CHAPTER 36
Then the people
of the land
took
Jehoahaz
son
of Josiah
and made him king
in Jerusalem
in place of
his father.
Jehoahaz
was twenty-three
years old
when he became king,
and he reigned
in Jerusalem
three
months.
And the king
of Egypt
dethroned him
in Jerusalem
and imposed
on Judah a levy
of a hundred
talents
of silver
and a talent
of gold.
Then Neco king
of Egypt
made Eliakim
brother of Jehoahaz
king
over
Judah
and Jerusalem,
and he changed
Eliakim’s name
to Jehoiakim.
But Neco
took
Eliakim’s brother
Jehoahaz
and carried him off
to Egypt.
Jehoiakim
was twenty-five
years old
when he became king,
and he reigned
in Jerusalem
eleven
years.
And he did
evil
in the sight
of the LORD
his God.
Then Nebuchadnezzar
king
of Babylon
came up
against Jehoiakim
and bound him
in bronze shackles
to take
him to Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar also
took
to Babylon
some of the articles
from the house
of the LORD,
and he put them
in his temple
in Babylon.
As for the rest
of the acts
of Jehoiakim,
the abominations
he committed,
and all that was found
against him,
they are indeed
written
in
the Book
of the Kings
of Israel
and Judah.
And his son
Jehoiachin
became king
in his place.
Jehoiachin
was eighteen
years old
when he became king,
and he reigned
in Jerusalem
three
months
and ten
days.
And he did
evil
in the sight
of the LORD.
In the spring,
King
Nebuchadnezzar
summoned him
and brought him
to Babylon,
along with
the articles
of value
from the house
of the LORD,
and he made Jehoiachin’s relative
Zedekiah
king
over
Judah
and Jerusalem.
And he did
evil
in the sight
of the LORD
his God
and did not
humble
himself before
Jeremiah
the prophet,
who spoke
for the LORD.
He also
rebelled
against King
Nebuchadnezzar,
who
had made him swear
by God.
But Zedekiah stiffened
his neck
and hardened
his heart
against turning
to
the LORD,
the God
of Israel.
Furthermore,
all
the leaders
of the priests
and the people
multiplied
their unfaithful deeds,
following all
the abominations
of the nations,
and they defiled
the house
of the LORD,
which
He had consecrated
in Jerusalem.
Time and again
the LORD,
the God
of their fathers,
sent word
to His people
through
His messengers,
because
He had compassion
on
them
and on
His dwelling place.
But they
mocked
the messengers
of God,
despising
His words
and scoffing
at His prophets,
until
the wrath
of the LORD
against His people
was stirred up
beyond
remedy.
So He brought up
against them
the king
of the Chaldeans,
who put
their choice young men
to the sword
in the sanctuary,
sparing
neither
young men
nor young women,
neither elderly
nor infirm.
God gave
them all
into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
He carried off
everything
to Babylon—
all
the articles
of the house
of God,
both large
and small,
and the treasures
of the house
of the LORD
and of the king
and his officials.
Then the Chaldeans set fire to
the house
of God
and broke down
the wall
of Jerusalem.
They burned down
all
the palaces
and destroyed
everything
of value.
Those who escaped
the sword
were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into exil
in
Babylon,
and they became
servants
to him and his sons
until
the kingdom
of Persia
came to power.
So the land
enjoyed
its Sabbath
rest
all
the days
of the desolation,
until
seventy
years
were completed,
in fulfillment
of the word
of the LORD
through
Jeremiah.
In the first
year
of Cyrus
king
of Persia,
to fulfill
the word
of the LORD
spoken
through Jeremiah,
the LORD
stirred
the spirit
of Cyrus
king
of Persia
to send
a proclamation
throughout
his kingdom
and
to put it in writing
as follows:
“This is what
Cyrus
king
of Persia
says:
‘The LORD,
the God
of heaven,
who
has given
me
all
the kingdoms
of the earth,
has appointed
me
to build
a house
for Him
at Jerusalem
in Judah.
Whoever
among you
belongs to
His people,
may the LORD
his God
be
with him.'"