Chapter 24
1 [a]During his reign Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. He then changed his path and rebelled against him.
2 The Lord sent bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites against him. They attacked Judah to destroy it, fulfilling the word of the Lord which he had spoken through his servants, the prophets. 3 This surely came upon Judah at the command of the Lord so that he might remove them from out of his sight on account of the sins of Manasseh and everything that he had done 4 and on account of the innocent blood that he had shed, for he covered Jerusalem with innocent blood, something that the Lord would not forgive.
5 As for the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
6 Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin, his son, reigned in his stead.
7 The king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to him all the way from the River of Egypt up to the Euphrates River.
Reign of Jehoiachin.[b] 8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta. She was the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.
9 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, everything that his fathers had done. 10 During his reign, the servants of Nebu-chadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up to Jerusalem and the city was besieged. 11 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem while his servants were besieging it.
12 Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officials. The king of Babylon carried him off during the eighth year of his reign. 13 He carried off all of the treasures from the temple of the Lord and the treasures from the royal palace. He cut to pieces all of the gold vessels that Solomon, the king of Israel, had made for the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had foretold. 14 He carried away all of Jerusalem and all of its princes and all of its brave warriors. There were ten thousand captives, and no craftsmen or iron smiths remained, only the poorest of the people were left. 15 He carried Jehoiachin off to Babylon along with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the important people of the land. He carried them off into captivity in Babylon. 16 The king of Babylon brought them into captivity, all of the important people, seven thousand of them, and the craftsmen and iron smiths, one thousand of them, and all of those who were strong and ready for war.
17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah king in his father’s stead, and he changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 Reign of Zedekiah.[c] Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.
19 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, everything that Jehoiakim had done. 20 This happened to Jerusalem and Judah on account of the anger of the Lord, and he cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah then rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 24:1 Egyptian overlordship ceased after the battle of Carchemish (605 B.C.), which changed the map of the Middle East. Babylonia then came on the scene of history to execute the judgment of God. Indeed, according to the author, everything that happens has its source in the anger of God at the infidelity of the people; Jeremiah will describe this anger as seen through the prism of his own sensibilities. See in Jer 36 an incident in which Jehoiakim shows his contempt for the prophet.
- 2 Kings 24:8 King Jehoiachin pays for the rebellion of his father: he is deported along with the entire court and selected members of the population. The temple is sacked. This king’s name is given as Jechoniah or Coniah in Jeremiah and in Mt 1:11-12.
- 2 Kings 24:18 Zedekiah brings the sin of Judah to its completion and hastens the destruction of the country. The section from 24:18—25:30 is repeated as the conclusion of the Book of Jeremiah (ch. 52). In Jer 37–38, there is also a record of the meetings and conversation between the prophet (who urges the uselessness of resistance) and the king.