Chronological
Jehoiakim Rebels Against Nebuchadnezzar
24 (A)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And Yahweh sent against him (B)marauding bands of Chaldeans, (C)marauding bands of Arameans, (D)marauding bands of Moabites, and marauding bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, (E)according to the word of Yahweh which He had spoken by the hand of His slaves the prophets. 3 (F)Surely at the [a]command of Yahweh it came upon Judah, to remove them from His presence (G)because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and (H)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yahweh was not willing to pardon. 5 Now 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?
Jehoiachin Reigns over Judah
6 So (I)Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. 7 (J)And the king of Egypt did not go out of his land again, (K)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from (L)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 (M)Jehoiachin was (N)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, (O)according to all that his father had done.
Judah Exiled to Babylon
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 (P)Then Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his commanders and his officials. So (Q)the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 (R)And he brought out from there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king’s house, and (S)cut in pieces all the vessels of gold (T)which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had spoken. 14 Then (U)he took away into exile all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the mighty men of valor, (V)10,000 captives, and (W)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None was left (X)except the poorest people of the land.
15 So (Y)he took Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 Now all the valiant men, (Z)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all mighty men who could wage war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.
Zedekiah Reigns over Judah
17 (AA)Then the king of Babylon made [b]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 (AB)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (AC)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, (AD)according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For (AE)through the anger of Yahweh this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And (AF)Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
25 (AG)Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, (AH)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his military force, against Jerusalem, and he camped against it and (AI)built a siege wall all around [c]it. 2 So the city came under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month (AJ)the famine was so strong in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 (AK)Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside (AL)the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And [d]they went by way of the Arabah. 5 But the military force of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his military force was scattered from him. 6 Then (AM)they seized the king and (AN)brought him up to the king of Babylon at (AO)Riblah, and they spoke their judgment on him. 7 (AP)And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then he (AQ)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.
Jerusalem Burned
8 (AR)Now on the seventh day of the (AS)fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 (AT)And he burned the house of Yahweh, (AU)the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the military force of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard (AV)tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then (AW)the rest of the people who were left in the city and the defectors who had defected to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took away into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of (AX)the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
13 (AY)Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of Yahweh, and the stands and (AZ)the bronze sea which were in the house of Yahweh, the Chaldeans shattered and carried the [e]bronze to Babylon. 14 (BA)They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used to minister. 15 The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh—(BB)the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 (BC)The height of the one pillar was eighteen [f]cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three [g]cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.
18 Then the captain of the guard took (BD)Seraiah the chief priest and (BE)Zephaniah the second priest, with the three [h]doorkeepers of the temple. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and (BF)five [i]of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the [j]scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and led them to the king of Babylon at (BG)Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (BH)So Judah went into exile from its land.
Gedaliah Appointed Judah’s Governor
22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed (BI)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 (BJ)Then all the commanders of the military forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor. So they came to Gedaliah to (BK)Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24 Then Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”
25 (BL)But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed, came [k]with ten men and struck Gedaliah down so that he died, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 (BM)Then all the people, both small and great, and the commanders of the military forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 (BN)Now it happened in the thirty-seventh year of (BO)the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, (BP)lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he (BQ)spoke to him good words, and he set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So [l]Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and [m](BR)had his meals in [n]the king’s presence continually all the days of his life; 30 and for his (BS)allowance, a continual allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
Joahaz Reigns over Judah
36 (A)Then the people of the land took [a](B)Joahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. 2 [b]Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt had him removed in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred [c]talents of silver and one talent of gold. 4 Then the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But (C)Neco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.
Jehoiakim Reigns over Judah
5 (D)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up (E)against him and (F)bound him with bronze chains to lead him off to Babylon. 7 (G)Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of Yahweh to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8 (H)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and [d]the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.
Jehoiachin Reigns over Judah
9 (I)Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 10 (J)And at the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of Yahweh, and he made his relative (K)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Reigns over Judah
11 (L)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God; (M)he did not humble himself (N)before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke from the mouth of Yahweh. 13 (O)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But (P)he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of Yahweh which He had set apart as holy in Jerusalem.
The Chaldeans Destroy Jerusalem
15 And Yahweh, the God of their fathers, (Q)sent word to them [e]again and again by the hand of His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His habitation; 16 but they continually (R)mocked the messengers of God, (S)despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, (T)until the wrath of Yahweh arose against His people, until there was no remedy. 17 (U)Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who killed their choice men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on choice man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. 18 (V)And all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king and of his officials, he brought them all to Babylon. 19 Then (W)they burned the house of God and tore down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 20 And those who had escaped from the sword he (X)took away into exile to Babylon; and (Y)they were slaves to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 (Z)to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until (AA)the land had made up for its sabbaths. (AB)All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath [f](AC)until seventy years were fulfilled.
The Proclamation of Cyrus
22 (AD)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to complete the word of Yahweh (AE)by the mouth of Jeremiah—Yahweh (AF)stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he had a proclamation pass throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia,
‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may Yahweh his God be with him, and let him go up!’”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.