1. The captivity of Is'ra-el took place B. C. 721, that of Ju'dah B. C. 587. The southern kingdom lasted one hundred and thirty-four years longer than the northern. 2. Is'ra-el was taken captive by the As-syr'i-ans under Sar'gon; Ju'dah by the Chal-de'ans under Neb-u-chad-nez'zar. 3. Is'ra-el was taken to the lands south of the Cas'pi-an Sea (2 Kings 17. 6); Ju'dah to Chal-de'a, by the river Eu-phra'tes (Psa. 137. 1). 4. Is'ra-el never returned from its captivity, which was the end of its history; but Ju'dah was brought back from its captivity and again became a flourishing state, though subject to foreign nations during most of its after history. II. There were =Three Captivities= of Ju'dah, all in one generation and all under one Chal-de'an king, Neb-u-chad-nez'zar: 1. =Je-hoi'a-kim's captivity=, B. C. 607. Je-hoi'a-kim was the son of Jo-si'ah, placed upon the throne after the battle of Me-gid'do, in which Jo-si'ah perished (2 Kings 23. 34). For three years Je-hoi'a-kim obeyed Neb-u-chad-nez'zar; then he rebelled, but was speedily reduced to subjection, and many of the leading people among the Jews were carried captive to Bab'y-lon (2 Kings 24. 1, 2). Among these captives was Dan'iel the prophet (Dan. 1. 1-6). From this event the _seventy years_ of the captivity were dated (Jer. 27. 22; 29. 10), though the kingdom of Ju'dah remained for twenty years longer. 2. =Je-hoi'a-chin's captivity=, B. C. 598. Je-hoi'a-chin was the son of Je-hoi'a-kim (called Jec-o-ni'ah, 1 Chron. 3. 16; Jer. 24. 1; and Co-ni'ah, Jer. 22. 24). He reigned only three months, and then was deposed by Neb-u-chad-nez'zar and carried to Bab'y-lon. With the young king and the royal family were taken thousands of the people of the middle classes, whom the land could ill spare (2 Kings 24. 8-16). Among these captives was E-ze'ki-el, the prophet-priest (Ezek. 1. 1-13). 3. =Zed-e-ki'ah's captivity=, B. C. 587. He was the uncle of Je-hoi'a-chin and the son of the good Jo-si'ah (2 Kings 24. 17), and had been made king by Neb-u-chad-nez'zar. But he too rebelled against his master, to whom he had taken a solemn oath of fidelity (2 Chron. 36. 13). The Chal-de'ans were greatly incensed by these frequent insurrections, and determined upon a final destruction of the rebellious city. After a long siege Je-ru'sa-lem was taken, and the king was captured while attempting flight. He was blinded and carried away to Bab'y-lon, the city was destroyed, and nearly all the people left alive were also taken to the land of Chal-de'a (2 Kings 25. 1-11). After this captivity the city lay desolate for fifty years, until the conquest of Bab'y-lon by Cy'rus, B. C. 536. III. Let us ascertain the =Causes of the Captivity=--why the Jews were taken up bodily from their own land and deported to a distant country.