A century later Judah was in a still worse condition: idolatry, polytheism, immorality were eating out the vitals of the nation. In 604 B. C. Jeremiah prophesied that Jehovah would bring Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, into Syria, and that he would destroy Judah and all the nations round about, that they would groan under the rule of Babylon for seventy years, but that at the end of that period Jehovah would punish the Babylonians for their iniquity, and would make their land desolate forever.[144] But his countrymen would not listen. Jehovah had saved His people from the Assyrian in the time of Isaiah: why should He allow the Babylonian to touch them now? Yet in 585 B. C. Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, burned the city and the temple, and carried away the king and all the leading families to Babylon.[145] Once more the word of Jehovah, as spoken by His prophets, was literally fulfilled. But what was to be the end?—Jehovah seemed to have utterly destroyed His chosen people: what was His purpose? what good was to come out of it? The people of the northern kingdom, carried away in 722 B. C., soon lost their religion, and were in consequence speedily lost themselves among the peoples of the East. Not so the captives of Judah: the training of Isaiah and his disciples and of Jeremiah and his friends had taken fast hold of their hearts, so that even in a foreign land, far away from home and temple, they held by the religion of Jehovah. Nor is that all: they began to take their religion seriously; they began to perceive that the prophets were right in declaring that Jehovah was a very different God from the gods of the nations around them, that He would not be satisfied with sacrifice and song, but demanded _heart-worship and righteousness_. But although they clung to their faith in Jehovah, they were naturally greatly depressed by the seeming hopelessness of their captivity.[146] To rebel against the Babylonians, and by the sword regain their freedom and their land, was an utter impossibility: they were altogether helpless under the omnipotent empire. But about 550 B. C. Cyrus, an Elamite king, began a great career of conquest. In 549 he overthrew the Cimmerians under their king Astyages, and by 546 he was master of Persia. He then went further west to subdue Asia Minor.[147] It was at this juncture, according to all scholars, that a great prophet, whose name is unknown, began to comfort and encourage the Jewish exiles in Babylon. His prophecy is preserved for us in the latter part of the book of Isaiah.[148] His message is that the sufferings of the exiles are nearly at an end, that Cyrus is to capture Babylon and give them leave to return to their native land.[149]