Font Size
2 Chronicles 36
Contemporary English Version
2 Chronicles 36
Contemporary English Version
King Jehoahaz of Judah
(2 Kings 23.30-35)
36 After the death of Josiah, the people of Judah crowned his son Jehoahaz their new king. 2 He was 23 years old at the time, and he ruled only 3 months from Jerusalem. 3 King Neco of Egypt captured Jehoahaz and forced Judah to pay 3.4 tons of silver and 34 kilograms of gold as taxes. 4 (A) Then Neco appointed Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim king of Judah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He led Jehoahaz away to Egypt as his prisoner.
King Jehoiakim of Judah
(2 Kings 23.36—24.7)
5 (B) Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he was appointed king, and he ruled 11 years from Jerusalem. Jehoiakim disobeyed the Lord his God by doing evil.
6 (C) During Jehoiakim's rule, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia invaded Judah. He arrested Jehoiakim and put him in chains, and he sent him to the capital city of Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried off many of the valuable things in the Lord's temple, and he put them in his palace in Babylon.
8 Everything else Jehoiakim did while he was king, including all the disgusting and evil things, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin then became king.
King Jehoiachin of Judah
(2 Kings 24.8-17)
9 Jehoiachin was 18 years[a] old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled only 3 months and 10 days from Jerusalem. Jehoiachin also disobeyed the Lord by doing evil. 10 (D) In the spring of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia had Jehoiachin arrested and taken to Babylon, along with more of the valuable items in the temple. Then Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah king of Judah.
King Zedekiah of Judah
(2 Kings 24.18-20; Jeremiah 52.1-3)
11 (E) Zedekiah was 21 years old when he was appointed king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 11 years. 12 He disobeyed the Lord his God and refused to change his ways, even after a warning from Jeremiah, the Lord's prophet.
13 (F) King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia had forced Zedekiah to promise in God's name that he would be loyal. Zedekiah was stubborn and refused to turn back to the Lord God of Israel, so he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. 14 The people of Judah and even the priests who were their leaders became more unfaithful. They followed the disgusting example of the nations around them and made the Lord's holy temple unfit for worship. 15 But the Lord God felt sorry for his people, and instead of destroying the temple, he sent prophets who warned the people over and over about their sins. 16 But the people only laughed and insulted these prophets. They ignored what the Lord God was trying to tell them, until he finally became so angry that nothing could stop him from punishing Judah and Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Is Destroyed
(2 Kings 25.1-21; Jeremiah 52.3-30)
17 (G) The Lord sent King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to attack Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar killed the young men who were in the temple, and he showed no mercy to anyone, whether man or woman, young or old. God let him kill everyone in the city. 18 Nebuchadnezzar carried off everything that was left in the temple; he robbed the treasury and the personal storerooms of the king and his officials. He took everything back to Babylon.
19 (H) Nebuchadnezzar's troops burned down the temple and destroyed every important building in the city. Then they broke down the city wall. 20 The survivors were taken to Babylonia as prisoners, where they were slaves of the king and his sons, until Persia became a powerful nation.
21 (I) Judah was an empty desert, and it stayed that way for 70 years, to make up for all the years it was not allowed to rest.[b] These things happened just as Jeremiah the Lord's prophet had said.[c]
Cyrus Lets the Jews Return Home
(Ezra 1.1-4)
22 In the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia,[d] the Lord had Cyrus send a message to all parts of his kingdom. This happened just as Jeremiah the Lord's prophet had promised. 23 (J) The message said:
I am King Cyrus of Persia.
The Lord God of heaven has made me the ruler of every nation on earth. He has also chosen me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. The Lord God will watch over any of his people who want to go back to Judah.
Footnotes
- 36.9 18 years: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation (see also 2 Kings 24.8); Hebrew “8 years.”
- 36.21 rest: According to Leviticus 25.1-7, the land was supposed to rest every seventh year.
- 36.21 Jeremiah … said: Jeremiah 25.11,12; 29.10. According to the Law, the people had to allow the land to rest one out of every seven years (see Leviticus 25.1-7).
- 36.22 the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia: Probably 538 b.c., when Cyrus captured Babylonia. He had actually ruled Persia since 549 b.c.
2 Chronicles 36
New International Version
2 Chronicles 36
New International Version
36 1 And the people(A) of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.
Jehoahaz King of Judah(B)
2 Jehoahaz[a] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. 3 The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents[b] of silver and a talent[c] of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Necho(C) took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.(D)
Jehoiakim King of Judah(E)
5 Jehoiakim(F) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar(G) king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.(H) 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in his temple[d] there.(I)
8 The other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.
Jehoiachin King of Judah(J)
9 Jehoiachin(K) was eighteen[e] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon,(L) together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord, and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle,[f] Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah King of Judah(M)
11 Zedekiah(N) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord(O) his God and did not humble(P) himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath(Q) in God’s name. He became stiff-necked(R) and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful,(S) following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
The Fall of Jerusalem(T)(U)
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers(V) again and again,(W) because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed(X) at his prophets until the wrath(Y) of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.(Z) 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,[g](AA) who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men(AB) or young women, the elderly or the infirm.(AC) God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.(AD) 18 He carried to Babylon all the articles(AE) from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire(AF) to God’s temple(AG) and broke down the wall(AH) of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed(AI) everything of value there.(AJ)
20 He carried into exile(AK) to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants(AL) to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests;(AM) all the time of its desolation it rested,(AN) until the seventy years(AO) were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.
22 In the first year of Cyrus(AP) king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
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(AQ) me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’”
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:2 Hebrew Joahaz, a variant of Jehoahaz; also in verse 4
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
- 2 Chronicles 36:7 Or palace
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 One Hebrew manuscript, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 2 Kings 24:8); most Hebrew manuscripts eight
- 2 Chronicles 36:10 Hebrew brother, that is, relative (see 2 Kings 24:17)
- 2 Chronicles 36:17 Or Chaldeans
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.