2 Chronicles 36
New American Standard Bible
Joahaz, Jehoiakim, Then Jehoiachin Rule
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 Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem, and imposed a fine on the land of [b]a hundred talents of silver and [c]one talent of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made [d]Joahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But (C)Neco took his brother Joahaz and brought him to Egypt.
5 (D)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up (E)against him and (F)bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. 7 (G)Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and he put them in his temple in Babylon. 8 (H)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and [e]the abominations which he committed, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
9 (I)Jehoiachin was [f]eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord.
Captivity in Babylon Begun
10 (J)At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and had him brought to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the Lord; and he made his relative (K)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Rules in Judah
11 (L)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; (M)he did not humble himself (N)before Jeremiah the prophet [g]who spoke for the Lord. 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 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 Yet the Lord, the God of their fathers, (Q)sent 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 (R)mocked the messengers of God, (S)despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, (T)until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy. 17 (U)So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or frail; He handed them all over to him. 18 (V)He brought all 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 his officers, to Babylon. 19 Then (W)they 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 He (X)took into exile those who had escaped from the sword to Babylon; and (Y)they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 (Z)to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until (AA)the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. (AB)All the days of its desolation it kept the Sabbath [h](AC)until seventy years were complete.
Cyrus Permits Return
22 (AD)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord (AE)by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord (AF)stirred 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 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘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; [i]go up then!’”
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:1 I.e., short form of Jehoahaz
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 About 3.75 tons or 3.4 metric tons
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 About 75 lb. or 34 kg
- 2 Chronicles 36:4 Lit his
- 2 Chronicles 36:8 Lit his
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 As in LXX and some Heb mss; MT eight years
- 2 Chronicles 36:12 Lit from the mouth of the Lord
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 Lit to fulfill seventy years
- 2 Chronicles 36:23 Lit and he is to go up; i.e., go to Jerusalem
2 Chronicles 36
King James Version
36 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
2 Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3 And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.
6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
10 And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord.
13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel.
14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.
18 And all the vessels 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 princes; all these he brought to Babylon.
19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
21 To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.
2 Chronicles 36
Living Bible
36 Josiah’s son Jehoahaz was selected as the new king. 2 He was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, but lasted only three months. 3 Then he was deposed by the king of Egypt, who demanded an annual tribute from Judah of $230,000.
4 The king of Egypt now appointed Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, as the new king of Judah. (Eliakim’s name was changed to Jehoiakim.) Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt as a prisoner. 5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; but his reign was an evil one. 6 Finally Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon conquered Jerusalem and took away the king in chains to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the gold bowls and other items from the Temple, placing them in his own temple in Babylon. 8 The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all the evil he did are written in The Annals of the Kings of Judah; and his son Jehoiachin became the new king.
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen[a] years old when he ascended the throne. But he lasted only three months and ten days, and it was an evil reign as far as the Lord was concerned. 10 The following spring he was summoned to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Many treasures from the Temple were taken away to Babylon at that time, and King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin’s brother Zedekiah as the new king of Judah and Jerusalem.
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 His reign, too, was evil so far as the Lord was concerned, for he refused to take the counsel of Jeremiah the prophet, who gave him messages from the Lord. 13 He rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man so far as obeying the Lord God of Israel was concerned, for he refused to follow him.
14 All the important people of the nation, including the High Priests, worshiped the heathen idols of the surrounding nations, thus polluting the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. 15 Jehovah the God of their fathers sent his prophets again and again to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and on his Temple. 16 But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words, scoffing at the prophets until the anger of the Lord could no longer be restrained, and there was no longer any remedy.
17 Then the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them and killed their young men, even going after them right into the Temple, and had no pity upon them, killing even young girls and old men. The Lord used the king of Babylon to destroy them completely. 18 He also took home with him all the items, great and small, used in the Temple, and treasures from both the Temple and the palace, and took with him all the royal princes. 19 Then his army burned the Temple and broke down the walls of Jerusalem and burned all the palaces and destroyed all the valuable Temple utensils. 20 Those who survived were taken away to Babylon as slaves to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia conquered Babylon.
21 Thus the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah came true, that the land must rest for seventy years to make up for the years when the people refused to observe the Sabbath.
22-23 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to make this proclamation throughout his kingdom, putting it into writing:
“All the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of heaven, and he has instructed me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah. All among you who are the Lord’s people return to Israel for this task, and the Lord be with you.”
This also fulfilled the prediction of Jeremiah the prophet.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 eighteen. Some manuscripts read “eight years old.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.