Good evening. Our top story tonight, the destruction of Jerusalem. The sweep of ruin and pillage continues in the wake of the 18-month Babylonian siege. The fall of Jerusalem has been the final blow after years of tension and military conflict with Babylonia. This once proud capital city of Judah is now crushed and defeated. The beautiful temple of Solomon, the pride of this nation, lies in ruin. Its exquisite furnishings and religious artifacts are gone. Our reporter Shlomo bar Yoseph is on the scene with a firsthand report. Shlomo, what are the conditions there in the city? Well, Uri, as you can see and hear, it is total chaos. Many people thought this city was indestructible. It is now a smoldering pile of rubble. Soldiers have begun searching the city for survivors. They were taking them to camps outside of Jerusalem. The order from King Nebuchadnezzar is that all captives will be taken to Babylon. Those who resist are killed on the spot. Uri, I've never seen anything like this. This is a tragedy of unbelievable dimensions.

We are witnessing a terrible, terrible calamity taking place in Jerusalem. Thank you, Shlomo. Another sad story associated with the fall of Jerusalem concerns Jeremiah. Since Lehi disappeared 14 years ago, Jeremiah has tried to stop almost single-handedly the tide of wickedness in Jerusalem. For many years, he predicted the fall of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem. But even now, when history has proven him to be a true prophet, he has not won a favorable response from his people. Some are even saying he is directly to blame for the events and accuse him of encouraging the Babylonians with his predictions of their success. He has been kidnapped by a group of escaping Jews and kept in a prison, locked in stocks, and kept in a mire pit dungeon. So instead of being admired for correctly predicting the people's fate, Jeremiah is being punished by them again. This appears to be the end of his many years of preaching and warning in Jerusalem. For a related news story, we now go to a report from our news affiliate in Babylon, USIN.

When the new groups of captive Jews from Jerusalem reach Babylon, they'll find many of their countrymen already here. Two groups of exiled Jews have already been brought to Babylon. A few of the first group now have places in the king's courts. Daniel has been a high official since interpreting a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar 16 years ago. The second group, about 10,000 captives, was brought over a decade ago. Most of that group are located here at the Tigris River. Preparations are being made for the influx of captives from Judah expected in the near future. We talked with some of these captives earlier today. We've known that Jerusalem would be destroyed for quite some time. Our prophet Ezekiel prophesied about this. I want to go back to the promised land, but I don't think we'll make it in my lifetime. Life's not so bad here. We have our own prophet now, Ezekiel. He's prophesied that Jerusalem will be built up again. He is trying to keep us separate from the Babylonians. We thank the Lord for him. The people here are still holding onto hope with their prophet Ezekiel. This is Arioch reporting for USIN News. For our Story Solvers feature tonight, we have our investigative reporter Deborah. Uri, authorities are confused over the disappearance of one of King Zedekiah's sons. The king had taken his family and fled the city to escape the Babylonians, but they were later captured near Jericho. With typical Babylonian brutality, members of the royal family were killed to ensure that there would be no more rebellion. The Babylonians forced Zedekiah to watch his sons being killed. They then put out his eyes. It seems that at least one of the king's sons has escaped the massacre, however. A group of escaping Jews is believed to have taken King Zedekiah's son Mulek with them as they fled from the Babylonians. A cash reward is being offered by the Babylonian occupation forces for information leading to the capture of Mulek and those involved in his escape. Thank you, Deborah. We conclude our newscast tonight with a guest editorial by Heber Ben Shmuel, a former resident of Jerusalem. Heber?

Two of the words used most frequently by the people of Jerusalem during this great destruction have been "if only." If only we had listened to the prophets. If only we had repented of our sins. If only we had prepared ourselves. Anyone on the street has heard many "if onlys." When will we as a people learn? We've been warned not just once, but many times by the prophets. But do we listen? No. The prophet Lehi was almost killed. The prophet Jeremiah has been put in prison and charged with treason. Why do we as a people refuse to listen? All we can say is "if only," but then it's too late. Israel has been scattered because we wouldn't listen to the prophets. One hundred thirty-five years ago, the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom were taken to Assyria and are now lost. In the last 20 years, several groups of Israelites have been taken to Babylonia. Others are known to have been missing. Now, many others are being taken to Babylonia. Some have escaped into Egypt. We have lost our promised land for now. When will we learn? It's the same in all ages. If we follow the prophets, we'll be blessed and protected. If we do not follow the prophets, we end up saying, "If only." Uri? Thank you, Heber. That's our newscast for tonight. Thank you for being with us. [MUSIC PLAYING]