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
Christian Standard Bible
Judah’s King Jehoahaz
36 Then(A) the common people[a] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.
2 Jehoahaz[b] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and fined the land seventy-five hundred pounds[c] of silver and seventy-five pounds[d] of gold.
Judah’s King Jehoiakim
4 Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took his brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt.(B)
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.(C) 6 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him(D) and bound him in bronze(E) shackles to take him to Babylon.(F) 7 Also Nebuchadnezzar took some of the articles of the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon.(G)
8 The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim,(H) the detestable actions he committed, and what was found against him, are written in the Book of Israel’s Kings. His son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
Judah’s King Jehoiachin
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen[e] years old(I) when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. 10 In the spring[f](J) Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable articles of the Lord’s temple. Then he made Jehoiachin’s brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.(K)
Judah’s King Zedekiah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old(L) when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did not humble himself(M) before the prophet Jeremiah at the Lord’s command.(N) 13 He also rebelled against(O) King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate[g](P) and hardened his heart against returning to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the Lord’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
The Destruction of Jerusalem
15 But the Lord, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again,(Q) for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers,(R) despising his words,(S) and scoffing at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.(T) 17 So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans,(U) who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him. 18 He took everything to Babylon—all the articles of God’s temple, large and small, the treasures of the Lord’s temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple.(V) They tore down Jerusalem’s wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.
20 He deported those who escaped from the sword to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian[h] kingdom.(W) 21 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Jeremiah,(X) and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation(Y) until seventy years were fulfilled.
The Decree of Cyrus
22 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,(Z) in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through[i] Jeremiah,(AA) the Lord roused the spirit of King Cyrus(AB) of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing:
23 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord his God be with him.
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