HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 784
2 C H RO N I C L ES 3 6
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
three months.
3 Then he was deposed by the king of Egypt,
who demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of
silver and 75 pounds of gold* as tribute.
Jehoiakim Rules in Judah
4 The king of Egypt then installed Eliakim, the
brother of Jehoahaz, as the next king of Judah
and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name
to Jehoiakim. Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt
as a prisoner.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight
of the Lord his God.
6 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came
to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to
Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took some of
the treasures from the Temple of the Lord, and
he placed them in his palace* in Babylon.
8 The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign,
including all the evil things he did and everything found against him, are recorded in The
Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Then his
son Jehoiachin became the next king.
Jehoiachin Rules in Judah
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen* years old when he
became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three
months and ten days. Jehoiachin did what was
evil in the Lord’s sight.
10 In the spring of the year* King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon. Many treasures from the Temple of the Lord were also
taken to Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin’s uncle,* Zedekiah,
as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah Rules in Judah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
eleven years. 12 But Zedekiah did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord his God, and he refused
to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah
spoke to him directly from the Lord. 13 He also
rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even
though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s
name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man,
refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.
14 Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and
the people became more and more unfaithful.
They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the
Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.
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15 The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he
had compassion on his people and his Temple.
16 But the people mocked these messengers of
God and despised their words. They scoffed
at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could
no longer be restrained and nothing could
be done.
The Fall of Jerusalem
17 So the Lord brought the king of Babylon
against them. The Babylonians* killed Judah’s
young men, even chasing after them into the
Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old
and the infirm. God handed all of them over to
Nebuchadnezzar. 18 The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in
the Temple of God, and the treasures from both
the Lord’s Temple and from the palace of the
king and his officials. 19 Then his army burned
the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely
destroyed everything of value.* 20 The few who
survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and
they became servants to the king and his sons
until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
21 So the message of the Lord spoken through
Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed
its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet
had said.
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
22 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,*
the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given
through Jeremiah.* He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to
send it throughout his kingdom:
23 “This
is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has
given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He
has appointed me to build him a Temple
at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of
you who are his people may go there for
this task. And may the Lord your God be
with you!”
36:3 Hebrew 100 talents [3,400 kilograms] of silver and
1 talent [34 kilograms] of gold. 36:7 Or temple. 36:9 As
in one Hebrew manuscript, some Greek manuscripts, and
Syriac version (see also 2 Kgs 24:8); most Hebrew manuscripts
read eight. 36:10a Hebrew At the turn of the year. The first
day of this year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar was
April 13, 597 b.c. 36:10b As in parallel text at 2 Kgs 24:17;
Hebrew reads brother, or relative. 36:17 Or Chaldeans.
36:19 Or destroyed all the valuable articles from the Temple.
36:22a The first year of Cyrus’s reign over Babylon was
538 b.c. 36:22b See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.