2 Kings 24

1 In the days of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, went up into Judah, and Jehoiakim was made (a) servant to him by three years; and again Jehoiakim rebelled against him. (Now in the days of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, went up into Judah, and Jehoiakim was made his servant for three years; and then Jehoiakim rebelled against him.)
2 And the Lord sent to him thieves of Chaldees, and thieves of Syria, and thieves of Moab, and thieves of the sons of Ammon; and he sent them into Judah, that he should destroy it, by the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants (the) prophets. (And the Lord sent against him thieves of the Chaldeans, and thieves from Syria, and from Moab, and of the Ammonites; and he sent them into Judah to destroy it, by the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servants the prophets.)
3 Forsooth this was done by the word of the Lord against Judah, that he should do away it (from) before himself, for the sins of Manasseh, and all things which he did, (This was done by the word of the Lord against the people of Judah, so that he would do them away from his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, and all the things which he did,)
4 and for the guiltless blood that he shed out; and he filled Jerusalem with the blood of innocents; and for this thing the Lord would not do mercy.
5 Forsooth the residue of [the] words of Jehoiakim, and all things which he did, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of (the) days of the kings of Judah?
6 And Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin, his son, reigned for him.
7 And the king of Egypt added no more to go out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken all things that were the king's of Egypt, from the strand of Egypt unto the flood Euphrates (from the River of Egypt unto the Euphrates River).
8 Jehoiachin was of eighteen years, when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9 And he did evil before the Lord, by all things that his father had done.
10 In that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, went up against Jerusalem, and the city was compassed with besiegings.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to the city with his servants, that he should fight against it (so that he could fight against it).
12 And Jehoiachin, king of Judah, went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his chamberlains; and the king of Babylon received him, in the eighth year of his realm (and the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign).
13 And he brought forth from thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; and he beat together all the golden vessels, which Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the temple of the Lord, by the word of the Lord. (And he brought back from there all the treasures from the House of the Lord, and the treasures from the king's palace; and he broke up all the gold vessels, which Solomon, the king of Israel, had made for the Temple of the Lord, by the word of the Lord.)
14 And he translated all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the strong men of the host, ten thousand, into captivity, and each craftsman, and goldsmith; and nothing was left, except the poor people/s of the land. (And he carried away all the people of Jerusalem, and all the leaders, and all the strong men of the army, ten thousand altogether, into captivity, and also each craftsman, and each goldsmith; and no one was left, except the poor people of the land.)
15 Also he translated Jehoiachin into Babylon, and the mother of the king, the wives of the king, and the chamberlains of the king; and he led the judges of the land into captivity from Jerusalem into Babylon; (And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and the king's chamberlains; and he led away the judges of the land from Jerusalem into captivity in Babylon;)
16 and all the strong men, seven thousand; and craftsmen and goldsmiths, a thousand; yea, all (of the) strong men and warriors; and the king of Babylon led them (away as) prisoners into Babylon.
17 And he ordained Mattaniah, the brother of his father, (that is, Jehoiachin's uncle,) (to reign) for him; and putted to him the name Zedekiah. (And he ordained Mattaniah, the brother of Jehoiachin's father, to be king in place of him; and he changed his name to Zedekiah.)
18 Zedekiah had one and twenty years of age, when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremy of Libnah. (Zedekiah was twenty-one years old, when he began to reign, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.)
19 And he did evil before the Lord, by all things that Jehoiakim had done.
20 For the Lord was wroth against Jerusalem, and against Judah, till he casted them away from his face; and Zedekiah went away from the king of Babylon. (And because of that, the Lord was so angry against Jerusalem, and Judah, that he threw them away from his face; and then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.)

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.

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.

2 Kings 24 Commentaries

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.