36 (A)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (B)in accordance with all that his forefathers had done.

Babylon Controls Jehoiakim

24 (C)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and revolted against him. And the Lord sent against him (D)bands of Chaldeans, (E)bands of Arameans, (F)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, (G)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. (H)It indeed came upon Judah at the [a]command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight (I)due to the sins of Manasseh, in accordance with everything that he had done, and (J)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord was unwilling to forgive. 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

So (K)Jehoiakim [b]lay down with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. Now (L)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, (M)because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from (N)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 24:3 Lit mouth
  2. 2 Kings 24:6 I.e., died

36 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

24 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.

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?

So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

36-37 New king of Judah: Jehoiakim

His age at the beginning of his reign: 25 years old

Length of reign: 11 years, in Jerusalem

Mother’s name: Zebidah (daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah)

Character of his reign: evil, like the other kings who had preceded him

24 During the reign of King Jehoiakim, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years, but then rebelled. And the Lord sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites against Judah in order to destroy the nation, just as the Lord had warned through his prophets that he would. 3-4 It is clear that these disasters befell Judah at the direct command of the Lord. He had decided to wipe Judah out of his sight because of the many sins of Manasseh, for he had filled Jerusalem with blood, and the Lord would not pardon it.

The rest of the history of the life of Jehoiakim is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Judah. When he died, his son Jehoiachin became the new king. (The Egyptian Pharaoh never returned after that, for the king of Babylon occupied the entire area claimed by Egypt—all of Judah from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.)