The Babylonian destruction
The first great destruction came when Babylon conquered Judah. Nebuchadnezzar's forces burned Solomon's temple, the royal buildings, and many houses in Jerusalem. They also broke down the city walls and carried many survivors away into exile in Babylon (2 Kings 25:8-10).
This was not simply a military defeat. The people of Judah had repeatedly turned from God, ignored prophetic warnings, and persisted in injustice and idolatry. The writer of Chronicles describes the fall of Jerusalem as the outcome of that long refusal to listen, while also holding out hope that exile would not be the final word (2 Chronicles 36:17-19).
And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
Jerusalem was rebuilt
After the Babylonian exile, Jewish people returned and rebuilt the temple and the city. The restored city was not identical to Solomon's Jerusalem, and the work happened amid opposition and hardship, but Jerusalem lived again as a centre of Jewish worship and life.
By the time of Jesus, Herod's expanded temple stood in Jerusalem. Its impressive stones caused people to marvel. Yet Jesus warned that this temple would not remain intact, saying that its stones would be thrown down (Matthew 24:1-2).
The Roman destruction
The second major destruction took place in AD 70, when Roman armies captured Jerusalem after a Jewish revolt and destroyed the temple. This event is the other destruction people usually mean when they ask the question.
Before his death, Jesus wept over Jerusalem and warned that enemies would surround it, devastate it, and leave no stone upon another because the city had not recognised the time of God's visitation (Luke 19:41-44). Luke also records Jesus warning that the temple's visible grandeur would end in ruin (Luke 21:5-6).
These words are sobering, but they are not an invitation to look down on Jerusalem or Jewish people. Jesus' tears show grief, not cold satisfaction. He loved the city and its people.
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
What does “destroyed” mean?
Jerusalem has been attacked, captured, damaged, and rebuilt more than twice. Its history includes Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Muslim, Crusader, and later conflicts. So the answer changes slightly depending on whether someone means a conquest, damage to the city, destruction of its walls, or the complete loss of the temple.
Still, two events stand out above the rest: Babylon's destruction of the First Temple and Rome's destruction of the Second Temple. The Bible's larger story does not end with ruined buildings. It points to God gathering, restoring, and finally making all things new, with his people living in his presence (Revelation 21:2-3).
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.