¹⁰ In the spring of the year^[a] King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon. Many treasures from the Temple of the Lord were also taken to Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin’s uncle,^[b] Zedekiah, as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ During Jehoiachin’s reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it. ¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city during the siege. ¹² Then King Jehoiachin, along with the queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians.

In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. ¹³ As the Lord had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace. He stripped away^[a] all the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the Temple. ¹⁴ King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoiachin away as a captive to Babylon, along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem’s elite. ¹⁶ He also exiled 7,000 of the best troops and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war. ¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s^[b] uncle, as the next king, and he changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.

Descendants of Solomon

¹⁰ The descendants of Solomon were Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, ¹¹ Jehoram,^[a] Ahaziah, Joash, ¹² Amaziah, Uzziah,^[b] Jotham, ¹³ Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, ¹⁴ Amon, and Josiah.

¹⁵ The sons of Josiah were Johanan (the oldest), Jehoiakim (the second), Zedekiah (the third), and Jehoahaz^[c] (the fourth).

¹⁶ The successors of Jehoiakim were his son Jehoiachin and his brother Zedekiah.^[d]

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. ¹² But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the Lord. ¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.

¹⁴ Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem

52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ² But Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. ³ These things happened because of the Lord’s anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile.

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ¹⁹ But Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.

Zedekiah Calls for Jeremiah

37 Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jehoiachin^[a] son of Jehoiakim as the king of Judah. He was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar^[b] of Babylon. ² But neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the Lord said through Jeremiah.