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2 Kings 23-25
Contemporary English Version

Josiah Reads The Book of God's Law

(2 Chronicles 34.29-33)

23 King Josiah called together the older leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Then he went to the Lord's temple, together with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. Finally, when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of God's Law[a] that had been found in the temple.

3 After Josiah had finished reading, he stood by one of the columns. He asked the people to promise in the Lord's name to faithfully obey the Lord and to follow his commands. The people agreed to do everything written in the book.

Josiah Follows the Teachings of God's Law

(2 Chronicles 34.3-7)

4 (A) Josiah told Hilkiah the priest, the assistant priests, and the guards at the temple door to go into the temple and bring out the things used to worship Baal, Asherah, and the stars. Josiah had these things burned in Kidron Valley just outside Jerusalem, and he had the ashes carried away to the town of Bethel.

5 Josiah also got rid of the pagan priests at the local shrines in Judah and around Jerusalem. These were the men that the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices to Baal and to the sun, moon, and stars. 6 Josiah had the sacred pole[b] for Asherah brought out of the temple and taken to Kidron Valley, where it was burned. He then had its ashes ground into dust and scattered over the public cemetery there. 7 He had the buildings torn down where the male prostitutes[c] lived next to the temple, and where the women wove sacred robes[d] for the idol of Asherah.

8 In almost every town in Judah, priests had been offering sacrifices to the Lord at local shrines.[e] Josiah brought these priests to Jerusalem and had their shrines made unfit for worship—every shrine from Geba just north of Jerusalem to Beersheba in the south. He even tore down the shrine at Beersheba that was just to the left of Joshua Gate, which was named after the highest official of the city. 9 Those local priests could not serve at the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat sacred bread,[f] just like the priests from Jerusalem.

10 (B) Josiah sent some men to Hinnom Valley just outside Jerusalem with orders to make the altar there unfit for worship. That way, people could no longer use it for sacrificing their children to the god Molech. 11 He also got rid of the horses that the kings of Judah used in their ceremonies to worship the sun, and he destroyed the chariots along with them. The horses had been kept near the entrance to the Lord's temple, in a courtyard[g] close to where an official named Nathan-Melech lived.

12 (C) Some of the kings of Judah, especially Manasseh, had built altars in the two courts of the temple and in the room that Ahaz had built on the palace roof. Josiah had these altars torn down and smashed to pieces, and he had the pieces thrown into Kidron Valley, just outside Jerusalem. 13 (D) After that, he closed down the shrines that Solomon had built east of Jerusalem and south of Spoil Hill to honor Astarte the disgusting goddess of Sidon, Chemosh the disgusting god of Moab, and Milcom the disgusting god of Ammon.[h] 14 He tore down the stone images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole used in the worship of Asherah. Then he had the whole area covered with human bones.[i]

15 (E) But Josiah was not finished yet. At Bethel he destroyed the shrine and the altar that Jeroboam son of Nebat had built and that had caused the Israelites to sin. Josiah had the shrine and the Asherah pole burned and ground into dust. 16 (F) As he looked around, he saw graves on the hillside. He had the bones in them dug up and burned on the altar, so that it could no longer be used. This happened just as God's prophet had said when Jeroboam was standing at the altar, celebrating a festival.[j]

Then Josiah saw the grave of the prophet who had said this would happen 17 (G) and he asked,[k] “Whose grave is that?”

Some people who lived nearby answered, “It belongs to the prophet from Judah who told what would happen to this altar.”

18 Josiah replied, “Then leave it alone. Don't dig up his bones.” So they did not disturb his bones or the bones of the old prophet from Israel who had also been buried there.[l]

19 Some of the Israelite kings had made the Lord angry by building pagan shrines all over Israel. So Josiah sent troops to destroy these shrines just as he had done to the one in Bethel. 20 He killed the priests who served at them and burned their bones on the altars.

After all that, Josiah went back to Jerusalem.

Josiah and the People of Judah Celebrate Passover

(2 Chronicles 35.1-19)

21 Josiah told the people of Judah, “Celebrate Passover in honor of the Lord your God, just as it says in The Book of God's Law.”[m]

22 This festival had not been celebrated in this way since the time that tribal leaders ruled Israel or the kings ruled Israel and Judah. 23 But in Josiah's eighteenth year as king of Judah, everyone came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

The Lord Is Still Angry with the People of Judah

24 Josiah got rid of every disgusting person and thing in Judah and Jerusalem—including magicians, fortunetellers, and idols. He did his best to obey every law written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord's temple. 25 No other king before or after Josiah tried as hard as he did to obey the Law of Moses.

