2 Kings 24
The Message
24 It was during his reign that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the country. Jehoiakim became his puppet. But after three years he had had enough and revolted.
2-4 God dispatched a succession of raiding bands against him: Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite. The strategy was to destroy Judah. Through the preaching of his servants and prophets, God had said he would do this, and now he was doing it. None of this was by chance—it was God’s judgment as he turned his back on Judah because of the enormity of the sins of Manasseh—Manasseh, the killer-king, who made the Jerusalem streets flow with the innocent blood of his victims. God wasn’t about to overlook such crimes.
5-6 The rest of the life and times of Jehoiakim is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Jehoiakim died and was buried with his ancestors. His son Jehoiachin became the next king.
7 The threat from Egypt was now over—no more invasions by the king of Egypt—for by this time the king of Babylon had captured all the land between the Brook of Egypt and the Euphrates River, land formerly controlled by the king of Egypt.
Jehoiachin of Judah
8-9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king. His rule in Jerusalem lasted only three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. In God’s opinion he also was an evil king, no different from his father.
10-12 The next thing to happen was that the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and put it under siege. While his officers were laying siege to the city, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon paid a personal visit. And Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, officers, advisors, and government leaders, surrendered.
12-14 In the eighth year of his reign Jehoiachin was taken prisoner by the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar emptied the treasuries of both The Temple of God and the royal palace and confiscated all the gold furnishings that Solomon king of Israel had made for The Temple of God. This should have been no surprise—God had said it would happen. And then he emptied Jerusalem of people—all its leaders and soldiers, all its craftsmen and artisans. He took them into exile, something like ten thousand of them! The only ones he left were the very poor.
15-16 He took Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon. With him he took the king’s mother, his wives, his chief officers, the community leaders, anyone who was anybody—in round numbers, seven thousand soldiers plus another thousand or so craftsmen and artisans, all herded off into exile in Babylon.
17 Then the king of Babylon made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, his puppet king, but changed his name to Zedekiah.
Zedekiah of Judah
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he started out as king. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah. Her hometown was Libnah.
19 As far as God was concerned Zedekiah was just one more evil king, a carbon copy of Jehoiakim.
20 The source of all this doom to Jerusalem and Judah was God’s anger—God turned his back on them as an act of judgment. And then Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.
2 Kings 24
International Standard Version
Jehoiakim Serves Nebuchadnezzar
24 During his lifetime, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jehoiakim, who became his vassal for three years, after which he turned against Nebuchadnezzar[a] and rebelled. 2 The Lord sent raiding parties from the Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in keeping with the message from the Lord that he had spoken through his servants, the prophets. 3 It was truly by the command of the Lord against Judah that it came, in order to remove them from his sight, because of every sin that Manasseh had committed, 4 as well as for the innocent blood that he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not forgive them.[b] 5 Now the rest of Jehoiakim’s actions, and everything that he undertook, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 6 Jehoiakim died, as did[c] his ancestors, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. 7 The king of Egypt did not leave his territory again, because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi[d] of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin Becomes King
8 Jehoiachin became king at the age of eighteen years, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hausa. She was the daughter of Elzaphan of Jerusalem. 9 He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as his ancestors had done. 10 At that time, the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and the city was placed under siege. 11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against the city, along with his servants, who besieged it. 12 King Jehoiachin of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon (as did his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers) during the eighth year of his reign.
Jerusalem’s Citizens are Sent into Exile
13 Nebuchadnezzar[e] carried off from there all of the treasures of the Lord’s Temple, along with the treasures in the king’s palace. He cut into pieces all the gold vessels in the Lord’s Temple that King Solomon of Israel had made, just as the Lord had said would happen.[f] 14 Then Nebuchadnezzar sent away into exile all of Jerusalem—all the captains, all the valiant soldiers, 10,000 captives, and all of the craftsmen and ironworkers. Nobody remained except the poorest people of the land. 15 He sent Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon, along with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All 7,000 of the most valiant soldiers and 1,000 of the craftsmen and ironworkers—all physically fit and trained for battle—were brought by the king of Babylon into exile in Babylon.
Zedekiah is Installed as King
17 The king of Babylon installed Jehoiachin’s[g] uncle Mattaniah as king in his place and then changed his name to Zedekiah. 18 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 Zedekiah practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as Jehoiakim had done, 20 because through the Lord’s anger these things happened[h] to Jerusalem and Judah until he threw them from his presence.
Nebuchadnezzar Captures Jerusalem
20 Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon,
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 24:1 Lit. him
- 2 Kings 24:4 The Heb. lacks them
- 2 Kings 24:6 Lit. Jehoiakim slept with
- 2 Kings 24:7 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
- 2 Kings 24:13 Lit. He
- 2 Kings 24:13 The Heb. lacks would happen
- 2 Kings 24:17 Lit. installed his
- 2 Kings 24:20 The Heb. lacks these things
2 Kings 24
New English Translation
24 During Jehoiakim’s reign,[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked.[b] Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him.[c] 2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, just as in the Lord’s message that he had announced through his servants the prophets. 3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins that Manasseh had committed.[d] 4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them.[e]
5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[f] 6 He passed away[g] and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king. 7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his land again, for the king of Babylon conquered all the territory that the king of Egypt had formerly controlled between the Stream of Egypt and the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin’s Reign over Judah
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother[h] was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. 9 He did evil in the sight of[i] the Lord as his ancestors had done.
10 At that time the generals[j] of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched to Jerusalem and besieged the city.[k] 11 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his generals were besieging it. 12 King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his officials, and his eunuchs surrendered[l] to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign,[m] took Jehoiachin[n] prisoner. 13 Nebuchadnezzar[o] took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items that King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned. 14 He deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land. 15 He deported Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with the king’s mother and wives, his eunuchs, and the high-ranking officials of the land.[p] 16 The king of Babylon deported to Babylon all the soldiers (there were 7,000), as well as 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers. This included all the best warriors.[q] 17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s[r] uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He renamed him Zedekiah.
Zedekiah’s Reign over Judah
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother[s] was Hamutal,[t] the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. 19 He did evil in the sight of[u] the Lord, as Jehoiakim had done.[v]
20 What follows is a record of what happened to Jerusalem and Judah because of the Lord’s anger; he finally threw them out of his presence.[w] Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 24:1 tn Heb “In his days.”
- 2 Kings 24:1 tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.
- 2 Kings 24:1 tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”
- 2 Kings 24:3 tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the Lord this happened against Judah, to remove [them] from his face because of the sins of Manasseh according to all which he did.”
- 2 Kings 24:4 tn Heb “and also the blood of the innocent which he shed, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.”
- 2 Kings 24:5 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
- 2 Kings 24:6 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
- 2 Kings 24:8 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
- 2 Kings 24:9 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
- 2 Kings 24:10 tn Heb “servants.”
- 2 Kings 24:10 tn Heb “went up [to] Jerusalem and the city entered into siege.”
- 2 Kings 24:12 tn Heb “came out.”
- 2 Kings 24:12 sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597 b.c.
- 2 Kings 24:12 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehoiachin) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Kings 24:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Kings 24:15 tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
- 2 Kings 24:16 tn Heb “the entire [group], mighty men, doers of war.”
- 2 Kings 24:17 tn Heb “his.”
- 2 Kings 24:18 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
- 2 Kings 24:18 tc Some textual witnesses support the consonantal text (Kethib) in reading “Hamital.”
- 2 Kings 24:19 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
- 2 Kings 24:19 tn Heb “according to all which Jehoiakim had done.”
- 2 Kings 24:20 tn Heb “Surely [or, ‘for’] because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until he threw them out from upon his face.”
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