Chronicles II 36:21

21 That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, until the land should enjoy its sabbaths in resting sabbath keeping all the days of its desolation, till the accomplishment of seventy years.

Chronicles II 36:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 36:21

To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
That is, the Jews were so long servants in Babylon, as in the preceding verse, to accomplish Jeremiah's prophecy of it, ( 2 Chronicles 25:12 ) ( 27:7 ) ( 29:10 )

until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths;
the sabbatical years, or seventh year sabbaths, which, according to the law of the land, was to rest from being tilled, ( Leviticus 25:4 ) , which law had been neglected by the Jews, and now, whether they would or not, the land should have rest for want of persons to till it:

for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore
and ten years;
as threatened in ( Leviticus 26:34 Leviticus 26:35 ) on which text Jarchi observes, that at the destruction of the first temple the law concerning the sabbath, or rest of the land had been neglected four hundred and thirty years, in which space were sixty nine sabbatical years; and, according to Maimonides F4, it was at the end of a sabbatic year that the city and temple were destroyed, and so just seventy years had been neglected, and the land was tilled in them as in other years, and now it had rest that exact number of years; but of this we cannot be certain, though it is probable.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Hilchot Shemitah Veyobel, c. 10. sect. 3.

Chronicles II 36:21 In-Context

19 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt its palaces with fire, and every beautiful vessel.
20 And he carried away the remnant to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the kingdom of the Medes.
21 That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, until the land should enjoy its sabbaths in resting sabbath keeping all the days of its desolation, till the accomplishment of seventy years.
22 In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, after the fulfillment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and told him to make proclamation in writing throughout all his kingdom, saying,
23 Thus says Cyrus king of the Persians to all the kingdoms of the earth, The Lord God of heaven has given me , and he has commanded me to build a house to him in Jerusalem, in Judea. Who of you of all his people? His God shall be with him, and let him go up.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.