The final stage in Nebuzaradan’s destruction of Jerusalem was to deal with the population that had survived the invasion. He took many of them into exile, including those who had deserted to the Babylonians before the invasion (see Jeremiah 38:17–21). He also took the rest of the artisans.
These were skilled craftsmen who would have been useful in Babylon, but removing them from Jerusalem also guaranteed that Jerusalem would not be rebuilt. Nebuzaradan left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
Leaving the land totally deserted would have run the risk of it being taken by some other force and so enough people are left to eke out an existence in the land and to keep it occupied. It was these people who were placed under the care of Gedaliah, who was later assassinated. That episode is not recorded here, but there is an extensive account in Jeremiah 40:1–16 and Jeremiah 41:1–18.
15 Nebuzaradan, chef des gardes, emmena captifs une partie des plus pauvres du peuple, ceux du peuple qui étaient demeurés dans la ville, ceux qui s'étaient rendus au roi de Babylone, et le reste de la multitude.