26 But the Lord was still furious with the people of Judah because Manasseh had done so many things to make him angry. 27 The Lord said, “I will desert the people of Judah, just as I deserted the people of Israel. I will reject Jerusalem, even though I chose it to be mine. And I will abandon this temple built to honor me.”

Josiah Dies in Battle

(2 Chronicles 35.20—36.1)

28 Everything else Josiah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 29 During Josiah's rule, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. Josiah led his troops north to fight Neco, but when they met in battle at Megiddo, Josiah was killed.[n] 30 A few of Josiah's servants put his body in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where they buried it in his own tomb. Then the people of Judah found his son Jehoahaz and poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king.

King Jehoahaz of Judah

(2 Chronicles 36.2-4)

31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem only 3 months. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32 Jehoahaz disobeyed the Lord, just as some of his ancestors had done.

33 King Neco of Egypt had Jehoahaz arrested and put in prison at Riblah[o] near Hamath. Then he forced the people of Judah to pay him 3.4 tons of silver and 34 kilograms of gold as taxes. 34 (H) Neco appointed Josiah's son Eliakim king of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz as a prisoner to Egypt, where he died.

35 Jehoiakim forced the people of Judah to pay higher taxes, so he could give Neco the silver and gold he demanded.

King Jehoiakim of Judah

(2 Chronicles 36.5-8)

36 (I) Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he was appointed king, and he ruled 11 years from Jerusalem. His mother Zebidah was the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. 37 Jehoiakim disobeyed the Lord by following the example of his ancestors.

24 (J) During Jehoiakim's rule, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia[p] invaded and took control of Judah. Jehoiakim obeyed Nebuchadnezzar for three years, but then he rebelled.

2 At that time, the Lord started sending troops to rob and destroy towns in Judah. Some of these troops were from Babylonia, and others were from Syria, Moab, and Ammon. The Lord had sent his servants the prophets to warn Judah about this, 3 and now he was making it happen. The country of Judah was going to be wiped out, because Manasseh had sinned 4 and caused many innocent people to die. The Lord would not forgive this.

5 Everything else Jehoiakim did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 6 Jehoiakim died, and his son Jehoiachin became king.

7 King Nebuchadnezzar defeated King Neco of Egypt and took control of his land from the Egyptian Gorge all the way north to the Euphrates River. So Neco never invaded Judah again.[q]

King Jehoiachin of Judah Is Taken to Babylon

(2 Chronicles 36.9,10)

8 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled only 3 months from Jerusalem. His mother Nehushta was the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. 9 Jehoiachin disobeyed the Lord, just as his father Jehoiakim had done.

10 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia sent troops to attack Jerusalem soon after Jehoiachin became king. 11 During the attack, Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city. 12 (K) Jehoiachin immediately surrendered, together with his mother and his servants, as well as his army officers and officials. Then Nebuchadnezzar had Jehoiachin arrested. These things took place in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's rule in Babylonia.[r]

13 The Lord had warned[s] that someday the treasures would be taken from the royal palace and from the temple, including the gold objects that Solomon had made for the temple. And that's exactly what Nebuchadnezzar ordered his soldiers to do. 14 He also led away as prisoners the Jerusalem officials, the military leaders, and the skilled workers—10,000 in all. Only the very poorest people were left in Judah.

15 (L) Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon, along with his mother, his wives, his officials, and the most important leaders of Judah. 16 He also led away 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 skilled workers, all of them trained for battle.

17 (M) Then Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah king of Judah and changed his name to Zedekiah.

King Zedekiah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 36.11-16; Jeremiah 52.1-3)

18 (N) Zedekiah was 21 years old when he was appointed king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 19 Zedekiah disobeyed the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 (O) It was Zedekiah who finally rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

The people of Judah and Jerusalem had made the Lord so angry that he turned his back on them. That's why these horrible things were happening.

