Jehoiachin, reigned in his stead.

9Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. 10And when the year was ended, King Nebuchadnezzar brought Jehoiachin to Babylon, along with precious vessels from the temple of the LORD, and made Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, his God, nor did he humble himself before Jeremiah, the prophet, who spoke for the LORD. 13And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance by God; but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. 14Moreover, all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the pagan nations; and polluted the temple of the LORD which God had hallowed in Jerusalem. 15And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers again and again, rising early; because He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling place. 16But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and abused His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 17Therefore, He brought the king of the Chaldeans against them, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him who stooped for age; He gave them all into his hand. 18And all the vessels of the temple of God, great and small, and the treasures of the temple of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these the king of the Chaldeans brought to Babylon. 19And they burned the temple of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20And he carried to Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: 21To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

22Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, ‘All the kingdoms of the earth has the LORD God of heaven given me; and He has charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? The LORD, his God, be with him, and let him go up’”.