2 Kings 24

1 ¹In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 And the Lord sent against him bands of the ²Chaldeans and ³bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, ⁴according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets.

3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, ⁵for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,

4 and also ⁶for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon.

5 ⁷Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

6 So Jehoiakim ⁸slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

7 ⁹And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, ¹⁰for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt ¹¹from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

8 ¹²Jehoiachin was ¹³eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ¹⁴according to all that his father had done.

Jerusalem Captured

10 At that time the servants of ¹⁵Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

11 And ¹⁶Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it,

12 ¹⁷and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. ¹⁸The king of Babylon took him prisoner ¹⁹in the eighth year of his reign

13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord ²⁰and the treasures of the king’s house, ²¹and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, ²²which Solomon king of Israel had made, ²³as the Lord had foretold.

14 ²⁴He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, ,000 captives, ²⁵and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, ²⁶except the poorest people of the land.

15 ²⁷And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, ,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war.

17 ²⁸And the king of Babylon ²⁹made Mattaniah, ³⁰Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, ³¹and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

18 ³²Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ³³Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ³⁴according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. ³⁵And 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.

Cross References

• 1. 24:1 2 Chr. 36:6; Jer. 25:1, 9; Dan. 1:1
• 2. 24:2 ch. 25:4; Jer. 32:28, 29; 35:11; [Ezek. 19:8]
• 3. 24:2 Jer. 35:11
• 4. 24:2 ch. 20:17; 21:12-14; 23:27
• 5. 24:3 ch. 21:11; 23:26
• 6. 24:4 ch. 21:16
• 7. 24:5 2 Chr. 36:8
• 8. 24:6 [2 Chr. 36:6; Jer. 22:18, 19; 36:30]
• 9. 24:7 Jer. 37:5-7
• 10. 24:7 [Jer. 46:2, 20, 24, 26]
• 11. 24:7 See Num. 34:5
• 12. 24:8 [1 Chr. 3:16; Esth. 2:6; Jer. 22:24, 28; 24:1; 37:1]
• 13. 24:8 [2 Chr. 36:9]
• 14. 24:9 ch. 23:37
• 15. 24:10 Dan. 1:1
• 16. 24:11 [See ver. 10 above]
• 17. 24:12 [Jer. 24:1; 29:1, 2; Ezek. 17:12]
• 18. 24:12 [2 Chr. 36:10]
• 19. 24:12 [ch. 25:27]
• 20. 24:13 ch. 20:17; Isa. 39:6
• 21. 24:13 2 Chr. 36:7; Ezra 1:7; Dan. 1:2; 5:2, 3
• 22. 24:13 See 1 Kgs. 7:48-50
• 23. 24:13 Jer. 20:5
• 24. 24:14 Jer. 24:1
• 25. 24:14 [ver. 16; Jer. 52:28]
• 26. 24:14 Jer. 24:1; 29:2; [1 Sam. 13:19, 22]
• 27. 24:14 ch. 25:12
• 28. 24:15 2 Chr. 36:10; Esth. 2:6; [Jer. 22:24-26]
• 29. 24:16 [ver. 14]
• 30. 24:17 For ver. 17-20, see 2 Chr. 36:10-13
• 31. 24:17 [Jer. 37:1]
• 32. 24:17 [1 Chr. 3:15]
• 33. 24:17 [ch. 23:34; 2 Chr. 36:4]
• 34. 24:18 For ch. 24:18–25:21, see Jer. 52:1-27
• 35. 24:18 ch. 23:31
• 36. 24:19 ch. 23:37
• 37. 24:20 [Ezek. 17:18]

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.