Jerusalem Is Captured and Destroyed

(2 Chronicles 36.17-21; Jeremiah 52.3-30)

25 (P) In Zedekiah's ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month,[t] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia led his entire army to attack Jerusalem. The troops set up camp outside the city and built ramps up to the city walls.

2-3 After a year and a half, all the food in Jerusalem was gone. Then on the ninth day of the fourth[u] month, 4 (Q) the Babylonian troops broke through the city wall.[v] That same night, Zedekiah and his soldiers tried to escape through the gate near the royal garden, even though they knew the enemy had the city surrounded. They headed toward the desert, 5 but the Babylonian troops caught up with them near Jericho. They arrested Zedekiah, but his soldiers scattered in every direction.

6 Zedekiah was taken to Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar put him on trial and found him guilty. 7 (R) Zedekiah's sons were killed right in front of him. His eyes were then poked out, and he was put in chains and dragged off to Babylon.

8 About a month later,[w] in Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year as king, Nebuzaradan, who was his official in charge of the guards, arrived in Jerusalem. 9 (S) Nebuzaradan burned down the Lord's temple, the king's palace, and every important building in the city, as well as all the houses. 10 Then he ordered the Babylonian soldiers to break down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 He led away as prisoners the people left in the city, including those who had become loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. 12 Only some of the poorest people were left behind to work the vineyards and the fields.

13 (T) The Babylonian soldiers took the two bronze columns that stood in front of the temple, the ten movable bronze stands, and the large bronze bowl called the Sea. They broke them into pieces so they could take the bronze to Babylonia. 14 (U) They carried off the bronze things used for worship at the temple, including the pans for hot ashes, and the shovels, snuffers, and also the dishes for incense, 15 as well as the fire pans and the sprinkling bowls. Nebuzaradan ordered his soldiers to take everything made of gold or silver.

16 The pile of bronze from the columns, the stands, and the large bowl that Solomon had made for the temple was too large to be weighed. 17 Each column had been eight meters tall with a bronze cap over one meter high. These caps were decorated with bronze designs—some of them like chains and others like pomegranates.[x]

18 Next, Nebuzaradan arrested Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah his assistant, and three temple officials. 19 Then he arrested one of the army commanders, the king's five personal advisors, and the officer in charge of gathering the troops for battle. He also found 60 more soldiers who were still in Jerusalem. 20 Nebuzaradan led them all to Riblah 21 near Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar had them killed.

Most of the people of Judah had been carried away as captives from their own country.

Gedaliah Is Made Ruler of the People Left in Judah

(Jeremiah 40.7-9; 41.1-3)

22 (V) King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam[y] to rule the few people still living in Judah. 23 When the army officers and troops heard that Gedaliah was their ruler, the officers met with him at Mizpah. These men were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth from Netophah, and Jaazaniah from Maacah.

24 Gedaliah said to them, “Everything will be fine, I promise. We don't need to be afraid of the Babylonian rulers, if we live here peacefully and do what Nebuchadnezzar says.”

25 (W) Ishmael[z] was from the royal family. And about two months after Gedaliah began his rule,[aa] Ishmael and ten other men went to Mizpah. They killed Gedaliah and his officials, including those from Judah and those from Babylonia. 26 (X) After that, the army officers and all the people in Mizpah, whether important or not, were afraid of what the Babylonians might do. So they left Judah and went to Egypt.

Jehoiachin Is Set Free

(Jeremiah 52.31-34)

27 Jehoiachin was a prisoner in Babylon for 37 years. Then Evil-Merodach became king of Babylonia,[ab] and in the first year of his rule, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month,[ac] he let Jehoiachin out of prison. 28 Evil-Merodach was kind to Jehoiachin and honored him more than any of the other kings held prisoner there. 29 Jehoiachin was even allowed to wear regular clothes, and he ate at the king's table every day. 30 As long as Jehoiachin lived, he was paid a daily allowance to buy whatever he needed.

