2 Chronicles 36
International Children’s Bible
Jehoahaz King of Judah
36 The people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz. They made him king in Jerusalem in his father’s place.
2 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months. 3 Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz no longer a king in Jerusalem. Neco made the people of Judah pay about 7,500 pounds of silver and about 75 pounds of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim the king of Judah and Jerusalem. Then Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz to Egypt.
Jehoiakim King of Judah
5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. He did what the Lord his God said was wrong. 6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Judah. He captured Jehoiakim and put bronze chains on him. Then Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the Temple of the Lord. And he took them to Babylon and put them in his own palace.
8 The other things Jehoiakim did as king are written down. The hated things he did and everything he was guilty of doing are recorded. They are in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
Jehoiachin King of Judah
9 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did what the Lord said was wrong. 10 In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent some servants to get Jehoiachin. They took him and some valuable treasures from the Temple of the Lord to Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah the king of Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah King of Judah
11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. 12 Zedekiah did what the Lord his God said was wrong. The prophet Jeremiah spoke messages from the Lord. But Zedekiah did not obey.
Jerusalem Is Destroyed
13 Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had forced Zedekiah to promise to be loyal to him. And Zedekiah had promised, using God’s name. But Zedekiah became stubborn. He refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Also, all the leaders of the priests and the people of Judah became more wicked. They followed the evil example of the other nations. The Lord had made the Temple in Jerusalem holy. But the leaders made the Temple unholy.
The Fall of Jerusalem
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this because he had pity for them and for his Temple. 16 But they made fun of God’s prophets. They hated God’s messages. So they refused to listen to the prophets. Finally God became so angry with his people that he could not be stopped. 17 So God brought the king of Babylon to attack them. The king killed the young men even when they were in the Temple. He did not have mercy on the people. He killed both young men and women. He even killed the old men and those who were sick. God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 18 Nebuchadnezzar carried away to Babylon all the things from the Temple of God, both large and small. He took all the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and from the king and his officers. 19 Nebuchadnezzar and his army set fire to God’s Temple. They broke down Jerusalem’s wall. And they burned all the palaces. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem.
20 Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon the people who were left alive. And he forced them to be slaves for him and his descendants. They remained there as slaves until the Persian kingdom defeated Babylon. 21 And so what the Lord had told Israel through the prophet Jeremiah happened. The Lord had said that place would be an empty wasteland for 70 years. This happened to make up for the years of Sabbath rests[a] that the people had not kept.
22 It was the first year Cyrus was king of Persia. The Lord caused Cyrus to write an announcement and send it everywhere in his kingdom. This happened so the Lord’s message spoken by Jeremiah would come true.
23 This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given all the kingdoms of the earth to me. And he has appointed me to build a Temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Now all of you who are God’s people are free to go to Jerusalem. May the Lord your God be with you.”
Footnotes
- 36:21 Sabbath rests The Law said that every seventh year the land was not to be farmed. See Leviticus 25:1–7.
2 Chronicles 36
International Standard Version
Jehoahaz Becomes King(A)
36 After this, the people of the land installed Josiah’s son Jehoahaz in Jerusalem as king to take his father’s place. 2 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem, 3 after which the king of Egypt dethroned him and imposed a fine on the land of 100 talents[a] of silver and one talent[b] of gold. 4 King Neco of Egypt installed Jehoahaz’s[c] brother Eliakim as king over Judah and Jerusalem, changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim, and took his brother Joahaz back to Egypt.
Jehoiakim’s Reign; Nebuchadnezzar’s First Capture of Jerusalem
5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, but he practiced what the Lord his God considered to be evil. 6 As a result, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him, bound him in bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took articles from the Lord’s Temple to Babylon and placed them in his temple in Babylon. 8 The rest of Jehoiakim’s accomplishments—along with the detestable things that he did that were recorded in his disfavor—are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin became king to replace him.
Jechoiachin’s Reign; Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Capture of Jerusalem
9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem, all the while doing what the Lord considered to be evil. 10 At the beginning of the next year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, along with valuable articles from the Lord’s Temple, and he installed Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah as king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Rules in Judah(B)
11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He practiced what the Lord his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord. 13 Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance in the name of[d] God. Instead, he stiffened his resolve,[e] and hardened his heart, and would not return to the Lord God of Israel.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Third Capture of Jerusalem(C)
14 Meanwhile, all the officials who supervised the priests and the people remained unfaithful, following the detestable example of the surrounding nations. They polluted the Lord’s Temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 The Lord God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, 16 but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the Lord that arose to punish[f] his people. 17 Therefore he brought up the king of the Chaldeans against them, who executed their young men in the holy Temple, showing no compassion on young man or young virgin, adult men or the aged. God gave them all into the king’s control, 18 who took back to Babylon every article in God’s Temple, whether large or small, including the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple, the king’s assets, and those of his officers. 19 After this, they set fire to God’s Temple, demolished the wall around Jerusalem, burned all of its fortified buildings, and destroyed everything of value. 20 Nebuchadnezzar[g] carried off to Babylon those who survived the executions, and they served him and his descendants until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 All of this fulfilled what the Lord had predicted through Jeremiah. And so the land enjoyed its Sabbaths, and the length of the land’s desolation lasted until a 70-year long Sabbath had been completed.
An Edict to Rebuild the Temple(D)
22 During the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in fulfillment of the message from the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord prompted[h] Cyrus, king of Persia, to make this proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, which was also released in written form:
23 An Official Statement
from[i] Cyrus, King of Persia
All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple[j] for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, who among the Lord’s[k] people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem.[l]
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 I.e. about 7,500 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 I.e. about 75 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 2 Chronicles 36:4 Lit. his
- 2 Chronicles 36:13 The Heb. lacks allegiance in the name of
- 2 Chronicles 36:13 Lit. neck
- 2 Chronicles 36:16 Lit. arose against
- 2 Chronicles 36:20 Lit. He
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 Lit. Lord stirred up the spirit of
- 2 Chronicles 36:23 Lit. Thus says
- 2 Chronicles 36:23 Or house
- 2 Chronicles 36:23 Lit. among all of his
- 2 Chronicles 36:23 The Heb. lacks to Jerusalem
2 Chronicles 36
King James Version
36 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
2 Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3 And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
10 And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord.
13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel.
14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.
19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
21 To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.
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