Babylon Controls Jehoiakim

24 (A)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and revolted against him. And the Lord sent against him (B)bands of Chaldeans, (C)bands of Arameans, (D)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, (E)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. (F)It indeed came upon Judah at the [a]command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight (G)due to the sins of Manasseh, in accordance with everything that he had done, and (H)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord was unwilling to forgive. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Jehoiachin Reigns

So (I)Jehoiakim [b]lay down with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. Now (J)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, (K)because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from (L)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

(M)Jehoiachin was (N)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (O)in accordance with all that his father had done.

Deportation to Babylon

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 Then (P)Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. And (Q)the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign. 13 (R)He also brought out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and he (S)smashed all the articles of gold (T)that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then (U)he led into exile all the people of Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the valiant warriors, (V)ten thousand exiles, and (W)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None were left (X)except the poorest people of the land.

15 So (Y)he led Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother, the king’s wives, and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And all the valiant men, (Z)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, a thousand, all strong and fit for war, these too the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Zedekiah Made King

17 (AA)Then the king of Babylon made [c]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18 (AB)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (AC)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (AD)in accordance with everything that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For it was (AE)due to the anger of the Lord that this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them out of His presence. And (AF)Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 24:3 Lit mouth
  2. 2 Kings 24:6 I.e., died
  3. 2 Kings 24:17 I.e., Jehoiachin’s uncle

First Invasion of Nebuchadnezzar; Jehoiakim Submits

24 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up because Jehoiakim had become his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. So Yahweh sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, raiding bands of Aram, raiding bands of Moab, and raiding bands of the Ammonites.[a] He had sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh that he had spoken by the hand of his servants the prophets. Surely, it was on the command[b] of Yahweh against Judah to remove them from his sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done. Also, for the blood of the innocent that he had shed—and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood—Yahweh was not willing to forgive. The remainder of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors,[c] and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. The king of Egypt did not again come out from his land, for the king of Babylon had taken territory from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoichin Succeeds Jehoiakim

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh according to all that his father had done.

Second Invasion of Nebuchadnezzar

10 At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and the city came under the siege. 11 Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city while his servants were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his court officials. The king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. 13 Then he took from there all of the treasures of the temple of Yahweh and the treasures of the palace of the king. He cut up all of the vessels of gold which Solomon the king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, as Yahweh had foretold. 14 He deported all of Jerusalem: all of the commanders, ten thousand of the skilled warriors, and the artisans; no one was left over except the poorest of the people of the land. 15 He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king, the wives of the king, his court officials, and the citizenry of the land he caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 16 of all of the skilled men, seven thousand, and of the skilled craftsmen and the artisans, one thousand. All of the mighty warriors fit for war[d] the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Replaces Jehoiachin

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 19 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh just like all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For it happened because of the anger of Yahweh, in Jerusalem and in Judah, until they were cast out from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 24:2 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  2. 2 Kings 24:3 Literally “on the mouth”
  3. 2 Kings 24:6 Or “fathers”
  4. 2 Kings 24:16 Literally “doers of war”