Notas al pie

  1. 23.2 The Book of God's Law: The Hebrew text has “The Book of God's Agreement,” which is the same as “The Book of God's Law” in 22.8,11. In traditional translations this is called “The Book of the Covenant.”
  2. 23.6 sacred pole: See the note at 13.6,7.
  3. 23.7 male prostitutes: Young men or boys sometimes served as prostitutes in the worship of Canaanite gods, but the Lord had forbidden the people of Israel and Judah to worship in this way (see Deuteronomy 23.17,18).
  4. 23.7 sacred robes: Or “coverings.”
  5. 23.8 local shrines: See the note at 12.3.
  6. 23.9 sacred bread: The Hebrew text has “thin bread,” which may be either the pieces of thin bread made without yeast to be eaten during the Passover Festival (see verses 21-23) or the baked flour used in sacrifices to give thanks to the Lord (see Leviticus 2.4,5).
  7. 23.11 in a courtyard: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 23.13 the shrines … Ammon: See 1 Kings 11.5-7.
  9. 23.14 Then he … human bones: This made the whole area unfit for the worship of any god.
  10. 23.16 just … festival: See 1 Kings 13.1,2.
  11. 23.16,17 said when Jeroboam … asked: One ancient translation; Hebrew “said. 17 Then Josiah asked.”
  12. 23.18 old prophet … there: See 1 Kings 13.11-32.
  13. 23.21 The Book of God's Law: See the note at 23.2.
  14. 23.29 killed: At this time, King Neco of Egypt (609–595 b.c.) was fighting on the side of the Assyrians. He marched north to fight the Babylonian army and help Assyria keep control of its land. Since Josiah considered Assyria an enemy, he set out to stop Neco and the Egyptian troops.
  15. 23.33 Riblah: An important town in Syria on the Orontes River.
  16. 24.1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia: Ruled Babylonia 605–562 b.c.
  17. 24.7 again: Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptian army in 605 b.c. at the town of Carchemish. But a few years later, he was forced to retreat all the way back to Babylonia, which allowed Jehoiakim to rebel (see verse 1).
  18. 24.12 Babylonia: These events took place in 597 b.c.
  19. 24.13 warned: See 20.16-18.
  20. 25.1 tenth month: Tebeth, the tenth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-December to mid-January.
  21. 25.2,3 fourth: This word is not in the Hebrew text here, but see the parallel in Jeremiah 52.5,6.
  22. 25.4 wall: Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 b.c.
  23. 25.8 About a month later: Hebrew “On the seventh day of the fifth month.”
  24. 25.17 pomegranates: A bright red fruit that looks like an apple.
  25. 25.22 Ahikam: Hebrew “Ahikam son of Shaphan.”
  26. 25.25 Ishmael: Hebrew “Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama.”
  27. 25.25 about two months … his rule: Hebrew “in the seventh month.”
  28. 25.27 Evil-Merodach … Babylonia: The son of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled Babylonia from 562 to 560 b.c.
  29. 25.27 twelfth month: Adar, the twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-February to mid-March.
Listen to 2 Kings 23-25
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2 Kings 23-25
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Josiah Renews the Covenant(A)(B)(C)(D)

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read(E) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,(F) which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar(G) and renewed the covenant(H) in the presence of the Lord—to follow(I) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers(J) to remove(K) from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. 5 He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense(L) to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.(M) 6 He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley(N) outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder(O) and scattered the dust over the graves(P) of the common people.(Q) 7 He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes(R) that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

8 Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba(S) to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. 9 Although the priests of the high places did not serve(T) at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

10 He desecrated Topheth,(U) which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(V) so no one could use it to sacrifice their son(W) or daughter in the fire to Molek. 11 He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judah(X) had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court[a] near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.(Y)

12 He pulled down(Z) the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof(AA) near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts(AB) of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.(AC) 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon(AD) king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable(AE) god of the people of Ammon.(AF) 14 Josiah smashed(AG) the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.(AH)

15 Even the altar(AI) at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam(AJ) son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. 16 Then Josiah(AK) looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance(AL) with the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things.

17 The king asked, “What is that tombstone I see?”

The people of the city said, “It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to it.”

18 “Leave it alone,” he said. “Don’t let anyone disturb his bones(AM).” So they spared his bones and those of the prophet(AN) who had come from Samaria.

