2 Chronicles 36

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

Then the people of the lande tooke Iehoahaz the sonne of Iosiah, and made him king in his fathers steade in Ierusalem.

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

Iehoahaz was three and twentie yeere old when he began to reigne, and he reigned three moneths in Ierusalem.

3 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.

And the King of Egypt tooke him away at Ierusalem, and condemned the lande in an hundreth talents of siluer, and a talent of gold.

4 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.

And the King of Egypt made Eliakim his brother King ouer Iudah and Ierusalem, and turned his name to Iehoiakim: and Necho tooke Iehoahaz his brother, and caryed him to Egypt.

5 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.

Iehoiakim was fiue and twentie yeere old, when he began to reigne, and he reigned eleuen yeere in Ierusalem, and did euill in the sight of the Lord his God.

6 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.

Against him came vp Nebuchadnezzar King of Babel, and bounde him with chaines to cary him to Babel.

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

Nebuchadnezzar also caryed of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babel, and put them in his temple at Babel.

8 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].

Concerning the rest of the actes of Iehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was founde vpon him, behold, they are written in the booke of the Kings of Israel and Iudah, and Iehoiachin his sonne reigned in his stead.

9 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.

Iehoiachin was eight yeere olde when he beganne to reigne, and he reigned three moneths and ten dayes in Ierusalem, and did euill in the sight of the Lord.

10 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.

And when the yeere was out, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babel with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and he made Zedekiah his brother King ouer Iudah and Ierusalem.

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

Zedekiah was one and twentie yeere olde, when he beganne to reigne, and reigned eleuen yeere in Ierusalem.

12 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].

And he did euill in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himselfe before Ieremiah the Prophet at the commandement of the Lord,

13 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.

But he rebelled moreouer against Nebuchadnezzar, which had caused him to sweare by God: and he hardened his necke and made his heart obstinate that he might not returne to the Lord God of Israel.

14 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].

All the chiefe of the Priestes also and of the people trespassed wonderfully, according to all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the Lord which he had sanctified in Ierusalem.

15 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.

Therefore the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising earely and sending: for he had compassion on his people, and on his habitation.

16 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].

But they mocked the messengers of God and despised his wordes, and misused his Prophets, vntill the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, and till there was no remedie.

17 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.

For he brought vpon them the King of the Caldeans, who slewe their yong men with the sworde in the house of their Sanctuarie, and spared neither yong man, nor virgin, ancient, nor aged. God gaue all into his hande,

18 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.

And all the vessels of the house of God great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the King, and of his princes: all these caryed he to Babel.

19 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.

And they burnt the house of God, and brake downe the wall of Ierusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and all the precious vessels thereof, to destroy all.

20 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].

And they that were left by the sworde, caryed he away to Babel, and they were seruants to him and to his sonnes, vntill the kingdome of the Persians had rule,

21 [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.

To fulfill the worde of the Lord by the mouth of Ieremiah, vntill the lande had her fill of her Sabbaths: for all the dayes that she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seuentie yeeres.

22 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:

But in the first yeere of Cyrus King of Persia (when the worde of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of Ieremiah, was finished) the Lord stirred vp the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia, and he made a proclamation through all his kingdome, and also by writing, saying,

23 “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.”

Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia, All the kingdomes of the earth hath the Lord God of heauen giuen me, and hath commanded me to build him an house in Ierusalem, that is in Iudah. Who is among you of all his people, with whom the Lord his God is? let him goe vp.