1 In his dayes came Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel vp, and Iehoiakim became his seruant three yeere: afterwarde he turned, and rebelled against him. 2 And the Lord sent against him bandes of the Caldees, and bands of the Aramites, and bands of the Moabites, and bandes of the Ammonites, and he sent them against Iudah to destroy it, according to the worde of the Lord, which he spake by his seruants the Prophets. 3 Surely by the commandement of the Lord came this vpon Iudah, that he might put them out of his sight for the sinnes of Manasseh, according to all that he did, 4 And for the innocent blood that he shed, (for he filled Ierusalem with innocent blood) therefore the Lord would not pardon it. 5 Concerning the rest of the actes of Iehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kinges of Iudah? 6 So Iehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Iehoiachin his sonne reigned in his steade. 7 And the King of Egypt came no more out of his lande: for the King of Babel had taken from the riuer of Egypt, vnto the riuer Perath, all that pertained to the King of Egypt. 8 Iehoiachin was eighteene yere old, when he beganne to reigne, and reigned in Ierusalem three moneths. His mothers name also was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Ierusalem. 9 And he did euill in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done. 10 In that time came the seruants of Nebuchad-nezzar king of Babel vp against Ierusalem: so the citie was besieged. 11 And Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel came against the citie, and his seruants did besiege it. 12 Then Iehoiachin the king of Iudah came out against the King of Babel, he, and his mother and his seruants, and his princes, and his eunuches: and the King of Babel tooke him in the eyght yeere of his reigne. 13 And he caryed out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the Kings house, and brake all the vessels of gold, which Salomon King of Israel had made in the Temple of the Lord, as the Lord had saide. 14 And he caryed away all Ierusalem, and all the princes, and all the strong men of warre, euen ten thousande into captiuitie, and all the workemen, and cunning men: so none remained sauing the poore people of the lande. 15 And he caryed away Iehoiachin into Babel, and the Kings mother, and the Kinges wiues, and his eunuches, and the mightie of the lande caryed he away into captiuitie from Ierusalem to Babel, 16 And al the men of warre, euen seuen thousand, and carpenters, and lockesmithes a thousande: all that were strong and apt for warre, did the King of Babel bring to Babel captiues. 17 And the King of Babel made Mattaniah his vncle King in his steade, and changed his name to Zedekiah. 18 Zedekiah was one and twentie yeere olde, when he began to reigne, and he reigned eleuen yeeres in Ierusalem. His mothers name also was Hamutal the daughter of Ieremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did euill in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Iehoiakim had done. 20 Therefore certainly the wrath of the Lord was against Ierusalem and Iudah vntill he cast them out of his sight. And Zedekiah rebelled against the King of Babel.
1 During Jehoiakim's rule, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia invaded and took control of Judah. Jehoiakim obeyed Nebuchadnezzar for three years, but then he rebelled.
2 At that time, the Lord started sending troops to rob and destroy towns in Judah. Some of these troops were from Babylonia, and others were from Syria, Moab, and Ammon. The Lord had sent his servants the prophets to warn Judah about this, 3 and now he was making it happen. The country of Judah was going to be wiped out, because Manasseh had sinned 4 and caused many innocent people to die. The Lord would not forgive this.
5 Everything else Jehoiakim did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 6 Jehoiakim died, and his son Jehoiachin became king.
7 King Nebuchadnezzar defeated King Neco of Egypt and took control of his land from the Egyptian Gorge all the way north to the Euphrates River. So Neco never invaded Judah again.
King Jehoiachin of Judah Is Taken to Babylon
(2 Chronicles 36.92 10)8 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled only 3 months from Jerusalem. His mother Nehushta was the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. 9 Jehoiachin disobeyed the Lord, just as his father Jehoiakim had done.
10 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia sent troops to attack Jerusalem soon after Jehoiachin became king. 11 During the attack, Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city. 12 Jehoiachin immediately surrendered, together with his mother and his servants, as well as his army officers and officials. Then Nebuchadnezzar had Jehoiachin arrested. These things took place in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's rule in Babylonia.
13 The Lord had warned that someday the treasures would be taken from the royal palace and from the temple, including the gold objects that Solomon had made for the temple. And that's exactly what Nebuchadnezzar ordered his soldiers to do. 14 He also led away as prisoners the Jerusalem officials, the military leaders, and the skilled workers—10,000 in all. Only the very poorest people were left in Judah.
15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon, along with his mother, his wives, his officials, and the most important leaders of Judah. 16 He also led away 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 skilled workers, all of them trained for battle.
17 Then Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin's uncle Mattaniah king of Judah and changed his name to Zedekiah.
King Zedekiah of Judah
(2 Chronicles 36.11-16Jeremiah 52.1-3)18 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he was appointed king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 19 Zedekiah disobeyed the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 It was Zedekiah who finally rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
The people of Judah and Jerusalem had made the Lord so angry that he turned his back on them. That's why these horrible things were happening.