Jehoahaz King of Judah
36 The people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz. They made him king in Jerusalem in his father’s place.
2 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months. 3 Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz no longer a king in Jerusalem. Neco made the people of Judah pay about 7,500 pounds of silver and about 75 pounds of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim the king of Judah and Jerusalem. Then Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz to Egypt.
Jehoiakim King of Judah
5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. He did what the Lord his God said was wrong. 6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Judah. He captured Jehoiakim and put bronze chains on him. Then Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the Temple of the Lord. And he took them to Babylon and put them in his own palace.
8 The other things Jehoiakim did as king are written down. The hated things he did and everything he was guilty of doing are recorded. They are in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
Jehoiachin King of Judah
9 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did what the Lord said was wrong. 10 In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent some servants to get Jehoiachin. They took him and some valuable treasures from the Temple of the Lord to Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah the king of Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah King of Judah
11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. 12 Zedekiah did what the Lord his God said was wrong. The prophet Jeremiah spoke messages from the Lord. But Zedekiah did not obey.
Jerusalem Is Destroyed
13 Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had forced Zedekiah to promise to be loyal to him. And Zedekiah had promised, using God’s name. But Zedekiah became stubborn. He refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 Also, all the leaders of the priests and the people of Judah became more wicked. They followed the evil example of the other nations. The Lord had made the Temple in Jerusalem holy. But the leaders made the Temple unholy.
The Fall of Jerusalem
15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this because he had pity for them and for his Temple. 16 But they made fun of God’s prophets. They hated God’s messages. So they refused to listen to the prophets. Finally God became so angry with his people that he could not be stopped. 17 So God brought the king of Babylon to attack them. The king killed the young men even when they were in the Temple. He did not have mercy on the people. He killed both young men and women. He even killed the old men and those who were sick. God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 18 Nebuchadnezzar carried away to Babylon all the things from the Temple of God, both large and small. He took all the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and from the king and his officers. 19 Nebuchadnezzar and his army set fire to God’s Temple. They broke down Jerusalem’s wall. And they burned all the palaces. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem.
20 Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon the people who were left alive. And he forced them to be slaves for him and his descendants. They remained there as slaves until the Persian kingdom defeated Babylon. 21 And so what the Lord had told Israel through the prophet Jeremiah happened. The Lord had said that place would be an empty wasteland for 70 years. This happened to make up for the years of Sabbath rests[a] that the people had not kept.
22 It was the first year Cyrus was king of Persia. The Lord caused Cyrus to write an announcement and send it everywhere in his kingdom. This happened so the Lord’s message spoken by Jeremiah would come true.
23 This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given all the kingdoms of the earth to me. And he has appointed me to build a Temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Now all of you who are God’s people are free to go to Jerusalem. May the Lord your God be with you.”
Footnotes
- 36:21 Sabbath rests The Law said that every seventh year the land was not to be farmed. See Leviticus 25:1–7.