2 Kings 24-25
Babylon Controls Jehoiakim
aIn his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 The Lord sent against him abands of Chaldeans, bbands of Arameans, cbands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, daccording to the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. 3 aSurely at the command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight bbecause of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and aalso for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive. 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
6 So aJehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. 7 aThe king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, bfor the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from cthe brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 aJehoiachin was beighteen 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 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, aaccording to all that his father had done.
Deportation 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 aJehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So bthe king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 aHe carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and bcut in pieces all the vessels of gold cwhich Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then ahe led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, bten thousand captives, and call the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained dexcept the poorest people of the land.
15 So ahe led 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 All the men of valor, aseven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.
Zedekiah Made King
17 aThen the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, aaccording to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For athrough the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And bZedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
aNow in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and cbuilt a siege wall all around it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month athe famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 aThen the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside bthe king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then athey captured the king and bbrought him to the king of Babylon at cRiblah, and he passed sentence on him. 7 aThey slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then bput out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.
Jerusalem Burned and Plundered
8 aNow on the seventh day of the bfifth 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 aHe burned the house of the Lord, bthe king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard abroke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Then athe rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of athe poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
13 aNow the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and bthe bronze sea which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 aThey took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 15 The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the basins, 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 the Lord—athe bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 aThe height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three 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 aSeraiah the chief priest and bZephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple. 19 From the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and afive of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain 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 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at aRiblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. aSo Judah was led away into exile from its land.
Gedaliah Made Governor
22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed aGedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 aWhen all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to bMizpah, 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 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 aBut it came about in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came 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 aThen all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 aNow it came about in the thirty-seventh year of bthe 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, creleased Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he aspoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and ahad his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30 and for his aallowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
2 Chronicles 36
Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, then Jehoiachin Rule
aThen the people of the land took bJoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. 2 Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But aNeco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.
5 aJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up aagainst him and bbound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. 7 aNebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8 aNow the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and 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.
9 aJehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
Captivity in Babylon Begun
10 aAt the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the Lord, and he made his kinsman bZedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Rules in Judah
11 aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; ahe did not humble himself bbefore Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord. 13 aHe also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But bhe stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.
15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, asent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; 16 but they continually amocked the messengers of God, bdespised His words and scoffed at His prophets, cuntil the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. 17 aTherefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. 18 aAll the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. 19 Then athey burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 20 Those who had escaped from the sword he acarried away to Babylon; and bthey were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 ato fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until bthe land had enjoyed its sabbaths. cAll the days of its desolation it kept sabbath duntil seventy years were complete.
Cyrus Permits Return
22 aNow in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord bby the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord cstirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, 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 the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!’”