1 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother's name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah. She was from Libnah.
2 Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did just as Jehoiakim had done.
3 The enemies of Jerusalem and Judah attacked them because the Lord was angry. In the end he threw them out of his land. Zedekiah refused to obey the king of Babylonia.
4 Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia. He marched out against Jerusalem. All of his armies went with him. It was in the ninth year of the rule of Zedekiah. It was on the tenth day of the tenth month. The armies set up camp outside the city. They set up ladders and built ramps and towers all around it.
5 It was surrounded until the 11th year of King Zedekiah's rule.
6 By the ninth day of the fourth month, there wasn't any food left in the city. So the people didn't have anything to eat.