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2 Chronicles 35-36
Easy-to-Read Version
2 Chronicles 35-36
Easy-to-Read Version
Josiah Celebrates Passover
35 King Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was killed on the 14th day of the first month. 2 Josiah chose the priests to do their duties. He encouraged the priests while they were serving in the Lord’s Temple. 3 He spoke to the Levites who taught the Israelites and who were made holy for service to the Lord. He said to the Levites, “Put the Holy Box in the Temple that Solomon built. Solomon was David’s son. David was king of Israel. Don’t carry the Holy Box from place to place on your shoulders again. Now serve the Lord your God and his people, the Israelites. 4 Make yourselves ready for service in the Temple by your tribes. Do the jobs that King David and his son King Solomon gave you to do. 5 Stand in the Holy Place with a group of Levites. Do this for each different tribe of the people so that you can help them. 6 Kill the Passover lambs and make yourselves holy to the Lord. Get ready to help your fellow Israelites. Do everything the Lord commanded us in the laws he gave to Moses.”
7 Josiah gave the Israelites 30,000 sheep and goats to kill for the Passover sacrifices. He also gave 3000 cattle to the people. All these animals were from King Josiah’s own animals. 8 Josiah’s officials also freely gave animals and things to the people, to the priests, and Levites to use for the Passover. Hilkiah the high priest, Zechariah, and Jehiel were the officials in charge of the Temple. They gave the priests 2600 lambs and goats and 300 bulls for Passover sacrifices. 9 Also Conaniah with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad gave 500 sheep and goats and 500 bulls for Passover sacrifices to the Levites. These men were leaders of the Levites.
10 When everything was ready for the Passover service to begin, the priests and Levites went to their places. This is what the king commanded. 11 The Passover lambs were killed. Then the Levites skinned the animals and gave the blood to the priests. The priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. 12 Then they gave the animals to be used for burnt offerings to the different tribes. This was done so that the burnt offerings could be offered to the Lord the way the Law of Moses taught. And they did the same with the bulls. 13 The Levites roasted the Passover sacrifices over the fire in the way they were commanded. And they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. Then they quickly gave the meat to the people. 14 After this was finished, the Levites got meat for themselves and for the priests who were descendants of Aaron. These priests were kept very busy, working until it got dark. They worked hard burning the burnt offerings and the fat of the sacrifices. 15 The Levite singers from Asaph’s family got in the places that King David had chosen for them to stand. They were Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet. The gatekeepers at each gate did not have to leave their places because their brother Levites made everything ready for them for the Passover.
16 So everything was done that day for the worship of the Lord as King Josiah commanded. The Passover was celebrated and the burnt offerings were offered on the Lord’s altar. 17 The Israelites who were there celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 Passover hadn’t been celebrated like this since the time of Samuel the prophet! None of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover like this. King Josiah, the priests, the Levites, and the people of Judah and Israel who were there with all the people in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover in a very special way. 19 They celebrated this Passover in Josiah’s 18th year as king.
The Death of Josiah
20 Josiah did all these good things for the Temple. Later, King Neco of Egypt led an army to fight against the town of Carchemish on the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to fight against Neco. 21 But Neco sent messengers to Josiah.
They said, “King Josiah, this war is not your problem. I didn’t come to fight against you. I came to fight my enemies. God told me to hurry. He is on my side, so don’t bother me. If you fight against me, God will destroy you!”
22 But Josiah did not go away. He put on different clothes to hide who he was and went to fight the battle. Josiah refused to listen to the warning Neco had received from God and went to fight on the plain of Megiddo. 23 Then King Josiah was shot by arrows while he was in the battle. He told his servants, “Take me away, I am wounded badly!”
24 So the servants took Josiah out of his chariot and put him in another chariot he had brought with him to the battle. Then they took Josiah to Jerusalem. He died there and was buried in the tombs where his ancestors were buried. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem were very sad because Josiah was dead. 25 Jeremiah wrote and sang some funeral songs for Josiah. And the men and women singers still sing these sad songs today. It became something the people of Israel always do—they sing a sad song for Josiah. These songs are written in the book, Funeral Songs.
