¹⁰ At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar^(A) king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, ¹¹ and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. ¹² Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered^(B) to him.

In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. ¹³ As the Lord had declared,^(C) Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures^(D) from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles^(E) that Solomon^(F) king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ He carried all Jerusalem into exile:^(G) all the officers and fighting men,^(H) and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest^(I) people of the land were left.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin^(J) captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother,^(K) his wives, his officials and the prominent people^(L) of the land. ¹⁶ The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans.^(M)

¹⁰ In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon,^(A) together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord, and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle,^[a] Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁴ “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin^[a](A) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring^(B) on my right hand, I would still pull you off.

² (This was after King Jehoiachin^[a](A) and the queen mother,^(B) the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)

A Basket of Ripe Fruit

8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:^(A) a basket of ripe fruit.