2Kings 24-25; 2Chronicles 36 - Prayer Tents

24During Jehoiakim's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled.H3117H5019H4428H894H5927H3079H5650H7969H8141H7725H4775 2Then the LORD sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the LORD had promised through his prophets.H3068H7971H1416H3778H1416H758H1416H4124H1416H1121H5983H7971H3063H6H1697H3068H1696H3027H5650H5030 3These disasters happened to Judah because of the LORD's command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh,H6310H3068H3063H5493H6440H2403H4519H6213 4who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The LORD would not forgive this.H5355H1818H8210H4390H3389H5355H1818H3068H14H5545 5The rest of the events in Jehoiakim's reign and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.H3499H1697H3079H6213H3789H5612H1697H3117H4428H3063 6When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became the next king.H3079H7901H1H3078H1121H4427 7The king of Egypt did not venture out of his country after that, for the king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt—from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.H4428H4714H3318H3254H776H4428H894H3947H5158H4714H5104H6578H4428H4714

Jehoiachin Rules in Judah

8Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.H3078H8083H6240H8141H1121H4427H4427H3389H7969H2320H517H8034H5179H1323H494H3389 9Jehoiachin did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his father had done.H6213H7451H5869H3068H1H6213 10During Jehoiachin's reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it.H6256H5650H5019H4428H894H5927H3389H5892H935H4692 11Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city during the siege.H5019H4428H894H935H5892H5650H6696 12Then King Jehoiachin, along with the queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians. In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he took Jehoiachin prisoner.H3078H4428H3063H3318H4428H894H517H5650H8269H5631H4428H894H3947H8083H8141H4427 13As the LORD had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from the LORD's Temple and the royal palace. He stripped away all the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the Temple.H3318H214H1004H3068H214H4428H1004H7112H3627H2091H8010H4428H3478H6213H1964H3068H3068H1696 14King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land.H1540H3389H8269H1368H2428H6235H505H1540H2796H4525H7604H2108H1803H5971H776 15Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoiachin away as a captive to Babylon, along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem's elite.H1540H3078H894H4428H517H4428H802H5631H352H193H776H3212H1473H3389H894 16He also exiled 7,000 of the best troops and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war.H582H2428H7651H505H2796H4525H505H1368H6213H4421H4428H894H935H1473H894 17Then the king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, as the next king, and he changed Mattaniah's name to Zedekiah.H4428H894H4983H1730H4427H5437H8034H6667

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.H6667H6242H259H8141H1121H4427H4427H259H6240H8141H3389H517H8034H2537H1323H3414H3841 19But Zedekiah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.H6213H7451H5869H3068H3079H6213

The Fall of Jerusalem

20These things happened because of the LORD's anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.H639H3068H3389H3063H7993H6440H6667H4775H4428H894

25So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.H8671H8141H4427H6224H2320H6218H2320H5019H4428H894H935H2428H3389H2583H1129H1785H5439 2Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign.H5892H935H4692H6249H6240H8141H4428H6667 3By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.H8672H2320H7458H2388H5892H3899H5971H776 4Then a section of the city wall was broken down, and all the soldiers fled. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king's garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.H5892H1234H582H4421H3915H1870H8179H2346H4428H1588H3778H5892H5439H3212H1870H6160 5But the Babylonian troops chased the king and caught him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.H2428H3778H7291H310H4428H5381H6160H3405H2428H6327 6They took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.H8610H4428H5927H4428H894H7247H1696H4941 7They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.H7819H1121H6667H5869H5786H5869H6667H631H5178H5178H935H894

The Temple Destroyed

8On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.H2549H2320H7651H2320H8672H6240H8141H8141H4428H5019H4428H894H935H5018H7227H2876H5650H4428H894H3389 9He burned down the Temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city.H8313H1004H3068H4428H1004H1004H3389H1419H1004H8313H784 10Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.H2428H3778H7227H2876H5422H2346H3389H5439 11Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, then took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.H3499H5971H7604H5892H5307H5307H4428H894H3499H1995H5018H7227H2876H1540 12But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in Judah to care for the vineyards and fields.H7227H2876H7604H1803H776H3755H3009H1461 13The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the LORD's Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.H5982H5178H1004H3068H4350H5178H3220H1004H3068H3778H7665H5375H5178H894 14They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.H5518H3257H4212H3709H3627H5178H8334H3947 15Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.H4289H4219H2091H2091H3701H3701H7227H2876H3947 16The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the LORD's Temple in the days of King Solomon.H8147H5982H259H3220H4350H8010H6213H1004H3068H5178H3627H3808H4948 17Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1/2 feet As in parallel texts at 1 Kgs 7.16, 2 Chr 3.15, and Jer 52.22, all of which read 5 cubits [2.3 meters]; Hebrew reads 3 cubits, which is 4.5 feet or 1.4 meters high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.H6967H259H5982H8083H6240H520H3805H5178H6967H3805H7969H520H7639H7416H3805H5439H5178H8145H5982H7639 18Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.H7227H2876H3947H8304H7218H3548H6846H4932H3548H7969H8104H5592 19And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king's personal advisers; the army commander's chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.H5892H3947H259H5631H6496H582H4421H2568H582H7200H4428H6440H4672H5892H8269H5608H6635H6633H5971H776H8346H376H5971H776H4672H5892 20Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.H5018H7227H2876H3947H3212H4428H894H7247 21And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.H4428H894H5221H4191H7247H776H2574H3063H1540H127