26-27 Everything else Josiah did while he was king, from the beginning to the end of his rule, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. The book tells about the way he served God faithfully by obeying the law of the Lord.
Jehoahaz, King of Judah
36 The people of Judah chose Jehoahaz to be the new king in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was Josiah’s son. 2 He was 23 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for three months. 3 Then King Neco from Egypt made Jehoahaz a prisoner. Neco made the people of Judah pay 3 3/4 tons[a] of silver and 75 pounds[b] of gold for a fine. 4 Neco chose Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Neco gave Eliakim a new name. He named him Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt.
Jehoiakim, King of Judah
5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became the new king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. Jehoiakim did not obey God. He did what the Lord his God considered evil.
6 King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon attacked Judah. He made Jehoiakim a prisoner and put bronze chains on him. Then Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiakim to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the Lord’s Temple. He carried them to Babylon and put them in his own house. 8 Everything else Jehoiakim did, the terrible sins he did, and everything he was guilty of doing, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became the new king in his place.
Jehoiachin, King of Judah
9 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did not obey God. He did what the Lord considered evil. 10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent some servants to get Jehoiachin. They brought Jehoiachin and some valuable treasures from the Lord’s Temple to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah to be the new king of Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah was one of Jehoiachin’s relatives.
Zedekiah, King of Judah
11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah. He was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. 12 Zedekiah did what the Lord his God considered evil. Jeremiah the prophet told him messages from the Lord. But Zedekiah did not humble himself and obey what Jeremiah said.
Jerusalem Is Destroyed
13 Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. In the past Nebuchadnezzar forced Zedekiah to make a promise to be faithful to him. Zedekiah used God’s name and promised to be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. But Zedekiah was stubborn and would not change his life. He refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Also, all the leaders of the priests and the leaders of the people of Judah sinned worse and became more unfaithful to the Lord. They followed the evil example of the other nations. They ruined the Temple that the Lord had made holy in Jerusalem. 15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this because he felt sorry for them and for his Temple. He didn’t want to destroy them or his Temple. 16 But they made fun of God’s prophets and refused to listen to them. They hated God’s messages. Finally, the Lord could not hold his anger any longer. He became angry with his people and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. 17 So God brought the king of Babylon to attack the people of Judah and Jerusalem.[c] The king of Babylon killed the young men even when they were in the Temple. He didn’t have mercy on the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The king of Babylon killed young and old people. He killed men and women. He killed sick and healthy people. God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 18 Nebuchadnezzar carried all the things in God’s Temple away to Babylon. He took all the valuable things from the Lord’s Temple, from the king, and from the king’s officials. 19 Nebuchadnezzar and his army burned the Temple. They broke down Jerusalem’s wall and burned all the houses that belonged to the king and his officials. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem. 20 Nebuchadnezzar took the people who were still alive back to Babylon and forced them to be slaves. They stayed in Babylon as slaves until the Persian kingdom defeated the kingdom of Babylon. 21 The land of Judah became an empty desert and stayed that way for 70 years. All this time the land rested to make up for the Sabbath rests[d] that the people had not kept. This is just what the Lord said would happen in the warning he gave through the prophet Jeremiah.[e]
22 During the first year that Cyrus[f] was king of Persia, the Lord caused Cyrus to make a special announcement. He did this so that what the Lord promised through Jeremiah the prophet would really happen. Cyrus sent messengers to every place in his kingdom. They carried this message:
23 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
The Lord, the God of heaven, made me king over the whole earth. He gave me the responsibility of building a Temple for him in Jerusalem. Now, all of you who are his people are free to go to Jerusalem. And may the Lord your God be with you.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 3 3/4 tons Literally, “100 talents” (3450 kg).
