Jeremiah 52:8
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
After Zedekiah fled besieged Jerusalem, the Chaldean army pursued after the king, overtook him in the plains of Jericho near Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. This was the result of the defenders' flight from the besieged city. The capture completed Judah's defeat and captivity under its last king and brought Israel's kingdom under Zedekiah to an end.
The destruction came because the people would not listen to and obey God in keeping His holy Sabbath day and bearing no burdens on it, though obedience would have let Jerusalem stand forever. It fulfilled a few years afterward the warning in Jeremiah 17 that such disobedience about the Sabbath would bring destruction on the city. The event marks the overturning of the throne that had passed from king to king and had come to misrepresent God, whose rule was not to be restored until Christ, its rightful heir, received the kingdom and reigned eternally.
Together with the accounts of Babylon's judgment, the fall is a warning that cities and peoples that forget and defy God face judgment. It teaches cities and peoples to heed warnings and choose the principle of doing right. That is a lesson for the present and for modern cities that defy God.