2 Chronicles 36

1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and they appointed him king in place of his father, in Jerusalem.

Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem.

2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem.

Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

3 Then the king of Egypt, when he had arrived in Jerusalem, removed him, and condemned the land to one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

The king of Egypt removed him at Jerusalem, and fined the land one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

4 And he appointed Eliakim, his brother, as king in his place, over Judah and Jerusalem. And he changed his name to Jehoiakim. Truly, he took Jehoahaz with him, and he led him away to Egypt.

The king of Egypt made Eliakim, who was the brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem (and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim). Then Necho took Eliakim's brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt.

5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil before the Lord his God.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God.

6 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Chaldeans, ascended against him, and led him bound in chains to Babylon.

Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked him and bound him in chains to lead him away to Babylon.

7 And to there, he also took away the vessels of the Lord, and he placed them in his temple.

Nebuchadnezzar also carried some of the objects in the house of Yahweh to Babylon, and put them in his palace at Babylon.

8 But the rest of the words of Jehoiakim, and his abominations that he worked, and the things that were found in him, are contained in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. Then his son, Jehoiachin, reigned in his place.

As for the other matters concerning Jehoiakim, the disgusting things that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. Then Jehoiachin, his son, became king in his place.

9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh.

10 And when the course of a year had turned, king Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, carrying away, at the same time, the most precious vessels of the house of the Lord. Truly, he appointed his uncle, Zedekiah, as king over Judah and Jerusalem.

In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and brought him to Babylon, with the valuable things from the house of Yahweh, and made Zedekiah, his relative, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he had begun to reign. And he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem.

Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

12 And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. And he did not show remorse before the face of the prophet Jeremiah, who was speaking to him from the mouth of the Lord.

He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of Yahweh.

13 Also, he withdrew from king Nebuchadnezzar, who had bound him by an oath to God, and he hardened his own neck and his own heart, so that he did not return to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear loyalty to him by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

14 Then too, all the leaders of the priests, with the people, transgressed iniquitously, in accord with all the abominations of the Gentiles. And they polluted the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified to himself in Jerusalem.

Moreover, all the leaders of the priests and the people were extremely unfaithful, and they followed the disgusting practices of the nations. They polluted the house of Yahweh which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

15 Then the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent to them, by the hand of his messengers, rising in the night and daily admonishing them. For he was lenient to his people and to his habitation.

Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them by his messengers again and again, because he had compassion on his people and on the place where he lives.

16 But they ridiculed the messengers of God, and they gave little weight to his words, and they mocked the prophets, until the fury of the Lord ascended against his people, and there was no remedy.

But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against his people, until there was no help for it.

17 For he led over them the king of the Chaldeans. And he put to death their young men by the sword, in the house of his sanctuary. There was no pity for adolescents, nor virgins, nor the elderly, nor even for the disabled. Instead, he delivered them all into his hands.

So God brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and had no compassion on young men or virgins, old men or the gray-haired. God gave them all into his hand.

18 And all the vessels of the house of Lord, as much the greater as the lesser, and the treasures of the temple, and of the king and the rulers, he carried away to Babylon.

All the furnishings of the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king and his officials—all these he took to Babylon.

19 The enemies set fire to the house of God, and they destroyed the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the towers. And whatever was precious, they demolished.

They burned down the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all the beautiful things in it.

20 If anyone had escaped from the sword, he was led into Babylon. And he served the king and his sons, until the king of Persia would command,

The king carried away to Babylon those who had escaped the sword. They became servants for him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia.

21 and the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah would be fulfilled, and the land would celebrate her Sabbaths. For during all the days of the desolation, she kept a Sabbath, until the seventy years were completed.

This happened to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land should have enjoyed its Sabbath rests. It observed its Sabbath for as long as it lay abandoned, in order to pass seventy years in this way.

22 Then, in the first year of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, who commanded this to be proclaimed throughout his entire kingdom, and also in writing, saying:

Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be carried out, Yahweh motivated the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing. He said,

23 “Thus says Cyrus, the king of the Persians: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he has instructed me that I should build for him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who among you is from his entire people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him ascend.”

“This is what Cyrus, king of Persia, says: Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has commanded me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you from all his people, may Yahweh your God, be with you. Let him go up to the land.”