2 Kings 24

Jehoiakim's Rebellion and Death

1 During his reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 The Lord sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord He had spoken through His servants the prophets.

3 This happened to Judah only at the Lord's command to remove them from His sight. It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,

4 and also because of all the innocent blood he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not forgive.

5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim's [reign], along with all his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings.

6 Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.^[a]

7 Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, for the king of Babylon took everything that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.^[b]

Judah's King Jehoiachin

8 Jehoiachin^[c] was 18 years old when he became king; he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; [she was] from Jerusalem.

9 He did what was evil in the Lord's sight as his father had done.^[d]

Deportations to Babylon

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.

11 Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it.

12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the king of Babylon.^[e] So the king of Babylon took him [captive] in the eighth year of his reign.

13 He also carried off from there all the treasures of the Lord's temple and the treasures of the king's palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made^[f] for the Lord's sanctuary, just as God had predicted.^[g]

14 Then he deported all Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the fighting men, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and metalsmiths. Except for the poorest people of the land, nobody remained.

15 Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin to Babylon. Also, he took the king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 The king of Babylon also brought captive into Babylon all 7,000 fighting men and 1,000 craftsmen and metalsmiths-all strong and fit for war.

17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's^[h] uncle,^[i] king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.^[j]

Judah's King Zedekiah

18 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king;^[k] he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; [she was] from Libnah.

19 Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord's sight just as Jehoiakim had done.

20 Because of the Lord's anger, it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that He finally banished them from His presence. Then, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.^[l]

2 Kings 24 Commentary

Chapter 24

Jehoiakim subdued by Nebuchadnezzar. (1-7) Jehoiachim captive in Babylon. (8-20)

Verses 1-7 If Jehoiakim had served the Lord, he had not been servant to Nebuchadnezzar. If he had been content with his servitude, and true to his word, his condition had been no worse; but, rebelling against Babylon, he plunged himself into more trouble. See what need nations have to lament the sins of their fathers, lest they smart for them. Threatenings will be fulfilled as certainly as promises, if the sinner's repentance prevent not.

Verses 8-20 Jehoiachin reigned but three months, yet long enough to show that he justly smarted for his fathers' sins, for he trod in their steps. His uncle was intrusted with the government. This Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah. Though the judgments of God upon the three kings before him might have warned him, he did that which was evil, like them. When those intrusted with the counsels of a nation act unwisely, and against their true interest, we ought to notice the displeasure of God in it. It is for the sins of a people that God hides from them the things that belong to the public peace. And in fulfilling the secret purposes of his justice, the Lord needs only leave men to the blindness of their own minds, or to the lusts of their own hearts. The gradual approach of Divine judgments affords sinners space for repentance, and believers leisure to prepare for meeting the calamity, while it shows the obstinacy of those who will not forsake their sins.

Footnotes

• [a]. 2 Ch 36:6-8
• [b]. Gn 15:18; 1 Kg 4:21; Isa 27:12
• [c]. 2 Kg 25:27-30
• [d]. 2 Ch 36:9
• [e]. Jr 22:24-30
• [f]. 1 Kg 7:48-50
• [g]. 2 Kg 20:16-18; Isa 39:5-7
• [h]. Lit his
• [i]. 2 Ch 36:10 reads brother; Jr 37:1
• [j]. 2 Ch 36:10
• [k]. Jr 37:1-10
• [l]. 2 Ch 36:11-12; Jr 52:1-3

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 24

This chapter relates the rebellion of Jehoiakim against the king of Babylon, which prepared the way for the ruin of the kingdom of Judah, according to the decree of God, and also the death of Jehoiakim, and the conquest the king of Babylon made of part of the land of the king of Egypt, 2Ki 24:1-7 and the short and wicked reign of Jehoiachin his son, when he and the royal family, with great numbers of the inhabitants of the land, were carried captive to Babylon, 2Ki 24:8-16, and his uncle was made king in his room, 2Ki 24:17-20.