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 75 pounds Literally, “1 talent” (34.5 kg).
- 2 Chronicles 36:17 This happened in the year 586 B.C., when Jerusalem was finally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 Sabbath rests The Law said that every seventh year the land was not to be farmed. See Lev. 25:1-7.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 warning … Jeremiah See Jer. 25:11; 29:10.
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 the first year … Cyrus This was about 539–538 B.C.
2 Chronicles 35-36
New International Version
2 Chronicles 35-36
New International Version
Josiah Celebrates the Passover(A)
35 Josiah celebrated the Passover(B) to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord’s temple. 3 He said to the Levites, who instructed(C) all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord: “Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions,(D) according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.
5 “Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people. 6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves(E) and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses.”
7 Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings,(F) and also three thousand cattle—all from the king’s own possessions.(G)
8 His officials also contributed(H) voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah,(I) Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God’s temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle. 9 Also Konaniah(J) along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad,(K) the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.
10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions(L) as the king had ordered.(M) 11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered,(N) and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed,(O) and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people. 14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions(P) until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.
15 The musicians,(Q) the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king’s seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.
16 So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had ordered. 17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.
The Death of Josiah(R)
20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish(S) on the Euphrates,(T) and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21 But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told(U) me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.”
22 Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised(V) himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.
23 Archers(W) shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, “Take me away; I am badly wounded.” 24 So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.
25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments.(X) These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.(Y)
26 The other events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion in accordance with what is written in the Law of the Lord— 27 all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 36 1 And the people(Z) of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.
Jehoahaz King of Judah(AA)
2 Jehoahaz[a] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. 3 The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents[b] of silver and a talent[c] of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Necho(AB) took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.(AC)
Jehoiakim King of Judah(AD)
5 Jehoiakim(AE) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar(AF) king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.(AG) 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in his temple[d] there.(AH)
8 The other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.
Jehoiachin King of Judah(AI)
9 Jehoiachin(AJ) was eighteen[e] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 10 In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon,(AK) together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord, and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle,[f] Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah King of Judah(AL)
11 Zedekiah(AM) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord(AN) his God and did not humble(AO) himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath(AP) in God’s name. He became stiff-necked(AQ) and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful,(AR) following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
The Fall of Jerusalem(AS)(AT)
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers(AU) again and again,(AV) because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed(AW) at his prophets until the wrath(AX) of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.(AY) 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,[g](AZ) who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men(BA) or young women, the elderly or the infirm.(BB) God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.(BC) 18 He carried to Babylon all the articles(BD) from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire(BE) to God’s temple(BF) and broke down the wall(BG) of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed(BH) everything of value there.(BI)
20 He carried into exile(BJ) to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants(BK) to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests;(BL) all the time of its desolation it rested,(BM) until the seventy years(BN) were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.
22 In the first year of Cyrus(BO) king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
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(BP) me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’”
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 36:2 Hebrew Joahaz, a variant of Jehoahaz; also in verse 4
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
- 2 Chronicles 36:3 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
- 2 Chronicles 36:7 Or palace
- 2 Chronicles 36:9 One Hebrew manuscript, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 2 Kings 24:8); most Hebrew manuscripts eight
- 2 Chronicles 36:10 Hebrew brother, that is, relative (see 2 Kings 24:17)
- 2 Chronicles 36:17 Or Chaldeans
2 Chronicles 35-36
King James Version
2 Chronicles 35-36
King James Version
35 Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the Lord,
3 And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the Lord, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the Lord your God, and his people Israel,
4 And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.
5 And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites.
6 So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
7 And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance.
8 And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle and three hundred oxen.
9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.
10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment.
11 And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.
12 And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.
13 And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people.
14 And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.
15 And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.
16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of king Josiah.
17 And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.
18 And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.
21 But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.
22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
23 And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded.
24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
25 And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the Lord,
27 And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
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.
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