2 Kings 25:9
And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire.
After the Babylonian conquest, in the defeat and exile of the people, the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, including the homes of the people and every great man's house, were burned with fire. That burning was the fulfillment of the calamity God had warned would fall upon the temple if Israel departed from Him. The splendor of the temple had been promised to endure only on condition that Solomon himself remained faithful and the people obeyed God's commandments. Its destruction, with Israel's captivity, came because of the people's disobedience and wickedness and their departure from God. The burning of the city was part of the fearful penalty that followed Zedekiah's unbelief and his choice to follow ungodly counsel.
The destruction and scattering came because the people had failed to serve as missionaries and had separated themselves from the surrounding peoples. Yet through their scattering the knowledge of God's truth was to reach the world. If they were loyal and true and submissive, God would bring them back to their own land.