Chronological
24 In his yamim Nevuchadnetzar Melech Bavel came up, and Y’hoyakim became his eved (servant, vassal) shalosh shanim; then he turned and rebelled against him.
2 And Hashem sent against him gedudim (soldiers of the army) of the Kasdim, and gedudim of Aram (Syria) and gedudim of Mo’av and gedudim of Bnei Ammon, and sent them against Yehudah to destroy it, according to the Devar Hashem, which He spoke by His avadim the Nevi’im.
3 Surely at the command of Hashem came this upon Yehudah, to remove them out of His sight, for the chattot of Menasheh, according to all that he did;
4 And also for the dahm hanaki (innocent blood) that he shed; for he filled Yerushalayim with dahm naki; which Hashem would not pardon.
5 Now the rest of the acts of Y’hoyakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the Sefer Divrei HaYamim of the Melachim of Yehudah?
6 So Y’hoyakim slept with his Avot; and Y’hoyakhin bno reigned in his place.
7 And Melech Mitzrayim came not again any more out of his land; for Melech Bavel had taken from the Wadi Mitzrayim unto Nahar Euphrates all that belonged to Melech Mitzrayim.
8 Y’hoyakhin was 18 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Yerushalayim 3 chodashim. And shem immo was Nechushta Bat Elnatan of Yerushalayim.
9 And he did that which was rah in the eyes of Hashem, according to all that his Aviv had done.
10 At that time the avadim of Nevuchadnetzar Melech Bavel came up against Yerushalayim, and the Ir was besieged.
11 Nevuchadnetzar Melech Bavel came against the Ir, and his avadim did besiege it.
12 And Y’hoyakhin Melech Yehudah went out to Melech Bavel, he, and immo, and his avadim, and his sarim, and his sarisim; and Melech Bavel took him in the 8th year of his reign.
13 And he carried off there all the otzerot of the Beis Hashem, and the otzerot of the Bais HaMelech, and cut in pieces kol kelei hazahav which Sh’lomo Melech Yisroel had made in the Heikhal Hashem, as Hashem had said.
14 And he carried away into the Golus all Yerushalayim, and all the sarim, and all the gibborei hachayil, even ten thousand Golus captives, and all the charash and masger (smiths, artisans); none remained, except the dalat am ha’aretz (poor people of the land).
15 And he carried away Y’hoyakhin to Bavel, and the Em HaMelech, and the nashim of HaMelech, and his sarisim, and the leading men of HaAretz, those he carried into the Golus from Yerushalayim to Babylon.
16 And all the anshei hachayil, even shivat alafim, and a thousand charash and masger, all that were gibborim for making milchamah, even them Melech Bavel took into the Golus to Babylon.
17 And Melech Bavel made Matanyah dodo (his [Y’hoyakhin’s] uncle) Melech in his place, and changed shmo to Tzidkiyahu (Zedekiah).
18 Tzidkiyau (Zedekiah) was twenty and one shanah when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven shanah in Yerushalayim. And shem immo was Chamutal Bat Yirmeyahu of Livnah.
19 And he did that which was rah in the eyes of Hashem, according to all that Y’hoyakim had done.
20 For through the anger of Hashem this came about in Yerushalayim and Yehudah, until He cast them out from His presence. And Tzidkiyahu (Zedekiah) rebelled against Melech Bavel.
25 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month [see Zech 8:19], that Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel came, he, and all his army, against Yerushalayim, and encamped against it; and built siege works against it round about.
2 And HaIr remained under siege unto the eleventh year of Melech Tzidkiyah.
3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the ra’av (famine) was severe in the Ir, and there was no lechem for the Am HaAretz.
4 And the Ir was broken through, and all the anshei hamilchamah fled by lailah by the way of the gate between two walls, which was near the Gan HaMelech; (now the Kasdim [Chaldeans] were surrounding the Ir); and HaMelech fled by the derech HaArabah.
