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2 Chronicles 36
New King James Version

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz(A)

36 Then (B)the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 2 [a]Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 Then the king of Egypt made [b]Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took [c]Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim(C)

5 (D)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did (E)evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 (F)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in [d]bronze fetters to (G)carry him off to Babylon. 7 (H)Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then [e]Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin(I)

9 (J)Jehoiachin was [f]eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 10 At the turn of the year (K)King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, (L)with the costly articles from the house of the Lord, and made (M)Zedekiah,[g] [h]Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah(N)

11 (O)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and (P)did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. 13 And he also (Q)rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he (R)stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem(S)

15 (T)And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But (U)they mocked the messengers of God, (V)despised His words, and (W)scoffed at His prophets, until the (X)wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

17 (Y)Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who (Z)killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. 18 (AA)And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 (AB)Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. 20 And (AC)those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, (AD)where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of (AE)Jeremiah, until the land (AF)had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate (AG)she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus(AH)

22 (AI)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of (AJ)Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of (AK)Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

23 (AL)Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a [i]house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 36:2 MT Joahaz
  2. 2 Chronicles 36:4 Lit. his
  3. 2 Chronicles 36:4 MT Joahaz
  4. 2 Chronicles 36:6 chains
  5. 2 Chronicles 36:8 Or Jeconiah
  6. 2 Chronicles 36:9 Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. eighteen and 2 Kin. 24:8
  7. 2 Chronicles 36:10 Or Mattaniah
  8. 2 Chronicles 36:10 Lit. his brother, 2 Kin. 24:17
  9. 2 Chronicles 36:23 Temple
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2 Chronicles 36
Easy-to-Read Version

Jehoahaz, King of Judah

36 The people of Judah chose Jehoahaz to be the new king in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was Josiah’s son. 2 He was 23 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for three months. 3 Then King Neco from Egypt made Jehoahaz a prisoner. Neco made the people of Judah pay 3 3/4 tons[a] of silver and 75 pounds[b] of gold for a fine. 4 Neco chose Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Neco gave Eliakim a new name. He named him Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt.

Jehoiakim, King of Judah

5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became the new king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. Jehoiakim did not obey God. He did what the Lord his God considered evil.

6 King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon attacked Judah. He made Jehoiakim a prisoner and put bronze chains on him. Then Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiakim to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the Lord’s Temple. He carried them to Babylon and put them in his own house. 8 Everything else Jehoiakim did, the terrible sins he did, and everything he was guilty of doing, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became the new king in his place.

Jehoiachin, King of Judah

9 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did not obey God. He did what the Lord considered evil. 10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent some servants to get Jehoiachin. They brought Jehoiachin and some valuable treasures from the Lord’s Temple to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one of Jehoiachin’s relatives.

Zedekiah, King of Judah

11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. 12 Zedekiah did what the Lord his God considered evil. Jeremiah the prophet told him messages from the Lord. But Zedekiah did not humble himself and obey what Jeremiah said.

Jerusalem Is Destroyed

13 Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. In the past Nebuchadnezzar forced Zedekiah to make a promise to be faithful to him. Zedekiah used God’s name and promised to be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. But Zedekiah was stubborn and would not change his life. He refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Also, all the leaders of the priests and the leaders of the people of Judah sinned worse and became more unfaithful to the Lord. They followed the evil example of the other nations. They ruined the Temple that the Lord had made holy in Jerusalem. 15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this because he felt sorry for them and for his Temple. He didn’t want to destroy them or his Temple. 16 But they made fun of God’s prophets and refused to listen to them. They hated God’s messages. Finally, the Lord could not hold his anger any longer. He became angry with his people and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. 17 So God brought the king of Babylon to attack the people of Judah and Jerusalem.[c] The king of Babylon killed the young men even when they were in the Temple. He didn’t have mercy on the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The king of Babylon killed young and old people. He killed men and women. He killed sick and healthy people. God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 18 Nebuchadnezzar carried all the things in God’s Temple away to Babylon. He took all the valuable things from the Lord’s Temple, from the king, and from the king’s officials. 19 Nebuchadnezzar and his army burned the Temple. They broke down Jerusalem’s wall and burned all the houses that belonged to the king and his officials. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem. 20 Nebuchadnezzar took the people who were still alive back to Babylon and forced them to be slaves. They stayed in Babylon as slaves until the Persian kingdom defeated the kingdom of Babylon. 21 The land of Judah became an empty desert and stayed that way for 70 years. All this time the land rested to make up for the Sabbath rests[d] that the people had not kept. This is just what the Lord said would happen in the warning he gave through the prophet Jeremiah.[e]

22 During the first year that Cyrus[f] was king of Persia, the Lord caused Cyrus to make a special announcement. He did this so that what the Lord promised through Jeremiah the prophet would really happen. Cyrus sent messengers to every place in his kingdom. They carried this message:

23 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:

The Lord, the God of heaven, made me king over the whole earth. He gave me the responsibility of building a Temple for him in Jerusalem. Now, all of you who are his people are free to go to Jerusalem. And may the Lord your God be with you.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 36:3 3 3/4 tons Literally, “100 talents” (3450 kg).
  2. 2 Chronicles 36:3 75 pounds Literally, “1 talent” (34.5 kg).
  3. 2 Chronicles 36:17 This happened in the year 586 B.C., when Jerusalem was finally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon.
  4. 2 Chronicles 36:21 Sabbath rests The Law said that every seventh year the land was not to be farmed. See Lev. 25:1-7.
  5. 2 Chronicles 36:21 warning … Jeremiah See Jer. 25:11; 29:10.
  6. 2 Chronicles 36:22 the first year … Cyrus This was about 539–538 B.C.
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New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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