19 Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the Lord’s anger. 20 Josiah slaughtered(AO) all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones(AP) on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

21 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover(AQ) to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”(AR) 22 Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.(AS)

24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists,(AT) the household gods,(AU) the idols and all the other detestable(AV) things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned(AW) to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.(AX)

26 Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger,(AY) which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh(AZ) had done to arouse his anger. 27 So the Lord said, “I will remove(BA) Judah also from my presence(BB) as I removed Israel, and I will reject(BC) Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’[b]”

28 As for the other events of Josiah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho(BD) king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo.(BE) 30 Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot(BF) from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

Jehoahaz King of Judah(BG)

31 Jehoahaz(BH) was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal(BI) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32 He did evil(BJ) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. 33 Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah(BK) in the land of Hamath(BL) so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents[c] of silver and a talent[d] of gold. 34 Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim(BM) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died.(BN) 35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Necho the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.(BO)

Jehoiakim King of Judah(BP)

36 Jehoiakim(BQ) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 And he did evil(BR) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done.

24 During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar(BS) king of Babylon invaded(BT) the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled.(BU) 2 The Lord sent Babylonian,[e](BV) Aramean,(BW) Moabite and Ammonite raiders(BX) against him to destroy(BY) Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets.(BZ) 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command,(CA) in order to remove them from his presence(CB) because of the sins of Manasseh(CC) and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood.(CD) For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.(CE)

5 As for the other events of Jehoiakim’s reign,(CF) and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 6 Jehoiakim rested(CG) with his ancestors. And Jehoiachin(CH) his son succeeded him as king.

7 The king of Egypt(CI) did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon(CJ) had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin King of Judah(CK)

8 Jehoiachin(CL) was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta(CM) daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. 9 He did evil(CN) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done.

10 At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar(CO) king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, 11 and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered(CP) to him.

In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. 13 As the Lord had declared,(CQ) Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures(CR) from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles(CS) that Solomon(CT) king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. 14 He carried all Jerusalem into exile:(CU) all the officers and fighting men,(CV) and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest(CW) people of the land were left.

15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin(CX) captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother,(CY) his wives, his officials and the prominent people(CZ) of the land. 16 The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans.(DA) 17 He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.(DB)

Zedekiah King of Judah(DC)

18 Zedekiah(DD) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal(DE) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 19 He did evil(DF) in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust(DG) them from his presence.(DH)

The Fall of Jerusalem(DI)(DJ)(DK)

Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25 So in the ninth(DL) year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar(DM) king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works(DN) all around it. 2 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

3 By the ninth day of the fourth[f] month the famine(DO) in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 4 Then the city wall was broken through,(DP) and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians[g] were surrounding(DQ) the city. They fled toward the Arabah,[h] 5 but the Babylonian[i] army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,(DR) 6 and he was captured.(DS)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah,(DT) where sentence was pronounced on him. 7 They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.(DU)

8 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 He set fire(DV) to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.(DW) 10 The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls(DX) around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile(DY) the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon.(DZ) 12 But the commander left behind some of the poorest people(EA) of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

13 The Babylonians broke(EB) up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes(EC) and all the bronze articles(ED) used in the temple service. 15 The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—all that were made of pure gold or silver.(EE)

16 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the movable stands, which Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed. 17 Each pillar(EF) was eighteen cubits[j] high. The bronze capital on top of one pillar was three cubits[k] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its network, was similar.

18 The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah(EG) the chief priest, Zephaniah(EH) the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.(EI) 19 Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and five royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of the conscripts who were found in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 There at Riblah,(EJ) in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.(EK)

So Judah went into captivity,(EL) away from her land.(EM)

22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah(EN) son of Ahikam,(EO) the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah. 23 When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men. 24 Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.”

25 In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated(EP) Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.(EQ) 26 At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt(ER) for fear of the Babylonians.

Jehoiachin Released(ES)

27 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin(ET) king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. 28 He spoke kindly(EU) to him and gave him a seat of honor(EV) higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.(EW) 30 Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.(EX)

Notas al pie

  1. 2 Kings 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. 2 Kings 23:27 1 Kings 8:29
  3. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
  4. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
  5. 2 Kings 24:2 Or Chaldean
  6. 2 Kings 25:3 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Jer. 52:6); Masoretic Text does not have fourth.
  7. 2 Kings 25:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 13, 25 and 26
  8. 2 Kings 25:4 Or the Jordan Valley
  9. 2 Kings 25:5 Or Chaldean; also in verses 10 and 24
  10. 2 Kings 25:17 That is, about 27 feet or about 8.1 meters
  11. 2 Kings 25:17 That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters
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