1 Esdras 1:32-46

Common English Bible

³² Then the leaders of the nation appointed Jeconiah, Josiah’s son, who was 23 years old, as king to succeed his father. ³³ He ruled in Judea and Jerusalem for three months. Then the king of Egypt removed him from his rule in Jerusalem ³⁴ and fined the nation 5,700 pounds of silver and fifty-seven pounds of gold.

³⁵ The king of Egypt appointed his own brother Jehoiakim as king of Judea and Jerusalem. ³⁶ Jehoiakim put the officials in prison. He seized his other brother Zarius and took him from Egypt. ³⁷ Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began to rule over Judea and Jerusalem; he did what was evil in the Lord’s presence.

³⁸ Then Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar went up against him, bound him with bronze chains, and took him away to Babylon. ³⁹ Nebuchadnezzar also seized some of the Lord’s holy equipment, carried it off to Babylon, and placed it in his temple. ⁴⁰ But the things reported about Jehoiakim,^[a] his impurity and godlessness, have been written in the scroll about the times of the kings.

⁴¹ His son Jehoiachin^[b] ruled in his place. When he was appointed king, he was 18 years old. ⁴² He ruled in Jerusalem for three months and ten days, and he did evil things in the Lord’s presence.

⁴³ After a year, Nebuchadnezzar removed Jehoiachin to Babylon, along with the Lord’s holy equipment. ⁴⁴ He appointed Zedekiah king of Judea and Jerusalem when Zedekiah was 21 years old. He ruled for eleven years. ⁴⁵ He also did evil things in the Lord’s presence and paid no attention to the words Jeremiah the prophet spoke, which came from the Lord. ⁴⁶ Although King Nebuchadnezzar had made him swear a solemn pledge in the Lord’s name, he swore falsely and rebelled. He was stubborn and broke the laws of the Lord, the God of Israel.