5 And the army of the Kasdim pursued after HaMelech, and overtook him in the plains of Yericho; and all his army was separated from him and scattered.
6 So they captured HaMelech, and carried him up to Melech Bavel to Rivlah; and they pronounced mishpat upon him.
7 And they slaughtered the Bnei Tzidkiyah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Tzidkiyah, and bound him with shackles of nechoshet, and carried him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of Melech Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel, came Nevuzaradan, captain of the guard, an eved of Melech Bavel, unto Yerushalayim;
9 And he set fire to the Beis Hashem, and the Bais HaMelech (the palace), and all the batim (houses) of Yerushalayim, and every bais hagadol he burned with eish [Tish B’Av, see Jer 52:12].
10 And all the army of the Kasdim (Chaldeans), that were with the captain of the guard, broke down the chomot (walls) around Yerushalayim.
11 Now the remainder of the people that were left in the Ir, and the deserters that fell away to Melech Bavel, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nevuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
12 But the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land to be koremim and farmers.
13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the Beis Hashem, and the moveable stands, and the Yam Hanechoshet that was in the Beis Hashem, the Kasdim (Chaldeans) broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon.
14 And the caldrons, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins and all the klei hanechoshet wherewith they ministered, they took away.
15 And the firepans [for incense], and the bowls, and such things as were made of zahav, and of kesef, the captain of the guard carried away.
16 The two Ammudim, one Yam, and the Stands which Sh’lomo had made for the Beis Hashem; the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
17 The height of the one ammud was eighteen cubits, and the capital upon it was nechoshet; and the height of the capital three cubits; and the netting, and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of nechoshet; and similar unto these had the second pillar with netting.
18 And the captain of the guard took Serayah the Kohen HaRosh, and Tzephanyah the second kohen, and the three keepers of the door;
19 And out of the Ir he took an officer that was set over the anshei hamilchamah, and five men of them that were royal advisers, which were found in the Ir, and the Sofer who was the chief officer in charge of conscripting the Am HaAretz, and threescore men of the Am HaAretz, that were found in the Ir;
20 And Nevuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these, and brought them to Melech Bavel to Rivlah;
21 And Melech Bavel struck them, and slaughtered them at Rivlah in Eretz Chamat. So Yehudah was carried away captive out of their land.
22 And as for the people that remained in Eretz Yehudah, whom Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel had left behind, even over them he made Gedalyah ben Achikam ben Shaphan ruler.
23 And when all the officers of the armies, they and their anashim, heard that Melech Bavel had made Gedalyah governor, there came to Gedalyah to Mitzpah, even Yishmael ben Netanyah, and Yochanan ben Kareach, and Serayah ben Tanchumet the Netophati, and Ya’azanyah the ben of a Ma’achati, they and their men.
24 And Gedalyah took an oath to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the avadim of the Kasdim; dwell in the land, and serve Melech Bavel; and it shall be well with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Yishmael ben Netanyah, ben Elishama, of royal blood, came, and ten men with him, and assassinated Gedalyah, that he died, along with the Yehudim and the Kasdim that were with him at Mitzpah.
26 And kol haAm, both katon and gadol, and the officers of the armies, arose, and went to Mitzrayim; for they were afraid of the Kasdim.
27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the Golus of Y’hoyakhin Melech Yehudah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Eveel-Merodach Melech Bavel in the year that he began to reign [562 B.C.E.] did lift up the head of Y’hoyakhin Melech Yehudah out of the bais hakeleh;
28 And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the kisse of the melachim that were with him in Babylon;
29 And changed his prison garments; and he did eat lechem continually before him all the days of his life.
30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the Melech, a daily portion for every day, all the days of his life.
36 Then the Am Ha’Aretz took Yehoachaz ben Yoshiyahu, and made him melech in the place of Aviv in Yerushalayim.
2 Yehoachaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Yerushalayim.
3 And Melech Mitzrayim deposed him at Yerushalayim, and laid on HaAretz a tribute of a hundred talents of kesef and a talent of zahav.
