2 Chronicles 36

1 And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, —and made him king instead of his father, in Jerusalem.

Then the people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and appointed him as the king in Jerusalem.

2 Twenty-three years old, was Joahaz when he began to reign, —and, three months, reigned he in Jerusalem.

Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became the king, but he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months.

3 And the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem, —and condemned the land, in a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

King Neco of Egypt [captured him and] prevented him from ruling any longer. He also forced the people of Judah to pay him a tax of almost four tons of silver and about 75 pounds of gold.

4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim, —but Neco took, Joahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.

The king of Egypt appointed Jehoahaz’s [younger] brother Eliakim to be the king of Judah. He changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. After Neco captured Jehoahaz, he took him to Egypt.

5 Twenty-five years old, was Jehoiakim when he began to reign, and, eleven years, reigned he in Jerusalem, —and he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh his God.

Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for 11 years. He did things that Yahweh his God considers to be evil.

6 Against him, came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, —and bound him in fetters of bronze, to carry him to Babylon.

Then the army of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jehoiakim’s army. They [captured Jehoiakim and] bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon.

7 And, some of the utensils of the house of Yahweh, did Nebuchadnezzar carry to Babylon, —and put them in his own temple in Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers also took valuable things from the temple; they took them to Babylon and put them in king [Nebuchadnezzar’s] palace there.

8 But, the rest of the story of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he made, and that which was found upon him, there they are, written in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, —and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

A record of the other things that happened while Jehoiakim was ruling, the detestable things that he did, including the evil things that people said that he did, is written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah’. After [he was taken to Babylon], his son Jehoiachin became the king [of Judah].

9 Eight years old, was Jehoiachin when he began to reign, and, three months and ten days, reigned he in Jerusalem, and he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh;

Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months and ten days. He did things that Yahweh considers to be evil.

10 and, when the year came round, King Nebuchadnezzar sent, and carried him to Babylon, with the precious utensils of the house of Yahweh, —and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.

During the spring of the next year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent [soldiers] to bring him to Babylon. They also took to Babylon many valuable things from the temple of Yahweh. Then Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, to be the king of Judah.

11 Twenty-one years old, was Zedekiah when he began to reign, —and, eleven years, reigned he in Jerusalem.

Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became the king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years.

12 And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh his God, -he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, from the mouth of Yahweh.

He did many things that Yahweh his God considered to be evil. And he did not humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah gave him a message from Yahweh [to warn him].

13 Moreover also—against King Nebuchadnezzar, he rebelled, who had made him swear by God, -and he stiffened his neck, and emboldened his heart, from turning unto Yahweh, God of Israel.

He would not return to Yahweh, the God that the people of Israel [said that they worshiped]. Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had forced him to solemnly promise using God’s name [to be loyal to him]. Zedekiah became very stubborn.

14 Also, all the rulers of the priests and of the people, abounded in committing treachery, according to all the abominable ways of the nations, —and polluted the house of Yahweh, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and also the people [of Judah] became more wicked again, doing all the detestable things that the people of the other nations did, and causing the temple in Jerusalem that Yahweh had caused to be holy to become [an] unacceptable [place to worship him].

15 And, though Yahweh God of their fathers sent unto them through his messengers, zealously sending them, —because he had compassion upon his people and upon his habitation,

Yahweh, the God whom the ancestors [of the people of Judah belonged to/worshiped], gave messages to his prophets many times, and the prophets told those messages to the people of Judah. Yahweh did that because he pitied his people and did not want his temple to be destroyed.

16 yet became they mockers of the messengers of God, and despisers of his words, and mimics of his prophets, —until the mounting up of the wrath of Yahweh against his people, until there was no healing.

But the people continually made fun of God’s messengers. They despised God’s messages. They ridiculed his prophets, until finally God became extremely angry with his people, with the result that nothing could stop him [from destroying Judah].

17 So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword, in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or virgin, elder or ancient, -all, delivered he into his hand.

He incited the king of Babylonia to attack [Judah with his army]. They killed the young men with their swords, even in the temple. They did not spare/pity anyone, young men or young women or old people. God enabled the army of Nebuchadnezzar to kill all of them.

18 And, all the utensils of the house of God, both great and small, and the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king and of his rulers, the whole, carried he to Babylon;

His soldiers took to Babylon all the things that were used in God’s temple—big things and little things, all the valuable things, and the valuable things that belonged to the king and his officials.

19 and they burned the house of God, and threw down the wall of Jerusalem, —and, all the palaces thereof, burned they with fire, and, all the precious vessels thereof, he destroyed;

They burned the temple, and they broke down the wall surrounding Jerusalem. They burned all the palaces [in Jerusalem] and destroyed all the remaining valuable things there.

20 and he exiled the remnant left from the sword, into Babylon, —where they became his and his sons, as servants, until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:

Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers took to Babylon the remaining people who had not been killed with their swords. Then those people became the king’s slaves and his son’s slaves, until the [army of the] king of Persia conquered [the army of Babylonia].

21 to fulfil the word of God, by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had paid off her sabbaths, —all the days of her lying desolate, she kept sabbath, to fulfil seventy years.

[Moses had said that every seventh year the people must not plant their fields; they must allow the soil to rest. But the people had not done that. So after the army of Babylonia destroyed Judah, ] the soil was allowed to rest. That continued for 70 years, fulfilling what Yahweh told Jeremiah and what Jeremiah had predicted/prophesied would happen.

22 But, in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to accomplish the word of God by the mouth of Jeremiah, Yahweh aroused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made proclamation throughout all his kingdom, moreover also in writing, saying:

During the first year that Cyrus was the king of Persia, in order that what Yahweh told Jeremiah would happen would occur, Yahweh motivated Cyrus to write this and proclaim it throughout his kingdom:

23 Thus, saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth, hath Yahweh God of the heavens, given unto me, and, he himself, hath laid charge upon me, to build to him a house, in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people with whom is Yahweh his God? Then let him go up.

“I, Cyrus, the king of Persia, declare that Yahweh, the God [who rules] in heaven, has enabled me to become the ruler of all the kingdoms of this world. And he wants me to [command that my workers] build a temple {a temple be built} for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of his people living among you people of Persia are allowed to go to Jerusalem. And I will pray that Yahweh will be with them.”