Gedaliah Governs in Judah

22Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah.H5971H7604H776H3063H5019H4428H894H7604H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H6485 23When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, and all their men.H8269H2428H582H8085H4428H894H1436H6485H935H1436H4709H3458H1121H5418H3110H1121H7143H8304H1121H8576H5200H2970H1121H4602H582 24Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. "Don't be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you," he promised.H1436H7650H582H559H3372H5650H3778H3427H776H5647H4428H894H3190 25But in midautumn of that year, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.H7637H2320H3458H1121H5418H1121H476H2233H4410H935H6235H582H5221H1436H4191H3064H3778H4709 26Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.H5971H6996H1419H8269H2428H6965H935H4714H3372H6440H3778

Hope for Israel’s Royal Line

27In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2 of that year.H7651H7970H8141H1546H3078H4428H3063H8147H6240H2320H7651H6242H2320H192H4428H894H8141H4427H5375H7218H3078H4428H3063H1004H3608 28He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.H1696H2896H5414H3678H3678H4428H894 29He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king's presence for the rest of his life.H8132H3608H899H398H3899H8548H6440H3117H2416 30So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived.H737H8548H737H5414H4428H3117H3117H1697H3117H3117H2416

Jehoahaz Rules in Judah

36Then the people of the land took Josiah's son Jehoahaz and made him the next king in Jerusalem.H5971H776H3947H3059H1121H2977H4427H1H3389 2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.H3099H6242H7969H8141H1121H4427H4427H7969H2320H3389 3Then he was deposed by the king of Egypt, who demanded that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold as tribute.H4428H4714H5493H3389H6064H776H3967H3603H3701H3603H2091

Jehoiakim Rules in Judah

4The king of Egypt then installed Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, as the next king of Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. Then Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt as a prisoner.H4428H4714H471H251H4427H3063H3389H5437H8034H3079H5224H3947H3099H251H935H4714 5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.H3079H6242H2568H8141H1121H4427H4427H259H6240H8141H3389H6213H7451H5869H3068H430 6Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and captured it, and he bound Jehoiakim in bronze chains and led him away to Babylon.H5927H5019H4428H894H631H5178H3212H894 7Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the treasures from the Temple of the LORD, and he placed them in his palace in Babylon.H5019H935H3627H1004H3068H894H5414H1964H894 8The rest of the events in Jehoiakim's reign, including all the evil things he did and everything found against him, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Then his son Jehoiachin became the next king.H3499H1697H3079H8441H6213H4672H3789H5612H4428H3478H3063H3078H1121H4427

Jehoiachin Rules in Judah

9Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. Jehoiachin did what was evil in the LORD's sight.H3078H8083H8141H1121H4427H4427H7969H2320H6235H3117H3389H6213H7451H5869H3068 10In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon. Many treasures from the Temple of the LORD were also taken to Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem.H8141H8666H4428H5019H7971H935H894H2532H3627H1004H3068H6667H251H4427H3063H3389

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.H6667H259H6242H8141H1121H4427H4427H259H6240H8141H3389 12He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the LORD.H6213H7451H5869H3068H430H3665H6440H3414H5030H6310H3068 13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God's name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the LORD, the God of Israel.H4775H4428H5019H7650H430H7185H6203H553H3824H7725H3068H430H3478 14Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the LORD that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.H8269H3548H5971H4603H4604H7235H8441H1471H2930H1004H3068H6942H3389 15The LORD, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.H3068H430H1H7971H3027H4397H7925H7971H2550H5971H4583 16But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD's anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.H3931H4397H430H959H1697H8591H5030H2534H3068H5927H5971H4832

The Fall of Jerusalem

17So the LORD brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah's young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.H5927H4428H3778H2026H970H2719H1004H4720H2550H970H1330H2205H3486H5414H3027 18The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the LORD's Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials.H3627H1004H430H1419H6996H214H1004H3068H214H4428H8269H935H894 19Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value.H8313H1004H430H5422H2346H3389H8313H759H784H7843H4261H3627 20The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.H7611H2719H1540H894H5650H1121H4427H4438H6539 21So the message of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.H4390H1697H3068H6310H3414H776H7521H7676H3117H8074H7673H4390H7657H8141

Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return

22In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the LORD fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom.H259H8141H3566H4428H6539H1697H3068H6310H3414H3615H3068H5782H7307H3566H4428H6539H5674H6963H4438H4385H559 23"This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: "The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are the LORD's people may go there for this task. And may the LORD your God be with you!"H559H3566H4428H6539H4467H776H3068H430H8064H5414H6485H1129H1004H3389H3063H5971H3068H430H5927