4 And Melech Mitzrayim made Elyakim his brother melech over Yehudah and Yerushalayim, and changed shmo to Y’hoyakim. And Necho took Yehoachaz his brother, and carried him off to Mitzrayim.
5 Y’hoyakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Yerushalayim; and he did that which was rah in the eyes of Hashem Elohav.
6 Against him came up Nevuchadnetzar Melech Bavel, and bound him in bronze shackles, to carry him off to Babylon.
7 Nevuchadnetzar also carried off the vessels of the Beis Hashem to Babylon, and put them in his heikhal (temple) at Babylon.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Y’hoyakim, and his to’avot which he did, and that which was found in him, hinei, they are written in the Sefer of the Melachim of Yisroel and Yehudah; and Y’hoyakhin bno became king in his place.
9 Y’hoyakhin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Yerushalayim; and he did that which was rah in the eyes of Hashem.
10 And when the year was expired, HaMelech Nevuchadnetzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the kelei chemdat Beis Hashem, and made Tzidkiyahu his brother Melech over Yehudah and Yerushalayim.
11 Tzidkiyah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Yerushalayim.
12 And he did that which was rah in the eyes of Hashem Elohav, and humbled not himself before Yirmeyahu HaNavi speaking from the mouth of Hashem.
13 And he also rebelled against Melech Nevuchadnetzar, who had made him take an oath by Elohim, but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his lev against making teshuva unto Hashem Elohei Yisroel.
14 Moreover all the Sarei HaKohanim, and HaAm became more unfaithful, following all the to’avot HaGoyim, and they made the Beis Hashem tameh which Hashem had consecrated and set apart as kodesh in Yerushalayim.
15 And Hashem Elohei Avoteihem sent to them by His malachim, time and again; because He took pity on His people and on His Ma’on (Dwelling Place);
16 But they mocked the malachim of Elohim, and despised His words, and derided His nevi’im, until the Chamat Hashem was aroused against His people, until there was no marpeh (remedy, healing).
17 Therefore He brought upon them Melech Kasdim, who slaughtered their bochurim with the cherev in their Beis Mikdash, and had no pity upon bochur or betulah, zaken or the aged man. He gave them all into his yad.
18 And all the kelei Beis HaElohim, hagedolim and haketanim, and the otzerot of the Beis Hashem, and the otzerot HaMelech, and of his sarim; all these he brought to Babylon.
19 And they burned the Beis HaElohim, and broke down the Chomat Yerushalayim, and burned all the palaces thereof with eish, and destroyed all its precious vessels.
20 And them that had escaped from the cherev carried he off to Babylon where they were avadim to him and his banim until the kingdom of Paras (Persia) began to reign;
21 To fulfil the Devar Hashem by the mouth of Yirmeyahu, until HaAretz had made up for its Shabbatot, for as long as she lay desolate she was shomer Shabbos, to fulfil Shivim Shanah (seventy years, see Jeremiah 25:11).
22 Now in the first year of Koresh (Cyrus) Melech Paras (Persia), that the word of Hashem spoken by the mouth of Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) might be accomplished, Hashem stirred up the ruach of Koresh Melech Paras (Persia), that he made a proclamation throughout all his Malchut, and put it also in writing, saying,
23 Thus saith Koresh Melech Paras (Persia), Kol Mamlechot HaAretz (all the kingdoms of the earth) hath Hashem Elohei HaShomayim given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a Beis in Yerushalayim, which is in Yehudah. Who is there among you of all His people? Hashem Elohav be with him and let him go up! [T.N. The glory cloud that appears at the dedication of both the wilderness Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash of Shlomo HaMelech is a prophetic type and foreshadow of the Moshiach and the coming sod hitgashmut (see 2Chr 5:7-14; Ex 40:34-35; Yn 1:1, 14)
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International