conquest The Divided Kingdom Jerusalem and Temple destroyed; exile 586 BCE (scriptural) Jerusalem and Temple destroyed; exile After Josiah, Judah declines rapidly. Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem. Walls breached, Zedekiah blinded. Temple burned, walls demolished. Population exiled to Babylon. Jeremiah had warned; now laments. Illustrations Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem Francesco Hayez (1867), Public Domain View source