[:en]Thoughts from 2 Kings 25[:]

[:en]Zedekiah became king of Judah.  He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  Because he rebelled against the king of Babylon, the king of Babylon killed his sons before his eye.  Later, he put out his eyes, and bound him with bronze shackles. The Babylonian army set fire to the temple of God, the royal place and all the houses of Jerusalem.  They broke down the walls around Jerusalem and carried into exiles the people and executed them.

The king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah to be over the people left behind in Judah.  Later, Ishmael of the royal blood came with 10 men and assassinated Gedaliah and fled to Egypt.

When Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin, king of Judah from prison and was kind to him.  He ate regularly at the king’s table and was given a regular allowance as long as he lived.[:]