Page:The Pharaohs and their people; scenes of old Egyptian life and history (IA pharaohstheirpeo00berkiala).pdf/309

 was resumed, and, after it had lasted eighteen months, Jerusalem fell with a sad and terrible destruction—by famine, fire, and slaughter (588 ) The only aid actually rendered by Egypt was the shelter given to the fugitives who sought refuge there after the murder of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the king of Babylon. They dreaded the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar; they were weary of suffering, and said one to another: 'We will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread, and there will we dwell.' And in Egypt they took refuge in spite of the remonstrances of the prophet Jeremiah, whom they forced to accompany them.

The Egyptian army, whose advance had momentarily raised the siege of Jerusalem appears to have taken Gaza, but to have retired without encountering the Babylonians. Another expedition was despatched to the west in aid of the Libyans. The Greek colony at Cyrene had received a large number of new settlers, and they had established themselves by dispossessing the natives of their lands.