Zedekiah was the last King of Judah (r. 600-586 BC) before the complete occupation of Nebuchadnezzar's Neo-Babylonian Empire. Although he was the son of righteous king Josiah, Zedekiah is considered to be a wicked king, and it was during his reign that Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon were destroyed by the Babylonians (See 2 Kings 24:17-25:7; 2 Chronicles 36:11-13; Jeremiah 21:1-25:14; 37-39; 52:1-11). It was during the first year of Zedekiah's reign that Lehi and his family departed Jerusalem for the Promised Land (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:4).