2 Chronicles 36
Expanded Bible
Jehoahaz King of Judah(A)
36 The people of ·Judah [L the land] ·chose [L took] Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him king in Jerusalem in his father’s place.
2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for three months. 3 Then King Neco of Egypt ·removed Jehoahaz from being king [dethroned/deposed him] in Jerusalem. Neco made the people of Judah pay a ·tax [or fine] of ·about seventy-five hundred pounds [L one hundred talents] of silver and ·about seventy-five pounds [L one talent] of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim the king of Judah and Jerusalem and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took his brother Jehoahaz to Egypt [C as a prisoner].
Jehoiakim King of Judah(B)
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for eleven years. He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. 6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked ·Judah [L him], ·captured Jehoiakim [bound him], put bronze chains on him, and ·took him [carried him away] to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar removed some of the ·things [articles; vessels] from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, took them to Babylon, and put them in his own ·palace [or temple; L house].
8 The ·other things Jehoiakim did as king [rest of the events/acts/history of Jehoiakim], the ·hateful [detestable; abominable] things he did, and everything ·he was guilty of doing [found against him], ·are [L are they not…?] written in the ·book [scroll] of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
Jehoiachin King of Judah(C)
9 Jehoiachin was ·eight [or eighteen; 2 Kin. 24:8] years old when he became king of Judah, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. 10 ·In the spring [L At the turn of the year] King Nebuchadnezzar sent for Jehoiachin and brought him and some valuable ·treasures [articles; vessels] from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord to Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s ·uncle [relative; L brother] Zedekiah the king of Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah King of Judah(D)
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king of Judah, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for eleven years. 12 Zedekiah did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. The prophet Jeremiah spoke ·messages from [L from the mouth of] the Lord, but Zedekiah did not ·obey [L humble himself]. 13 Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had forced him to ·swear [vow; take an oath] in God’s name to be loyal to him. But Zedekiah ·became stubborn [L stiffened his neck] and ·refused to obey [L hardened his heart against seeking] the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Also, all the ·leaders [officials] of the priests and the people of Judah became more ·wicked [unfaithful], following the ·evil example [detestable/abominable practices] of the other nations. The Lord had ·made holy [consecrated; sanctified] the ·Temple [L house] in Jerusalem, but the leaders ·made it unholy [defiled/polluted it].
The Fall of Jerusalem
15 The Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers], sent ·prophets [L messengers] again and again to warn his people, because he had ·pity [compassion] on them and on his ·Temple [dwelling place]. 16 But they ·made fun of [mocked] God’s ·prophets [L messengers] and hated God’s ·messages [L words]. They ·refused to listen to the [ridiculed/scoffed at his] prophets until, finally, the Lord became so angry with his people that ·he could not be stopped [there was no remedy/L healer]. 17 So God brought the king of ·Babylon [the Chaldeans] to attack them. The king ·killed [slaughtered; L killed with the sword] the young men even when they were in the ·Temple [L house of their sanctuary]. He had no ·mercy [pity; compassion] on the young men or women, the old men or those who were ·sick [infirm]. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. 18 Nebuchadnezzar carried away to Babylon all the ·things [articles; vessels] from the ·Temple [L house] of God, both large and small, and all the treasures from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and from the king and his ·officers [officials]. 19 Nebuchadnezzar and his army ·set fire to [burned down] God’s ·Temple [L house] and broke down Jerusalem’s wall and burned all the ·palaces [or fortifications; L houses]. They destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem.
20 Nebuchadnezzar took ·captive [into exile] to Babylon the people who ·were left alive [L escaped the sword], and he forced them to be ·slaves [servants] for him and his descendants. They remained there as ·slaves [servants] until the Persian kingdom ·defeated Babylon [L came/rose to power]. 21 And so ·what the Lord had told Israel through the prophet Jeremiah happened [L the word of the Lord through the mouth of Jeremiah was fulfilled; C he prophesied the fall of Jerusalem]: The country ·was an empty wasteland [lay desolate/fallow] for seventy years ·to make up for the years of Sabbath rest [Lev. 25:1–7] that the people had not kept [or enjoying its sabbath rest; C a bitter observation that the land experienced an ironic “rest” while the Israelites were in exile; Lev. 25:4, 26:33–35].
The Return from Exile(E)
22 In the first year Cyrus was king of Persia [539–38 bc], the Lord ·had Cyrus [L stirred the heart/spirit of Cyrus to] send an ·announcement to [decree/proclamation throughout] his whole kingdom. This happened ·so the Lord’s message spoken by Jeremiah would come true [to fulfill the word of the Lord in the mouth of Jeremiah]. He wrote:
23 ·This is what Cyrus king of Persia says [T Thus says Cyrus king of Persia]:
The Lord, the God of ·heaven [the heavens], has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has appointed me to build a ·Temple [L house] for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Now may the Lord your God ·be with [accompany; fill] all of you who are his people. You are free to go [C back to Jerusalem at the end of the exile; Ezra 1].
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
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
