24 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up. And Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Afterward, he turned and rebelled against him.

² And the LORD sent bands of the Chaldeans against him, and bands of the Aramites, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites. And he sent them against Judah, to destroy it, according to the Word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servants, the Prophets.

³ Surely by the Commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, so that He might put them out of His sight for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,

⁴ and for the innocent blood that he shed (for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood). Therefore, the LORD would not pardon it.

⁵ Concerning 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?

⁶ So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers. And Jehoiachin, his son, reigned in his place.

⁷ And the king of Egypt no longer came out of his land. For the king of Babylon had captured all that pertained to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the river Perath.

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign and reigned in Jerusalem for three months. Also, his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

⁹ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

¹⁰ In that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against Jerusalem. So the city was besieged.

¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against the city. And his servants besieged it.

¹² Then Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, came out against the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his princes and his eunuchs. And the king of Babylon took him, in the eighth year of his reign.

¹³ And he carried away all the treasures of the House of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and broke all the vessels of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the Temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.

¹⁴ And he carried away all of Jerusalem and all the princes and all the strong men of war (ten thousand into captivity) and all the workmen and cunning men. So no one remained except the poor people of the land.

¹⁵ And he carried Jehoiachin away into Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his eunuchs. And he carried away the mighty of the land into captivity—from Jerusalem to Babylon—

¹⁶ and all the men of war (seven thousand) and carpenters and locksmiths (a thousand). All who were strong and apt for war the king of Babylon brought to Babylon as captives.

¹⁷ And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, his uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. Also, his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

¹⁹ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

²⁰ Therefore, the wrath of the LORD was certainly against Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them out of His sight. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

¹⁵ And Jehozadak departed when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem into captivity by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

⁵ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem and did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.

⁶ Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, came up against him and bound him with chains to carry him to Babel.

⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the House of the LORD to Babel and put them in his temple at Babel.

⁸ Concerning the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and his abominations which he did, and that which was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin, his son, reigned in his place.

⁹ Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem and did evil in the sight of the LORD.

¹⁰ And when the year was out, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babel, with the precious vessels of the House of the LORD. And he made Zedekiah, his brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign and reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem.

¹² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the Prophet at the Commandment of the LORD.

¹³ But he also rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, who had caused him to swear by God. And he hardened his neck and made his heart obstinate, so that he might not return to the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁴ Also, all the chief of the priests and of the people trespassed very much, according to all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the houses of the LORD which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Therefore, the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising early and sending. For He had compassion on His people, and on His habitation.

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, and until there was no remedy.

¹⁷ For He brought the king of the Chaldeans upon them, who killed their young men with the sword in the House of their Sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor virgin, ancient nor aged. God gave 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 carried to Babel.

¹⁹ And they burnt the House of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels.

²⁰ And those who were left by the sword, he carried away to Babel. And they were servants to him, and to his sons, until the kingdom of the Persians ruled,

²¹ to fulfill the Word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had her fill of her Sabbaths. For all the days that she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

⁷ Also, King Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the House of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of Jerusalem and put in the house of his god.

3 “They say, ‘If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and becomes another man’s, shall he return again to her? Shall not this land be polluted?’ But you have played the harlot, with many lovers, yet turn again to me,” says the LORD.

² “Lift up your eyes to the high places, and behold where you have not played the harlot. You have sat, waiting for them on the way, as the Arabian in the wilderness. And you have polluted the land with your whoredoms, and with your malice.

³ “Therefore the showers have been restrained, and the latter rain came not, and you had a whore’s forehead. You would not be ashamed.

⁴ “Did you not still cry to Me, ‘You are My Father, the guide of my youth?

⁵ ‘Will He keep His anger forever? Will He reserve it to the end?’ Thus have you spoken, but you still do evil, more and more.”

⁶ The LORD also said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what this rebel Israel has done? She has gone up upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

⁷ “And I said, when she had done all this, ‘Turn to Me.’ But she did not return, as her rebellious sister Judah saw.

⁸ “Then I saw how that for all the occasions rebellious Israel had played the harlot, and I had cast her away and given her a bill of divorcement, yet her rebellious sister, Judah, was not afraid. And she also went and played the harlot.

⁹ “So that because of the lightness of her whoredom, she has even defiled the land. For she has committed fornication with stones and trees.

¹⁰ “Nevertheless, for all this, her rebellious sister Judah has not returned to Me with her whole heart, but deceptively,” says the LORD.

¹¹ And the LORD said to me, “The rebellious Israel has justified herself more than the rebellious Judah.

¹² “Go and cry these Words toward the North, and say, ‘You disobedient Israel, return,’ says the LORD, ‘and I will not let My wrath fall upon you.’ For I am merciful,” says the LORD, “and I will not always keep My anger.

¹³ “But know your iniquity. For you have rebelled against the LORD your God, and have scattered your ways to the strange gods under every green tree. But you would not obey My Voice,” says the LORD.

¹⁴ “O you disobedient children, turn again,” says the LORD, “for I am your LORD. And I will take you, one from a city, and two from a tribe, and will bring you to Zion.

¹⁵ “And I will give you pastors according to My Heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

¹⁶ “Moreover, when you are increased and multiplied in the land, in those days,” says the LORD, “they shall say no more: ‘The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD.’ For it shall not come to mind anymore, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it. For that shall not be done anymore.

¹⁷ “At that time, they shall call Jerusalem, ‘The Throne of the LORD.’ And all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the Name of the LORD in Jerusalem. And henceforth they shall not follow the hardness of their wicked heart anymore.

¹⁸ “In those days, the House of Judah shall walk with the House of Israel. And they shall come together out of the land of the North, into the land that I have given for an inheritance to your fathers.

¹⁹ “But I said, ‘How did I take you for children, and give you a pleasant land, the glorious heritage of the armies of the heathen?’ And I said, ‘You shall call Me, “My Father”, and shall not turn from Me.’

²⁰ “But as a woman rebels against her husband, so have you rebelled against Me, O House of Israel,” says the LORD.

²¹ A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way, forgotten the LORD their God.

²² “O you disobedient children! Return and I will heal your rebellions.” “Behold, we come to You! For You are the LORD our God.

²³ “Truly the hope of the hills is but vain, and the multitude of mountains. But in the LORD our God is the health of Israel.

²⁴ “For confusion has devoured our father’s labor from our youth, their sheep and their bullocks, their sons and their daughters.

²⁵ “We lie down in our confusion, and our shame covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers from our youth, even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”