And in that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, ¹  was killed. ² 

The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.

Then the Babylonian forces ¹  will return. They will attack the city and will capture it and burn it down.

The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.

But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, ¹  and his entire army deserted him.

Therefore I, the Lord, say: ¹  ‘I will indeed hand ²  this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian army. ³  They will capture it.

The following events also occurred ¹  while the Babylonian forces ²  had temporarily withdrawn from Jerusalem ³  because the army of Pharaoh was coming.

Ishmael also killed all the Judeans ¹  who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Babylonian ²  soldiers who happened to be there. ³ 

But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, ¹  and his entire army deserted him.

In the first year of Darius ¹  son of Ahasuerus, ²  who was of Median descent and who had been ³  appointed king over the Babylonian ⁴  empire –

The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. ¹ 

So when the envoys arrived from the Babylonian officials to visit him and inquire about the sign that occurred in the land, ¹  God left him alone to test him, in order to know his true motives. ² 

I will hand you over to those who want to take your life and of whom you are afraid. I will hand you over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Babylonian ¹  soldiers.

“For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule ¹  are over will I again take up consideration for you. ²  Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore ³  you to your homeland. ⁴ 

But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land we said, ‘Let’s get up and go to Jerusalem ¹  to get away from the Babylonian ²  and Aramean armies.’ That is why we are staying here in Jerusalem.”

At that time the Babylonian forces ¹  had temporarily given up their siege against Jerusalem. ²  They had had it under siege, but withdrew when they heard that the army of Pharaoh had set out from Egypt. ³ )

Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces ¹  will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away. ² 

For even if you were to defeat all the Babylonian forces ¹  fighting against you so badly that only wounded men were left lying in their tents, they would get up and burn this city down.”’” ² 

The Babylonian tyrant ¹  pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. ²  When he catches ³  them in his dragnet, he is very happy. ⁴ 

Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ¹  He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.”