2 Chronicles 36
New Living Translation
Jehoahaz Rules in Judah
36 Then the people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him the next king in Jerusalem.
2 Jehoahaz[a] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.
3 Then he was deposed by the king of Egypt, who demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold[b] as tribute.
Jehoiakim Rules in Judah
4 The king of Egypt then installed Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, as the next king of Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt as a prisoner.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
6 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the treasures from the Temple of the Lord, and he placed them in his palace[c] in Babylon.
8 The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign, including all the evil things he did and everything found against him, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Then his son Jehoiachin became the next king.
Jehoiachin Rules in Judah
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen[d] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. Jehoiachin did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.
10 In the spring of the year[e] King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon. Many treasures from the Temple of the Lord were also taken to Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin’s uncle,[f] Zedekiah, as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Rules in Judah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.
14 Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. 16 But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.
The Fall of Jerusalem
17 So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians[g] killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. 18 The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. 19 Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value.[h] 20 The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
21 So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
22 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,[i] the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.[j] He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
23 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go there for this task. And may the Lord your God be with you!”
Footnotes
- 36:2 Hebrew Joahaz, a variant spelling of Jehoahaz; also in 36:4.
- 36:3 Hebrew 100 talents [3,400 kilograms] of silver and 1 talent [34 kilograms] of gold.
- 36:7 Or temple.
- 36:9 As in one Hebrew manuscript, some Greek manuscripts, and Syriac version (see also 2 Kgs 24:8); most Hebrew manuscripts read eight.
- 36:10a Hebrew At the turn of the year. The first day of this year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar was April 13, 597 B.c.
- 36:10b As in parallel text at 2 Kgs 24:17; Hebrew reads brother, or relative.
- 36:17 Or Chaldeans.
- 36:19 Or destroyed all the valuable articles from the Temple.
- 36:22a The first year of Cyrus’s reign over Babylon was 538 B.c.
- 36:22b See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.
2 Chronicles 36
New American Standard Bible
Joahaz, Jehoiakim, Then Jehoiachin Rule
36 (A)Then the people of the land took [a](B)Joahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. 2 Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem, and imposed a fine on the land of [b]a hundred talents of silver and [c]one talent of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made [d]Joahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But (C)Neco took his brother Joahaz and brought him to Egypt.
5 (D)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up (E)against him and (F)bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. 7 (G)Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and he put them in his temple in Babylon. 8 (H)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and [e]the abominations which he committed, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
9 (I)Jehoiachin was [f]eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord.
Captivity in Babylon Begun
10 (J)At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and had him brought to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the Lord; and he made his relative (K)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Rules in Judah
11 (L)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; (M)he did not humble himself (N)before Jeremiah the prophet [g]who spoke for the Lord. 13 (O)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance by God. But (P)he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.
15 Yet the Lord, the God of their fathers, (Q)sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; 16 but they continually (R)mocked the messengers of God, (S)despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, (T)until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy. 17 (U)So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or frail; He handed them all over to him. 18 (V)He brought all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and his officers, to Babylon. 19 Then (W)they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 20 He (X)took into exile those who had escaped from the sword to Babylon; and (Y)they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 (Z)to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until (AA)the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. (AB)All the days of its desolation it kept the Sabbath [h](AC)until seventy years were complete.
Cyrus Permits Return
22 (AD)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord (AE)by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord (AF)stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him; [i]go up then!’”
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:1 I.e., short form of Jehoahaz
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 About 3.75 tons or 3.4 metric tons
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 About 75 lb. or 34 kg
- 2 Chronicles 36:4 Lit his
- 2 Chronicles 36:8 Lit his
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 As in LXX and some Heb mss; MT eight years
- 2 Chronicles 36:12 Lit from the mouth of the Lord
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 Lit to fulfill seventy years
- 2 Chronicles 36:23 Lit and he is to go up; i.e., go to Jerusalem
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
