2 Kings 24

1During his reign Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

2Yahweh sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in keeping with the word of Yahweh that he had spoken through his servants the prophets.

3Surely this came upon Judah at Yahweh’s command, to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh, because of all that he had done,

4and also because of the innocent blood he had shed, for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Yahweh was not willing to forgive.

5As for the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

6Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

7The king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, for the king of Babylon had taken all that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.

9He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, just as his father had done.

10At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.

11Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his officers were besieging it.

12Jehoiachin king of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon, he and his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.

13He carried off from there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh and the treasures of the king’s palace, and he cut up all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of Yahweh, as Yahweh had said would happen.

14He took into exile all Jerusalem: all the commanders and all the mighty warriors, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and metalworkers. No one was left except the poorest people of the land.

15He took Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon. He also took the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all the fighting men, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and metalworkers, a thousand, all of them strong and fit for war.

17The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.

19He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, just as Jehoiakim had done.

20It was because of Yahweh’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally thrust them out of his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.